…Continues to Enhance Wine Buying Experience
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits now uses in-store and on-line tools to enhance the wine buying experience for its customers, from “try before you buy” wine stations to wine consultants making personal recommendations for new favorites on Twitter.
With 143 total stores in Florida, 70 of ABC Fine Wine & Spirit’s stores have recently been remodeled or are in the process of being remodeled and now feature Napa Technology’s WineStation machines—a taste testing machine that allows guests in the store to taste a sample from a selection of wines at no cost while they’re shopping. ABC has also brought several of their in-store Wine Consultants onto the social media platform Twitter to increase relationships with their customers, allowing for 24 hour guest service by answering questions, providing product information and giving updates on new wines in their local stores.
Arthur Maille, a Wine Consultant at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits on Apopka-Vineland Rd. in Lake Buena Vista says, “The WineStation machines are a way to get people to try new things. Sometimes, customers will take home a bottle that they wouldn’t ordinarily have chosen, had they not been able to sample it first.” According to Maille, the average number of featured bottles sold used to be 60-70, but has since jumped to over 100 since the WineStation was installed. Phil Hayes, Wine Consultant at the Orlando store on Orange Avenue, thinks that at least 2/3 of the guests who sample wines from their WineStation end up loving what they try so much that they purchase at least one bottle. “Sometimes that number is up to 100% if we’re featuring something like Zelina Pino Grigio.” Phil notes that even if a guest doesn’t like what’s on tap, he can find out what they like based on what’s sampled, “We have a wine to fit every palate. Now that guests have the option to sample some wines, I can get a better idea of what they like and we go from there.”
In addition to the WineStations, the Wine Consultant Twitter program is helping to enhance the wine buying experience for ABC’s guests by bringing customer service out of the store via social media. Several of the company’s top Wine Consultants are available virtually 24/7 via Twitter to help guests find products and to make recommendations. ABC currently has 12 Wine Consultants on Twitter, with more to be added soon, located in Tallahassee, Brandon, Ocoee, Lake Wales, Wesley Chapel, Tampa, Sarasota, Estero, Lake Mary, Sunrise, Jupiter and Boca Raton. To find a complete list of their handles, visit http://bit.ly/13bd9nX.
ABC Fine Wine and Spirits is America’s largest privately owned wine and spirits retailer, founded by Jack Holloway in Orlando, Florida, in 1936.