Reinventing wine retail for the 21st century consumer: the Vivino experience by Heini Zachariassen

Exploring one of the most important trends currently facing the wine industry, Vivino CEO Heini Zacharissen provides an insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the retail sector for wine consumers, highlighting the tools necessary to adapt to new buying behaviour. In this the latest in a series of weekly meetings between VinitalyPlus and the business community, a new session arrives today in podcast format: "Reinventing the future of retail trade for the 21st century wine consumer: the Vivino experience". The session was presented by Heini Zacharissen at wine2wine Business Forum in 2021. Reinventing retail During the COVID-19 pandemic and in the months immediately following it, the wine sector had to take a new approach to sales, with the retail trade experiencing significant growth. Heini Zacharissen explains how increasing numbers of consumers have been looking for tools to buy wine quickly and easily using mobile apps like Vivino. Driven by reviews from more than 400 million other users and a database of 10 million wines from thousands of retailers across the world, Vivino's online sales have skyrocketed in the last 18 months. The app is now the largest online wine community and marketplace in the world, with a record turnover of $265 million in 2020. During the session, Heini Zacharissen also explains current efforts to improve the user's online experience and the tools that are necessary to effectively predict and respond to the growing demand for online retail platforms. Online reviews and the democratization of wine Analysis of online consumer behaviour in recent years has shown that 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase. Wine consumers are no exception. Typically considered an elitist sector, applications such as Vivino allow a greater democratization of the retail process, a process whose challenge is to make wine more accessible without diminishing quality. Platforms such as Vivino provide users with an access point and a guide to buying. In fact, the sheer volume of reviews has transformed the way wine consumers make buying decisions, as well as providing an opportunity for conversation and engagement. As Heini Zachariassen explains, behind the creation of a platform like Vivino is the desire to reduce the purchase risk experienced by the consumer and support greater accessibility across the sector. Heini Zachariassen Heini Zachariassen is Vivino’s Founder and currently serves as a board member and chief evangelist. Largely credited with bringing a technology revolution to the wine industry, Heini founded Vivino because he was frustrated by not knowing which wine to buy. It’s been his passion project ever since. During his tenure, Vivino grew into a community of 30 million users, raised $57 million in funding and rolled out a worldwide wine marketplace. Prior to starting Vivino, Heini co-founded several startups, including global internet and mobile security company BullGuard. Heini lives in San Francisco with his wife and three children.