Affluent people are a particularly big portion of the spirit-enjoying market.
The IWSR reports that 90 percent of affluent U.S. consumers identify themselves as wine drinkers and spend an average of $28 on a bottle of wine in a store. On an international level, countries like China are facing an expanding affluent demographic, requiring businesses to change accordingly. This trend toward luxurious consumption means that the spirits’ industry needs to do its part to keep up with what consumers want.
Starting in China
On a smaller scale, let’s talk about the story of Jack Ma: one of China’s wealthiest businessmen. Ma is leading a huge venture to buy up high-end French winemaking chateauxs in order to bring fine vintages back to China. He has noticed the growing demand for top vintages in his home country and views the purchases as a timely investment—and he’s not the only one. The Telegraph reported that on a recent visit he brought along fellow wine-drinking billionaires from China who also plan to buy up to 30 more of Bordeaux’s wine houses.
These deals will certainly help boost sales for the winemakers, many of whom have been competing with rivals in California and Australia, where the wine is much cheaper. New wealth in China means there are plenty of people who are willing to spend top dollar for a highly sought-after bottle of wine. Around 120 French chateauxs are now in the hands of the Chinese, and that number is expected to continue growing.
Spreading Across the World
However, it’s not just China that is jumping on the luxury spirit bandwagon. IWSR reports that wine is a huge business among the wealthiest segment of the world’s population. People all over the globe are willing to pay premium prices for brands that they see as luxurious and that delivery a luxury experience.
What This Means for Brands
If brands want to stay competitive in this new environment of luxury liquors, it’s important to provide consumers with a luxurious experience. This includes examining the quality of products that you are manufacturing and analyzing how the product is packaged and shipped. But, by far one of the best ways you can dazzle your consumers is by providing a stellar retail experience.
Customers don’t want to show up to a store to find that the brand they are looking for is out of stock. That means you have to improve your inventory awareness in order to anticipate the correct out-of-stocks and product voids. It’s important to optimize retail, including POS execution, so that the affluent consumer feels totally satisfied with the experience of coming into your store and purchasing the items they want.
In-Store Display Setup
Delight consumers by using the right display setup to showcase luxury items in a way that consumers find appealing. Keeping displays on point with branding and creating aesthetically pleasing signage can do wonders for keeping customers happy. It’s worth going the extra mile to please this contingent of the population as they will continue to be one of the most lucrative segments of the market.
Finding different and innovative ways to make the experience of purchasing and enjoying spirits more luxurious for customers is an excellent way to improve the power of your brand.
As the number of wealthy consumers grows, and the definition of luxury consequently changes, retailers and brands worldwide must adapt. Labels need to be marketed differently to appeal to small sectors of the population, and brands that wish to engage with all luxury-seeking consumers are faced with a new challenge: to appeal to millions, not thousands.
