The answer to the title question is yes, DTC is holding up, but as most in the industry will attest, it's a nuanced response that requires a discussion.
Sign up for the 2024 annual SVB Direct-to-Consumer Videocast presented next Tuesday, June 25th, to hear an expert panel discuss the findings from the 2024 Direct-Direct-to-Consumer Survey.
What can you expect? After researching the wine industry for more than 20 years and producing this report for well over a decade, you can expect the same thing you always get: an honest and balanced view of the current direct-to-consumer market.
Would you like a teaser? Take a look at the chart below.
There continues to be concern about visitation in wine country. 2021 was the best year in a decade post-COVID. It was a bounce-back year from 2020. We were never going to reach those heights anytime soon. But the chart above shows a nuanced change in the visitation pattern with a bottom in May of 2022. Since May 2022, while visitation has been choppy month-to-month, it has trended slightly higher with a 3% gain in March of 2024 over March 2023.
It's early still, but as we predicted in the 2024 State of the Industry Report, we expect a better visitation pattern to emerge in 2024 compared to 2023. Finding this bottom doesn't mean we are out of the woods, but it does mean individual producers' efforts should bear more meaningful results. Our panel of industry experts will offer some of their thoughts for improvement.
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Please join us on Tuesday, June 25 for our 2024 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Survey: Report, Results and Benchmarks virtual event.
Industry veterans MJ Dale, CEO and Founder of Customer Vineyard, Sonyia Grabski, General Manager of Trinitas Cellars, Janiene Ullrich, Vice President of Customer Experience at Silver Oak Cellars, and I are looking forward to another lively event that can help you address the issues impacting your business this year and beyond.
