The wine and spirits cate­gory has become the flag­ship of every market that has moder­ni­zed and adapted to custo­mer wishes in recent times. Howe­ver, accor­ding to the Niel­sen rese­arch insti­tute, wine sales in the food retail sector fell signi­fi­cantly in the first half of 2023. How can that be? And the much more important ques­tion is: what can retail­ers do to increase sales and turno­ver again?

Peter Heuber­ger, Key Account Mana­ger in the Retail divi­sion at POS TUNING, is an expert when it comes to the ques­tion of how sales can be increased through the targe­ted use of push­feed systems.

“Wine tastes like cork — at least accor­ding to the sales figu­res published by the Niel­sen rese­arch insti­tute for the wine cate­gory. Sales in food retail­ers and drugs­to­res fell by 5.3 percent to 520 million bott­les. In view of the invest­ments that many moder­ni­zed markets have made, this leaves some ques­ti­ons…”

Peter Heuber­ger: Many retail­ers have put an incre­di­ble amount of thought into the right design for their wine and spirits cate­gory. In some cases, fanta­stic areas are crea­ted within the markets, which are either inten­ded to resem­ble a wine cellar or are based on exqui­site wine shops. Custo­mer surveys have shown that custo­mers, espe­ci­ally in the wine and spirits cate­gory, want an excep­tio­nal shop­ping expe­ri­ence. So you might think that this should not be the problem.

But what’s the problem then?

Peter Heuber­ger: The look of the entire cate­gory is just one piece of the puzzle. Another decisive factor is how custo­mers can reach the goods directly at the shelf. A great wine in an elegant setting can only be bought if it can be seen and easily picked up by the custo­mer.

Can’t the custo­mer do that?

Peter Heuber­ger: In some cases, the opti­miza­tion of the cate­gory ends with the product presen­ta­tion on the shelf. There are gaps in the shel­ves or bott­les are at the very back and cannot be easily reached by the custo­mer. This can also lead to the custo­mer aban­do­ning the purchase process.

Does this mean that wine sales and turno­ver can be increased through the intel­li­gent use of push­feed systems?

Peter Heuber­ger: Well, if the wines are presen­ted attrac­tively on the front of the shelf with a push­feed system, they can also be easily and quickly reached and remo­ved by the custo­mer. Thanks to the cushio­ned feed, there is also no ratt­ling during removal. The bott­les are always right at the front and don’t tip over when they are taken from the shelf. In the best case scena­rio, this also boosts sales and turno­ver.

The products are then opti­mally presen­ted. Are there any other advan­ta­ges?

Peter Heuber­ger: The use of push­feed systems also pays off in terms of shelf main­ten­ance. This is of immense importance, espe­ci­ally in this cate­gory, and also invol­ves quite a lot of work. Without a feed system, the bott­les must be carefully pulled forward. This happens auto­ma­ti­cally with a feed system.