Updated December 2014
ANZ Grapegrower and Winemaker cites a Nielsen report which shows that , in 2013, the number of consumers who shopped online was higher than the number of those who did online banking. The surprise is that just 13% of consumers purchased wine online in the past six months, but the report found that online buyers ‘are likely to spend twice as much as those who purchase in-store.’
‘Dan Murphy’s, Woolworths Online and eBay are popular wine destinations for young consumers,’ The story goes, ‘while Cellarmasters is the most popular online purchase point for the oldest segment. Graysonline is also a popular source for men, and in fact, heavy online wine buyers skew heavily toward males. Looking at categories purchased online, wine is the least likely category to be purchased via a mobile phone.’
Schlepping grog is a waste of time
Interesting stuff, but I expect that 13% to leap up over the next 2 – 3 years. To 50%. In our post Buying Wine Online – the smart way to shop, we told the story of a couple of wine-drinking friends who said: ‘neither of us has ever considered the possibility of having wine delivered.’ (until we suggested it to them).
I wrote: ‘I suspect there are many other wine lovers out there who haven’t. Instead, they join the big crush in the grog shops on Saturdays – parking is a hassle, so is shopping in the crowded aisles, so is getting through the checkout queues, schlepping all the grog to the car and unloading it at home and schlepping it up or down to your place.’
Free Delivery to your front door
Here’s a short list of independent merchants who deliver for free or next to nothing (some of these guys will ship your beer and spirits as well). Virtually all have a ‘free returns if not happy policy’, which takes the risk out of buying wines you may not be familiar with.
MyCellars is based in Adelaide. The website makes my eyes water, but each wine listing shows available reviews for it. Delivers orders over $250 for free across the country, and orders of any size for free to BWU$20 subscribers – use the code BWU20 at the checkout. You don’t have to buy a dozen here – you can buy 2 bottles and there’s only one price, and delivery is free. How easy is that?
Winedirect in Adelaide offers free freight on any order of 12 bottles or more, $7.50 for anything less than 12…anywhere in the country. That includes Tasmania.
Different Drop – based in Sydney, specialises in boutique wines that are hard to find elsewhere. Offers free shipping for any orders > $150 to most East Coast locations, and $9 for orders below $150. Surcharges apply for shipments to Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
Kemenys, the biggest of the independents is based in Sydney. Good mix of big sellers and boutique wines at sharp prices, most of all under the Hidden Labels. Excellent website and phone order service. Delivery cost is $10 a dozen to most locations.
Sixty Darling Street is a well-established wine merchant in Sydney, with an excellent range of wines and competitive prices. There’s no website to speak of, so you order wine here the old way, by phone (02) 9818 3077 or via email sales@wineroom.com.au. Best way to find out what’s on offer is to join the mailing list. Subscribers tell us that deliveries can take some time.
Winelistaustralia delivers $200 + orders for free, again from Melbourne. Owned by the di Pietro family, which has been in the wine business for decades.
Winesellersdirect offer free shipping on dozens (owned by the same people)
Cloudwine is another wine merchant (Melbourne based) that specialises in interesting boutique and imported wines. They have a separate site for imports, the European Winestore. We have not dealt with them but subscribers say they’re both excellent.
Vintage Direct – Nicks is also based in Melbourne, and has been in the wine business for decades. Huge range of wines, including many direct imports, free delivery for orders over $200.
Wineonline – also in Melbourne, interesting range including boutique and imported wines, competitive prices, frequently offer 10% off. Shipping costs vary.
Winestar delivers for free to 97% of the country, from Melbourne. Each wine listing on the site cites most of the reviews for it. This is an online only set-up.
With most of these guys, the goods take just 2 – 3 days to get to east coast cities, and 5-7 business days to more remote areas. Why on earth would you go to a liquor store and schlepp cases of grog home?
You can even buy from Dan M’s online, where delivery will cost you $7 a case. But be warned: there’s no central warehouse, so wines can arrive in dribs and drabs when sourced from different stores (by Dan M).
Please Note: If you can point us to similar wine merchants – good range, competitive prices and excellent service – in Brisbane, Perth and Darwin, please drop us a line info@bestwinesunder20.com.au
Kim
