Discover 2021 Consumer Trends by Participating in the Annual Direct to Consumer Survey

    Let's Never have Another Year like 2020

I opened the 2021 SVB State of the Industry Report with this line: "2020 will go down as the year in which we answered the heretofore rhetorical question, what else can go wrong? 

We are all glad 2020 is over. We are all grateful vaccinations are signaling an end to what we've endured this past year, and almost uniformly across America, there is renewed optimism that 2021 will be better as we move into spring.

    The Year Ahead Brings Hopeful Signs

As I laid out in a recent blog post, I believe overall wine sales will have a little renaissance in 2021 as the vaccines are rolled out, restaurants and travel reopen, and consumers kick up their heels after being locked down.

That type of recovery isn't what you normally see in a recession, but in this case, not only are consumers ready to get out of the house, they also have the money saved to pay for it as noted in the nearby chart. Not only to locked-down tourists have the capacity (savings), but they have the willingness. Many surveys suggest traveling for pleasure and connecting with family is exactly what those consumers plan to do once they feel safe again.

    Connecting with New Customers

So the opportunity is there at the macro level for improved wine sales in 2021. Drinking occasions will increase in 2021. Restaurants will gradually reopen along with increased air travel, sporting events, concerts, and the opportunity for family gatherings. 

Tasting rooms will also gradually reopen and provide renewed opportunity for those selling at the winery or in urban tasting rooms. Still, that is no guarantee your winery will participate in the improved market conditions.

Everyone at this point has to realize that on the margin, the consumer you are going to face going forward has evolved. They are changed. That means doing what you did in 2019 might connect you with those customers who haven't changed. It might bring back customers who know you, but what about those who don't know you and are wine interested?

To me, the most important question you can answer this year solves for the post-pandemic changed consumer. What tactics are you going to employ to attract the consumer who is now working from home, has more time without a commute, who wants to have more meals at home, in many cases has moved to suburbs, has a new appreciation for online shopping, and as restrictions wane has many entertainment options? 

Of course some consumer behaviors will partially revert, but you would be in the minority if you believe consumers will completely return to their old ways. If that's true, why would you think you will be successful returning to your old methods of selling and marketing? 

Your tasting room is just one option for improved sales in 2021 but defining new strategies is crucial for success this year and in the next decade. Sure, you could put balloons on your mailbox and hope, but as I often say, hope is not a strategy.

      The 2021 Direct to Consumer Survey is Open!

We need to start our process of 2021 change by understanding what happened in wineries across the country last year. How did we change? What worked and didn't. 

We already know that about a third of wineries had a better 2020 compared to 2019, while two-thirds did not. We know that some wineries had tremendous success with online, phone, club, and Zoom sales, but we all need more data and an understanding of magnitude, winery location, and case size to help guide our own strategy. Where will you get that information? There is one place and it costs you nothing but a little of your time.

This time of year, I get my hands dirty by surveying U.S. wineries and digging into the direct-to-consumer segment to produce benchmarks so the industry can make informed decisions. The 2021 DtC survey is now open and will close March 19th. I hope you will join the other 800 - 1,200 U.S. wineries and avail yourself of this opportunity.

In May, all respondents who complete the survey will receive high-level analysis, benchmarks and the complete sanitized respondent data, anonymized of all personal and business identifying information. Nobody else gets this data. It can't be purchased. At the end of May, we will broadcast a two-part videocast to the industry and go over the new findings with other industry experts. 

All this effort is done on a gratis basis to help the industry make decisions, but it's a partnership with you: If we don't get survey responses, we can't produce this industry resource. So please make this a personal goal this month. The choice you make to participate or not will have an impact both on your operation and the industry as a whole.

This year the survey has between 24 to 34 questions, depending on your business model. It should take you between fifteen to twenty minutes to complete and even less if you are a little prepared. If you would like to see the questions in advance, you can download and print them here.

Are you ready participate in the survey this year?

Please promote this post in your favorite social media platform, or even better - please forward [this link] to your winery colleagues and ask them to participate. It does take everyone's effort to make this outreach a success.

If you would like your AVA to participate, we will also send the AVAs free Regional Benchmarks for their own use, presuming we have a statistically significant sample size and an address to send the information.