Story: Quo Vadis - Online Wine Retail? | Tobias Column
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The future of the online wine trade: between reincarnation and total loss

Future viability through investment
The online wine trade is in crisis - and anyone who hasn't noticed this yet should urgently stop glossing over the sales statistics for 2020 and 2021. Inflation, price increases, reluctance to buy - the classic game of discount battles and mass deliveries is getting worse every year. And now? Either retailers will reinvent themselves or their business models will slowly retire. The only way to secure the future is to invest - not in increasingly aggressive advertising campaigns, but in genuine, sustainable concepts. But where should the journey take us?

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Future viability through cost reduction
There is only one way out for anyone who is fully committed to the discount concept: maximum automation. Fully automated warehouses, AI-generated advertisements, robots that pack shipping boxes and chatbots that take over customer service. Anyone who still seriously believes that mass shipping and low prices will save them from the crisis should look towards mechanical engineering - because what is emerging here is no longer a wine trade, but a giant vending machine with algorithmic fine-tuning. In the end, the market will concentrate on a few companies that use their massive capital and technological power to squeeze out every last drop of margin. Those who do not have the means or the know-how for this path should not be surprised if at some point they only exist as a data set in insolvency statistics.

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Sustainability through commitment
The alternative? A radical break with mass business. Instead of mass, what counts is class - personalized shopping experiences, high-quality product presentations, first-class content and service worthy of the name. Those who are ready to say goodbye to being pure pushers of goods could finally implement what brick-and-mortar specialist retailers have been demonstrating for decades: competent advice, inspiration and genuine appreciation for the product. Sustainability, environmentally friendly packaging, individualized services - all of this will not be optional in the future, but necessary in order to retain discerning customers in the long term. This requires know-how and investment, but in the end people will recognize the difference between a faceless online store and a genuine wine shop with character.

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Sleepwalking towards total loss
The gap between these two developments will continue to widen. Those who do not move now, but continue to tinker with outdated concepts, can watch the creeping decline of their own business. Falling sales, melting margins - the signs are everywhere, you just have to look. And yet it seems as if many retailers are simply waiting for the storm to pass. Spoiler: It will not pass. Those who don't invest, change and strategically reposition themselves now will hit the wall at full speed and with full force. But hey - at least it's a consistent decision. - Tobias Gerhard Strunz [TS03/25]