Over 26% of the sample declared that they had started their digital transformation process less than two years ago. For more than 7 out of 10 wine entrepreneurs, value for money and ease of use are the determining drivers in the purchase of digital solutions.
The survey carried out as part of the Observatory on the digitalisation of Italian wine companies is back with its second edition, the result of the collaboration between TeamSystem - the leading tech company in the market of digital solutions for the business management of companies and professionals - and Wine Meridian – the online magazine to support the entrepreneurial and managerial development of Italian wine companies. This year the survey focused on the progress of the over 50 wine companies that in 2022 had declared they were strongly committed to digitalisation.
“ Last year's study aimed to understand the level of digitalisation of the wine system in Italy. The objective of this second investigation – explains Fabio Piccoli, director of Wine Meridian – is to understand which digital tools and services are most used by Italian wine companies" .
Digital...but recently
The first evidence that emerged from the survey is that, despite these being companies that had expressed strong commitment and investment in digital for their activities as early as 2022, over 26% now declare that they have started these processes less than two years ago . In the same way, however, a quarter of those interviewed declared digitalization to take place over a decade.
The majority of the panel interviewed therefore declared that they had started digitalisation processes between 2 and 5 years ago.
Overall, it seems clear that digitalisation in the wine industry is a substantially "young" process, testifying to a sector not always inclined towards innovation.
Sales processes and relationships with suppliers and customers are increasingly digitalised
Analyzing more closely the areas affected by digitalisation, the research shows that more and more wine companies consider it crucial to have clear visibility on the management of sales flows and dynamics , in order to define more efficient commercial strategies.
Website, social media and e-mail marketing are certainly the most adopted and widespread solutions.
For contact with B2B customers, digital price lists are considered an important tool, while for B2C online shops are widely used (in some cases also for B2B), online experience booking systems or digital booking forms.
The importance of the information that comes from the Web and from the advice of other entrepreneurs
More than a third declare that they obtain information through internet searches which, therefore, remains a key source of information for all those who want to disseminate and promote digital tools and services. Around 30% declare that the " accountant" is the most used information source and this, obviously, is in relation to digital tools for administration and accounting. It is interesting to highlight, however, that almost 28% of the companies interviewed declared that they use " advice from other entrepreneurs in the sector" .
“ It should not be surprising – highlights the director of Wine Meridian – the importance of advice from other entrepreneurs in the sector since, especially in the wine sector, the level of ' emulation' is very high. The solutions adopted in particular by leading companies are often extraordinary drivers for the choices of a large part of the sector. This attitude is not always the most correct or consistent with the different characteristics of wine companies but it is certainly among the most frequent ."
The drivers in the " digital" choice: quality/price ratio and ease of use
Finally, the survey shows that the main criteria for purchasing digital solutions among the companies selected as a sample are mainly two: the quality/price ratio and ease of use (with 37.8% and 35.1% respectively) . Followed by "assistance" and "cloud availability". The question that was asked was not able to bring out two factors that were taken for granted: a precise awareness of one's needs and which digital tools are able to satisfy them.
“ We believe this last consideration is appropriate – concludes Fabio Piccoli – because the answers cited above could, to some extent, leave open the doubt that not all wine companies, even among the most digitalized ones, are aware of their needs and which tools digital, consequently, are able to satisfy them adequately ".
The results of the survey were presented by Wine Meridian and TeamSystem , in collaboration with Donatella Cinelli Colombini and Barbara Darra (Mezzacorona group), today during a dedicated webinar, open to all professionals in the world of wine.
