Why Aren’t More Wine Shops Like Argos?

Honestly, let’s think about it for a second.

Imagine walking into your local indie, flipping through a digital catalogue that lists everything they have in stock, making your selection, and then simply walking out with a tasty box of delicious wines¹. It’s straightforward, logical, and efficient.

When it comes to wine, we seem to complicate the process unnecessarily, as if it needs to be some kind of profound, soul-searching journey.

The truth is, most of the time, for most people, it’s not.

Logical and Efficient

At Argos, the system is simple: browse, pick, and leave.

There’s no need for any deep, emotional engagement, just a no-nonsense approach that delivers what you need with minimal fuss.

So why do we expect the wine-buying experience to be any different? There seems to be this ongoing belief that choosing a bottle of wine must be an involved, personal experience, when in reality, it could and should be much simpler.

Current trends in retail like same-day delivery or click-and-collect are essentially modern marketing twists on the physical shopping experience. They do come with the subtle comfort of ensuring that thing you want is in stock before to go and get it.

If we think shopping in person is still worthwhile, why aren’t more wine shops catching on to this? We know for a start people are browsing online before visiting the shop.

The Problem with Traditional Wine Shops

The real issue arises when customers visit a shop only to find that the wine² they might have wanted isn’t available.

This is precisely why people try and integrate their online stock control systems with their physical stores. But. Show me an indie wine shop that has a 100% effective stock control system.

With any other method of shopping, we all check online to see if something is in stock before heading out. There’s a certain satisfaction in knowing you aren’t wasting your time.

The Big Boys like Amazon have perfected this. You choose what you want, and it arrives the next day. No hassle, no disappointment³.

With wine, people seem to cling to the idea of a more involved process. We want to handle the bottle, examine the label, and perhaps discuss it with a geeky member of staff.

This romanticised experience can sacrifice convenience, especially when the shop’s stock control is lacking, or you haven’t really got a clue why you popped by in the first place.

A New Model for Wine Shops

So why aren’t wine shops embracing a model similar to Argos?

Imagine a small, efficient storefront where all the wine is stored in the back. You walk in, try a few samples from an Enomatic, maybe stay for a quick glass of wine.

There’s a bit of wine on display of course, some current favourites, some bar stools in the window, the latest King Gizz album quietly hammering away on the Bose.

Tap your choices through on the big touch screen display system while you’re charging your phone.

“Order 26”… Ready. Your wine is brought out to you. It’s mostly transactional, yet it can still offer a hipster-personal touch.

This model also addresses the common problem of limited space in retail locations.

Again, show me an indie wine shop that isn’t hampered by comically tiny stockroom and a lack of space to display their full range of wines.

Also tasting notes, staff favourites, price tags, style signposting and general merchandising in indies is a topic for another day.

By minimising the browsing area and maximising the stockroom, shops could offer a broader variety without the endless clutter⁴.

This approach might actually force enthusiastic millennials into some interaction with the staff. Making the shopping experience more efficient and less overwhelming and a tiny bit more awkward.

The Benefits

For the indie owner there’s perhaps even more control over what the customer sees and chooses. The order points could have more effective promotions and seasonal selections.

Sales staff can engage more actively with customers, guiding them through the selection process rather than passively waiting for them to make a decision.

This creates opportunities to increase the average spend while providing the illusion of a more tailored shopping experience.

Stock systems could order dynamically based on habits and shopping data more powerfully

For the customer, it’s all about tailored choice and efficiency without losing the personal touch. People can try before they buy, exchange in a bit of geekery, and leave with exactly what they wanted.

All without the frustration of items being out of stock or dealing with an overwhelming array of options.

Time for a Change

Go on. Think about it. An Argos-style model could significantly streamline the wine-buying experience.

It would shift the focus from aimless browsing to obtaining precisely what people want, quickly and easily.

This approach might just benefit both customers and retailers, offering a more efficient and oddly more satisfying way to shop for wine.

Here’s to hoping that the next time I walk into a wine shop, I’m greeted not by overwhelming rows of bottles, but by a laminated scrapbook of badly printed pages, an arbitrary SKU numbering system, and some tiny little pens that don’t work.

Dan

1. Tiny pencil no longer required.

2. Style, producer, grape, price… whatever.

3. Unless of course it’s Temu, where inevitably the thing you’ve ordered takes 6 weeks to arrive and it is absolute shite.

4. “Sorry, how much is the tatty Perelló jar of branded pens and bottle openers?”