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NEW NORMAL

As at-home consumption increasingly be- Consumer behaviour has changed and
comes an occasion in itself, brand owners restarted to some extent. We expect succes-
will need to re-evaluate their balance of in- sful companies to value their products and
vestments between bricks & mortar and on- services based on their true value. They will
-premise channel splits. Plans will need to be conduct extensive surveys to better under-
adapted to take into account a smaller on- stand how the pandemic has affected their
-trade sector, which is especially important for employees, customers, but also the industry
product activation strategies. in which they do business. Smart marketers
So far, the type of drink that people are pur- apply this knowledge not only to their strate-
chasing is also changing, with spirits especially gies for 2021, but also to long-term plans.
gin and whiskey gaining in popularity in the
UK. Following CGA, among those buying drink NEW FORMATS
online, 40% ordered wine – the top choice. Changes in shopping and drinking patterns
Lager came next, followed by gin. during the pandemic have led to a shift to-
wards large packaging formats, such as bag-
E-COMMERCE NEW NEEDS -in-box, and small packaging formats, such as
Coronavirus literally forced companies to de- cans. Canned wine in particular has been mo-
liver respectively products and services. They ving towards broader consumer acceptance
have adopted digital channels in their marke- for some time, and this trend has been haste-
ting and thus accelerated the digital transfor- ned by the pandemic.
mation. It has been in vogue since March 2020, Bag-in-box wine sales are booming in the
and companies of all sizes are investing hea- US, UK, and Japan, while canned wine is perfor-
vily in the transition to digital platforms. Spe- ming well in the US, UK, and Australia – which
cifically, for e-commerce, chatbots, e-mails, are, not coincidentally, strong RTD markets as
applications, artificial intelligence, predictive well. While the expansion of the bag-in-box
analytics, omnichannel marketing and aug- format is largely seen as a temporary trend
mented or virtual reality. Brands that embra- driven by lockdown shopping habits and con-
ce new technologies and provide consumers sumers’ desire to stock up, canned wine has
with a pleasant and seamless experience will longer term appeal.
rise to leadership positions after a pandemic. Sparkling wine, and Prosecco in particular
Although e-commerce structures are more (so easily available in cans!), has spearheaded
complex in the US, we will start to see more the diversification of wine’s consumption
alignment in the three-tier system, with occasions. The category has steadily moved
a move towards easier solutions for brand away from its one-dimensional image as
owners to reach consumers online. a special celebratory drink to align with more
Brand owners will also want to own the con- regular occasions, such as the aperitivo hour.
sumer experience, and we will likely see a rise The format has been a vehicle for recruit-
of white label e-commerce platform services ment, bringing younger consumers into the
as well as a push toward state legislation to space – something brands can capitalise on in
allow for direct-to-consumer shipping whe- the year ahead. In particular, these millennial
re not currently allowed. Access to consumer LDA drinkers are drawn to canned wine’s con-
data will be a key consideration for brand venience, versatility, environmental creden-
owners evaluating their e-commerce strate- tials, portion control, and fresh marketing
gies as well. Strong pressure can be expected approach.
to change the legislation in countries that still “Although wine suffered heavily from the eco-
hinder the direct sale and transport of alcohol. nomic and on-trade downturn, the low-tempo
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