US wine industry

New wine alliance accelerates ecommerce & exports

May 25, 2020
By Alana House

Three of Australia’s leading wine experts have launched a strategic alliance to help wineries accelerate ecommerce and exports in 2020.

AM-i Customer Engagement Agency, Winepilot and Rob Geddes MW have joined forces to create the Compass Wine Alliance.

The cuts to cellar door tourism and on-premise sales have created many challenges for Australian wineries, requiring them to adapt to new business conditions and reposition for future opportunities. Ecommerce has shown its power at driving direct to consumer sales and will continue to be a vital sales channel in the future. 

However many wineries are still under-resourced in this area and need additional skills to compete with highly skilled and experienced eCommerce retailers and their large sales and marketing teams.

The Compass Wine Alliance hopes to help wineries cost-effectively pivot and drive increased sales by delivering a better digital and eCommerce experience.

“Every customer counts; now more so than ever,” said Angela Cobb, Director of AM-i.

“That’s why our mission is to help wineries nurture and grow a customer base that not only acts as a sustainable direct sales channel, but also drives long-term loyalty to their brands.

“We will be collaborating with Winepilot to improve the consumers’ digital experience with each brand.”

Angus Hughson, founder of Winepilot (above, left), added: “We’ve brought together some of Australia’s best and emerging wine communicators, providing a modern voice to help wineries better connect with a broad range of consumers and subsequently drive sales.”

According to Compass, while many export markets will contract in 2020, a revival of orders from China in recent months shows that this market will continue to be important for Australian wineries.

Many wineries are still under-represented in China, lacking distribution in much of the country.  Recently rated as one of the Top 10 wine influencers in China, Rob Geddes MW (above, right) will assist wineries to broaden their distribution network as well as build online sales and brand value.

“With challenges in most English-speaking wine markets in 2020 and the falling value of the Australian dollar, China, including its rapidly growing eCommerce wine market, offers wineries significant potential for increased export sales,” said Geddes.

Compass Wine Alliance have launched a no commitment, free 30-minute consultation for wineries, click here to find out more.

For more information, contact Angus Hughson at angus@winepilot.com


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