This article was initially published in the February issue of Global Drinks Intel magazine. For details on how to subscribe, click here.
One of the main shopping reasons in global travel retail is for gifting; over a third of shoppers cite it as a reason for buying a bottle of wine or spirits. In GTR, this isn’t confined to just Christmas or Chinese New Year – it’s prevalent year-round with many people looking to purchase gifts both on their outbound and inbound travels.
Given its importance in the sales channel, the big question is: are brand owners doing enough to help travellers find suitable solutions in wine and spirits? To help, I’ve created the ‘Two P’s, Two C’s’ framework in the hope that it will help.
Presentation
A good starting point is whether your brand looks ‘gift worthy’. Secondary packaging plays a big role here, helping to enhance the specialness and premium image of a product. Specialness may also come from being a GTR exclusive or not available in a recipient’s home market; an important factor if it’s a brand the shopper knows the recipient loves.
Wine and spirits brands can learn a great deal from perfume and cosmetics on how they approach presentation and gifting. Coffret sets of smaller-sized bottles are a good example, as is creating theatre around the gifting experience.
One well-known perfume brand goes the extra mile by wrapping its bottles in tissue paper sprayed with the signature fragrance, placed in a solid box, sealed with a ribbon and finishing off with a stylish bag. Often, the shopper is also given samples of other fragrances to try themselves.
This presentation and theatre is rarely seen in wine and spirits; why not wrap a bottle in specially-designed paper or gift wrapping, for example?
Personalisation
Gifting is all about personalisation: choosing a bottle you know the recipient will like and making it personal to them. Adding their name and the reason for giving to the bottle or packaging is a great way to deliver personalisation. This could be done with bottle engraving, specially-printed labels or even just blank gift tags.
Personalisation can also be delivered digitally; here, also, wine and spirits brand owners can look to other categories for inspiration. An example from confectionery is a chocolate brand that gave shoppers the opportunity to record a personalised video message to the recipient that they could view by scanning a QR code on the product. This could also be done on a bottle of spirits.
Confidence
Gift shoppers need to feel confident that the gift they’re buying will be well-received. Generally, travellers buying a bottle for somebody else will err on the side of caution and stick to well-known brands, the ones they know the recipient likes or from a category they know they like. Giving shoppers the confidence to trade up to other expressions in the range – or purchase other brands altogether – presents an opportunity to enhance the specialness and value of the purchase. This can be achieved through tastings as well as through knowledgeable advice from store staff or brand ambassadors.
Having staff that speak the same language as the shopper helps to communicate a brand’s benefits and inspires confidence in the shopper that they’re making a good purchasing decision.
Communication
It’s important that shoppers can easily find what would make a good gift when they’re in-store or online. One way to do in-store is via signage and merchandising. Shelf signage indicating that a product would make an ideal gift – or even a special gifting display – are ways to do this. Online shoppers, meanwhile, could be invited to purchase a bottle and collect it in-store already gift-wrapped or personalised. Gifting communication can also play a role in encouraging impulse purchases as well as those that are planned.
Wine and spirits brand owners are welcome to use my ‘Two P’s, Two C’s’ approach to examine what they’re doing currently to help shoppers who want to purchase gifts in GTR and challenge themselves to do better.
In GTR, gifting is a gift for brand owners – but there’s more work to be done and plenty of opportunity for growth.
This article was initially published in the February issue of Global Drinks Intel magazine. For details on how to subscribe, click here.
