Wine, ecommerce also affected by global scenario, amid falling consumption and economic uncertainty

In a world scenario, in which the wine market is going through a phase of deep change – between consumption decrease, growth of low and no-alcohol, healthy trends, new generations to intercept, uncertain economic and geopolitical situations – also e-commerce industry, closely linked to international macro-trends, and to their impact towards the sales of bottles, is affected by this moment of uncertainty. After the exceptional jump in online purchases in 2020, due to the pandemic, and to the steadily rising curve in 2024, in the following years, the situation has settled down, and today, it has to further deal with the structural problems of the industry. Particularly, red wine looses its appeal also in online sales, tailgated and almost reached by white wine in the preference of consumers, whilst rosé wines increase, and sparkling wines overcome Champagne. Meanwhile, no-alcohol wines have begun to find increasingly larger room in online catalogs. The “premiumization” of the market is now evident, and, if Christmas, the highlight moment for the purchase of wine bottles, promises well, there is caution in the future: to return to a boosted growth situation, it is necessary to wait until 2026 maybe. This is, in short, the status of the art of wine e-commerce in Italy, according to some of the most important players of the country, from Tannico to Bernabei, from Vino.com to Winelivery, and Callmewine, which have been consulted by WineNews to assess the present and track a future scenario, in view not only of Christmas but also of the challenges awaited by world wine market of the next years.
Covid-19 times are over definitely (and fortunately), when, during the lockdown, the couriers brought home at any time the most disparate products possible, starting from food & wine (many Italians consoled themselves with a good bottle from the imposition to stay at home) – such that, in 2020, wine e-commerce saw a triple-digit boom – thus far, the ongoing of online sales has been definitely settled. After a steadily rising curve, and a first slowdown in 2022, 2023 brought a decisive resizing. At a world level, according to Statista portal, if by the end of 2024, it is forecasted to reach 6.1 billion dollars of turnover, the forecasts for the next 5 years talk about an aggregated growth rate of around 4.2% annually, to arrive at 7.56 billion of dollars in 2029, thanks to 327.8 million of users of this peculiar market channel. In the meantime, amongst the bottles that will be donated (wine remains a classic and always appreciated gift, available in various price ranges), and those that will be uncorked during the countless dinners and feasts, the period of the year seeing the maximum peak in wine purchases is approaching: a golden season in which e-commerce plays a fundamental role alongside the classic work carried out by wine shops, and large retailers.
Tannico (which today is controlled by Moët Hennessy (50%) and Campari Group (50%), ed) remains the indisputable leader of the Italian market. Giulia Corcos, Sales Director Tannico, underlines that the world of wine is going through a period of transition: “in 2024, we observed a decrease in the consumption of wine sector, a phenomenon which is influenced by many factors. The world economic and geopolitical scenario has determined a general decrease in consumption, alongside with the rise of post-Covid “healthy” trend, which brought to an increase in low- and no-alcohol sector sales. Moreover, the change in consumption habits, particularly amongst the youngest generations, has had a significant impact. Personally – explains Corcos – I believe that wine language, for years addressed almost exclusively to experts, has contributed to make the sector less attractive to new generations. This brought to a preference towards other categories of beverages, such as spirits and beer. Depending on the role of the various sector players – independently from the fact that they are suppliers, wineries, retailers, or e-commerce – consumption decrease varies from -5% to -30% compared to 2023. According to Tannico, we expect to close 2024 substantially in line with the last year, a figure reflecting the solidity of our strategy, despite the difficult context”. But, which are, according to Tannico, the most sold wine typologies? According to Giulia Corcos, “an important change is represented by the drop of popularity of red wines, which, for years, have dominated the market. Today, an increasing preference towards fresh and young wines, such as white, rosé, and sparkling wines, is registered, mainly amongst younger consumers. More structured red wines, generally characterized from a higher price, are suffering more, inasmuch as the consumer tends to renounce to them due to budget reasons. Consequently, many wine producers are diversifying their offer introducing new labels of white, rosé, and sparkling wines in order to balance the losses”. In 2024, Tannico focused on a strategy aiming to increase the medium value of the order, which produced positive results: “thanks to a mix of aimed interventions, we managed to increase the medium sales receipt by 6.5%. This outcome is the result of constant work aiming to offer a richer and personalized value proposition for the consumer” affirms Corcos. Regarding the strategies and expectations for Christmas, according to Corcos, wine follows two main directions: a strategy based on price and discount aiming at the volume, and another “premiumization” strategy focused on the narration of the product and the role of the retailer as personal sommelier. “As Tannico, we – affirms – chose to focus on the second way, renewing our value proposition with three fundamental pillars: emotion, curation, and community. For Christmas 2024, the great mystery is represented by the placement of Black Friday, i.e. between November and December. The key question is: will we assist in a post-Black Friday decrease, as it happened in previous years, or will the consumer be already thrown into the Christmas spirit, compensating for the loss of November? First data suggests that customers are moving towards this second direction, allowing us to be optimist for Christmas period”. In the end, the sentiment of Tannico for 2025 is characterized by a prudent vision: “looking at the future, we don’t expect a great relaunch for 2025. The dynamics of the sector and the current economic context suggest that a significant recovery could be carried out only in 2026. In the meantime, we will continue to work on strategies that valorize the product, and reinforce our relationship with customers, both in Italy, and at an international level”.
Daniele Bernabei, general manager of Bernabei, which was founded as a wine shop in Rome in 1933 and has become one of the main realities of the beverage world in Italy, talks about a positive 2024: “we realized excellent sales performances, particularly during the first semester of the year. In September/October, there has been a light decrease in view of Black Friday and Christmas, that, naturally, represent a strategic period for us. Exactly for the holidays, we created “aggressive” proposals, following the style that identifies us, but always with great attention to marginality. For the most sold typologies, this year, Italian sparkling wines did very well, French ones much less well, which, in my opinion, discount price increases of the last years. Also, red wines did quite well, even during the warmest months. The medium sales receipt is around 95 euros for private, and 230-250 euros for Horeca channel (exclusively destined to specialists with specific Ateco code), which we inaugurated in 2023, and is giving us great satisfaction. Overall, this job is complex, and requires continuous adjustments based on the market and circumstances: we can’t improvise, and preparation is fundamental. In our case, given the fact we are the only ones that still remained 100% family property, amongst the big companies, we invest much on human capital”.
According to Mario Lanzarone, Ceo Callmewine, amongst the most important players in the industry, “2024 has surely been a slowdown year of the wine industry, which registered a decrease already in general terms of consumption. Particularly, in e-commerce world, the shrinkage of pandemic effect, the dynamism of restoration, and the choice of younger people to drink less wine are some factors that affected the ongoing of turnovers”. According to Callmewine, the first 8 months of the year have been in decline, particularly during the summer period, a downward trend that has stopped starting from September to give some positive signals in the last trimester, and bringing the turnover expectation to -10% on the previous business. Regarding the most sold typologies, 2024 has been a very varied year in terms of trends: white wine increases, and reaches red wine consumption, that, on the contrary, marks a more significant stop. Italian bubble overcomes Champagne, and reverses the balance of the last years. New trends, mainly amongst young people, prefer characteristics such as drinkability and lightness, i.e. wines to enjoy in the moments of conviviality, also out of the meal. Also no-low alcohol industry is on the rise beginning to have a more relevant role in terms of consumption. To follow market direction – explains Lanzarone – Callmewine worked hard to select little-known products in online world, but that would be able to meet these new trends, throughout innovative and aimed exclusives. The medium value of the order, even maintaining the same number of bottles, marks a withdrawal of 4% to testify the attention paid by consumers to medium expense. Our aim remains always that of supplying the right price to the product, giving an advantage to customers who are aware of the fact that they can rely on Callmewine proposals, and giving equal importance and emphasis to the work that vine growers make in the winery, valorizing their job. It is a balance talking about ethics, but also about market understanding. For the holiday period, this year, Callmewine gave room to more tempting and original proposals compared to the usual bottle of wine, or to the classic spirit to donate, from the pairing of bottles with food gems of Italian panorama to thematic wooden boxes. With the final aim to overcome the turnover reached the last year during the holiday period. The premises for 2025 seem to be positive, with a recovery and a relaunch of e-commerce. The new trends are finding a balance, and wine industry, overall, a new adaptation, with a proposal that is closer to these market requests. The forecast is that of recovering the left delta in 2024”, concludes Lanzarone.
Francesco Magro, Ceo and founder of Winelivery, an innovative app that launched the first Italian service of wine, alcoholic beverages, ice, and soft drinks home delivery in 30 minutes, and at the ideal temperature (that counts also on the property of “physical” stores, coffee shop & wine shop in different Italian cities) detects “a turnover 2024 aligned with that of 2023, with a medium value of the single order, which, on the contrary, increased. The most relevant performance has been that of sparkling wines, with Franciacorta, Champagne, and Prosecco, that, alone, practically covered the totality of this typology. Naturally, we are already on the track for Christmas: this year, we created a sort of enclosing “path” to the holiday for our customers, during which, every day, offers and promotions are showcased. Our highlight moment, dealing with fast delivery, is the last minute: we are the perfect solution for those who are uncertain until the last moment, for for who forgot to make the present. But also for the classic happy hours of greetings in the offices, and in the companies”. Regarding Christmas trends, according to Winelivery, sparkling wines remain the indisputable protagonists of the celebrations: the attention towards Italian Metodo Classico sparkling wines (Franciacorta and Trento Doc) increases, and a continuous preference towards Prosecco Docg Superiore and Champagne is registered. Overall, 2024 has seen an increase of 15% in total sales of sparkling wines, with Italian Metodo Classico reinforcing its position. For the celebrations, prestigious red wines are again the protagonists on the tables, with a +12% in the sale of medium-high labels (Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, and Amarone) compared to the previous year. An increase of +18% in the sales of rosé wines, with a medium price which attested to +10% has to be noticed.
Andrea Nardi Dei, co-founder and Ceo of Vino.com, the Tuscan online wine store founded in 2014 and in just a few years become one of the national benchmarks in wine e-commerce, traces for WineNews a more general excursus: “we registered a very strong increase in 2020-2021, culminated with a turnover of 43.2 million euros in 2021, a result both of strategic investment and of the favorable circumstance of e-commerce during the period of the pandemic, ranking as the number one in Italy in that period. However, since 2022, the entire industry has undergone a decrease in turnovers, and our ongoing reflects this market trend. Despite this, excluding the period characterized by the pandemic until the return to the total normality, if a comparison between 2019 and 2023 is made, the company registered excellent growth, passing from 9.4 million to 27 million euros, almost tripling the turnover. Based on that, our priority, in the last two years, has been that of optimizing the sustainability of our business model, an aim that we reached. Therefore, the stabilization of the turnover in 2023 and 2024 reflects a strategy aiming to consolidate our position in a challenging market, focusing on profitability and efficiency, rather than on growth at any cost”. Regarding the most sold wine typologies in 2024, Christian George Guiggiani, Chief Sales Officer of Vino.com explains that “red wines continue to dominate both in terms of variety and sales volumes reflecting a consolidated preference amongst our customers. However, in the last year, we assisted to a progressive increase of the demand of sparkling wines, a category that is demonstrating a growing appeal. This evolution is particularly significant, since sparkling wines, contrary to red wines, have a reduced effect of seasonality. While red wines register consumption peaks during cold months, sparkling wines maintain a constant performance, and adapt to a wide variety of occasions, from the celebration of special events to more informal convivial moments, such as the happy hour. The medium value of the order of 2024 is attested at around 171 euros, made up of 10 bottles on average – continues Guiggiani – this medium value, in growth compared to the previous years, reflects the strategy of Vino.com to complete the offer by reinforcing the range of premium products, and the expansion to European markets representing today 30% of the turnover. Reconnecting to what has been said about red and sparkling wines, climate change is significantly influencing wine consumption habits, with particularly evident effects in Italy compared to other markets. During summer, the increase in temperatures favors sales growth of white, rosé, and sparkling wines, whilst red wines, traditionally predominant, register a drop. This trend is more marked in our country, where seasonality has a major impact on consumer behavior. To that, a major awareness of customers towards the productive philosophy, and purchase habit of new generations, favoring the moment of happy hour and a typology of product, which is therefore, more suitable to the convivial moment rather than the simple consumption of the meal, is added”. And, what about the strategies and expectations in view of Christmas? Andrea Nardi Dei explains that “the acquisition of The Wine Company, excellence in e-commerce panorama, originally developed as Swedish branch of Hawesko, the online wine shop market leader in Germany, has just been completed. This strategic operation marks an important step for our international development with a focus on the expansion to the Swedish market, representing a source of opportunities, and to the rest of Europe. Our aim is to integrate in the best way possible the competencies of The Wine Company, taking advantage of its know-how, and its consolidated presence to further reinforce our leadership in the sector”. Lastly, Nardi is optimist about the future: “for Vino.com, 2025 will be a year of significant evolution of the platform, aiming to consolidate the performances reached in the last years with a particular focus on international expansion. This is translated into an additional reinforcement of our mission: bring the excellence of the best Italian wine to the 13 currently served European countries, that, today, contribute to 30% of the turnover. Regarding the general ongoing of e-commerce, a return to growth is observed, even if moderated, after the physiological adaptation following the boom of the pandemic period”.