Who are Millennial?
Fearless adventurers, tireless seekers of information, lovers of beauty but with an eye towards sustainability. Millennials are those born between 1980 and 1997 (source: Pew Research Center), defined by demographers and sociologists as the generation of the three Cs:
- Connected: they always have a smartphone at hand, both for entertaining and looking for information and for running errands of daily life;
- Confident: they are self-confident, they are not afraid to emerge and gain visibility;
- Open to Change: born in the midst of the digital revolution and raised during one of the hardest economic crises in history, they have a strong ability to adapt.
Wine and Millennials in Italy...
According to a study carried out by Episteme 2017, in Italy, Millennials have an aspirational consumption of wine. They are not heavy drinkers, but they love to have a glass of wine with friends, especially on weekends.
They drink wine in trendy places, especially on weekends. Compared to the previous generation, they do it less at home in everyday life. The pre-pandemia survey conducted by Doxa for Food Insider points out that 38% of them rarely drink wine, 35% several times a week and 27% once a week.
They are consumers attentive to the naturalness of wine, they know the territories and prefer native vines. Not surprisingly, according to the same research, 56% of Millennials choose certified organic wines.
Certainly it is a generation with a profoundly different approach to wine compared to previous standards. In fact, it is clear that Millennials drink less wine, but on the other hand they do so in a conscious way. They love to delve into the story behind the bottle, learn more about the wine they taste to appreciate the uniqueness.
…and in the world
American millennials see wine as a healthy product, a combination of tradition and innovation (Episteme). Consumption by women also stands out here, compared to other countries, which has represented 57% of the total according to the Wine Marketing Council in recent years.
In Japan, the habit of consuming a good glass of wine is growing, as long as it can be done with good value for money. Reason why Italian wine is making its way more and more in the Japanese market.
In China, wine-loving Millennials are growing dramatically. According to a study carried out by PwC, 26% buy wine online and 40% actively seek information on the web.
Wine and Millennial: why they represent an important target
Millennials are in the sights of many companies belonging to the most diverse product sectors, and the reasons are different:
- they are the largest demographic group on the market (2.3 billion worldwide);
- they influence and are easily influenced in purchasing decisions;
- they prefer to live experiences rather than buy property.
The mere fact that it is the largest age group in the world, would be enough to make this segment of the population extremely interesting for wine producers. But we would like to give you one more reason to believe in the importance of this target in strategic marketing choices.
The reason lies in the fact that the relationship between wine and Millennials is not limited to the purchase and consumption. Wine lovers do research and inform themselves before buying, and once done they love to share it with their peers, trying to convince them of the quality of the bottle of their choice.
We like to make, what we do, interesting to our friends. In a way, we are all influencers.
These are the words spoken by the Millennial and Wine Influencer Simone Roveda during the debate on the “Millennials Effect” organized at Vinitaly by Cantina Tollo.
It is enough to follow wineries on social media to see how many User Generated Content they share. It’s all about fun unboxing, like the one made by these girls who ordered wine from an online wine shop.
In short, it is clear that retaining consumers, of this age group, can prove to be a huge opportunity to increase wine sales exponentially, thanks to the power of sharing.
See it as a kind of referral marketing strategy, but at no cost and with concrete results… What more can you ask for? 😊
How to reach them
But now let’s get to the point: what should your winery do to reach this target? What are the strategies to bring Millennials closer to your wine?
Certainly a first point on which we must reflect is the pricing strategy to be adopted. On average, Millennials’ spending power is lower than that of their parents at their age, and it can be seen from the fact that they often struggle to buy houses and cars and have children. This clearly makes it implausible to believe that they are willing to pay € 80 for a bottle to drink during a normal dinner at home.
There is a but.
We said at the beginning that this generation loves living experiences and sharing them, it follows then that the outline you will be able to build around your wine, will be crucial and can make them willing to spend even a little more.
The first rule
There is a fundamental rule, always valid for any winery: pay attention to your online presence. Millennials Inform Themselves Before they buy, research companies by looking at their website and social channels, so they don’t get caught unprepared. In doing so, communicate with their language, by using simple and direct words. Tell them the story of your winery, make them participate in the production process, make them feel part of your company.
Even if you produce an expensive and high-level wine, it ensures that it can be understood, appreciated and desired even by those who are not a connoisseur.
Organize the perfect winery event for Millennials
If you organize events in the winery, you have to live up to only one key: creativity.
Offer interesting and fun experiences, like yoga sessions, cultural evenings on the history of your wine and territory. It will be a great way to stimulate your guests’ thirst for information, and push them to purchase at a very deep stage of the marketing funnel.
Also in this case, don’t forget to digitize the experience, as much as possible, before (offering the possibility to book from the website or via social media), during (stimulating sharing and creating an “instagrammable” atmosphere) and after (feeding the relationship with a Facebook or Telegram group).
Takes care of the Wine Delivery Experience in the sale of wine online
Assuming that selling wine online to the hyper-connected generation par excellence is a fundamental step for your winery, there are 2 aspects to take absolutely into account.
- Take care of your e-commerce in every detail: make the shopping experience simple and pleasant, and ensure that users can quickly share their shopping on social channels.
- Pay attention to the Wine Delivery Experience: to ensure that the final consumer is impressed to share the moment of unboxing, just like the girls in the previous video did, do not underestimate the phase that allows the consumer to receive the bottles at home.
This last aspect is of particular importance in consumers’ purchasing choices, but it is often underestimated. According research conducted by Nomisma Wine Monitor on 2021, 53% of Italians are influenced by the sustainability of the packaging in their purchasing choices, 40% from the safety factor, while 43% think that the packaging design influences the choice.
Nakpack is a bottle packaging that meets all these needs: it guarantees the highest safety standards on the market, it can be customized with the logo of your winery, and it is ecological.
Contact us for more information.
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