It would be hard to argue against deciding what wines to stock in your shop based on how good they are. Even acknowledging the inherent bias in that approach, most of us would recognize that a shop is stronger precisely because of that inherent bias. We stock wines we think are good and we hope to attract an audience whose taste aligns with ours. And yet, [level-members] evidence shows that labels matter.
No breaking news there. But it’s not just cute pictures of animals that either attract or repel buyers, but details like whether the label includes the wine’s sub-appellation that can make a difference.
As this Wine Business.com article outlines, wine consumers increasingly want to know more about the wine they’re buying.
And since not every wine buyer who walks into your shop is going to engage with you and ask you for your help, they either know what they want (in which case the sales is out of your control), or they’re going to browse until something strikes their fancy.
That’s what shelf talkers are for – and that’s what stocking decisions based on labels are about.
We’re not suggesting that you buy based on label alone. You still have to be comfortable standing behind the product you sell. But if two similar, similarly priced bottles are available, you might consider things like sub-appellation labeling in making your decision. [/level-members]