ITALIAN WINERIES ARE MORE AND MORE "WEB ORIENTED". E-COMMERCE, SOCIAL MEDIAS AND INTERNATIONAL APPROACH ARE GROWING, BUT EXPERTISE IS STILL MISSING, REVEALS THE DIGITAL WINE OBSERVATORY BESHARABLE SURVEY ON 3450 BUSINESSES

Nowadays, digital is crucial for publicity and businesses, both on the domestic and international markets. Many sectors are at the forefront promoting themselves on the web, while the Italian wine world has been a bit skeptical in the past few years. Some change is coming, though. Confirming the trend, the agency BeSharable, specializing in communication and web analysis has carried out, for the second consecutive year, the study "#VinoDigitale: more and more Italian wine companies investing on the web", conducted by the Digital Wine Observatory (www.osservatoriovinodigitale.com) on 3.450 Italian wine companies, to analyze the way the industry communicates on the web and uses the network to increase business in Italy and on foreign markets. Although wineries have become more and more "Web oriented", the study showed, for instance, that as many as 95% have their own website, but often do not use it to its full potential. Companies are drawn more to the "simple and immediate" channels, like sharing images and updates and the most used social medias are Facebook (78%), followed at a distance by Twitter (34%) and Instagram (22%).
The BeSharable survey revealed marketing and communications are growing, but there is still considerable room for improvement. 42% of businesses continue to rely on non-specialized employees to promote their business. There is a reverse trend in Northern Italy, though, where businesses budget in outside consultants, or in 44% of cases, create an ad hoc office in the company. Further, half the companies in the north (44% of the national figure) sells wines online. E-commerce is a trend that is growing unstoppably – considering companies that plan to open an e-commerce channel to sell their wines, the total is 77%. 32% of companies that have invested in e-commerce do so through their websites, while the remaining 68% relies on sites specialized in online wine sales.
“The #VinoDigitale revolution is happening now”, explained David Macchia, CEO of BeSharable. “Many companies approaching the web are aware of the positive developments for the industry, both in visibility and growth of the business. Businesses must rely on experts who know the industry as well as marketing and communication dynamics and thanks to their support companies make the most effective strategic choices. Although expectations are high, there are still many companies that do not have a communication strategy or a promotion plan. Their websites are often outdated and does not respond to the latest needs of the market”.

“The survey provides us with a clear scenario of how Italian wine companies are approaching the web, e-commerce and social medias”, concluded Antonietta Di Giuseppe, research consultant of BeSharable, “there is a net division - 50% of companies that are not willing to invest in new channels or update those already active, and the other 50%, that shows strong dynamism. A growing number of companies are proactive towards digital, not choosing the mainstream but preferring long-term response strategies developed on various social channels according to countries and target audiences. We can only hope that the institutions will also do their part by acting primarily on the legislation to regulate foreign trade of alcohol, which was one of the main obstacles we encountered researching the development of digital”.