Is the celebration over….

This Christmas looks set to be a disaster for online champagne sales, but what went so wrong ,so very quickly ? Wine online sales have been very stable during 2009, despite an aggressive recession as consumers have traded up from standard wine to fine wine on line. During the summer, rose wine online sales were also very strong as rose wine became the drink of choice ahead of Pimms throughout the gardens of the UK and Ireland. Champagne online might well be a different story.

If history has taught us anything, it is that during recessions luxury goods companies usually weather the storm, as people make fewer purchases, but spend more when they do. The thought process being I will buy a better coat, as it will last longer. This logic though does not relate to luxury champagne online, as champagne is seen as an outward show of success. You only need to browse a few wine online retailers to see a reduction in price and choice. In an attempt to protect margins Champagne houses have limited the production in 2010, but is it just the recession killing the category or is something else going on ?

There is a new online wine trend that is eating into champagne online sales and that is the growth of fizz. Prosecco and Cava are replacing champagne on line, and rose online sales. It is believed that the recession has created a re-think by the online consumer not wanting to spend their money on champagne. Many online wine merchants are seeing Prosecco sales growing and there is a belief that the online consumer will not return to champagne. On blind tests Prosecco can be as good if not better than many champagnes so if bling is not important anymore why change back to online champagne ?

The Prosecco grape offers wine online consumers something different to white wine or champagne on line. It offers a dry light grape, full of fizz bursting with aromas of apple and blossom. Many Prosecco bottle designs are also understated unlike their sister champagne.

Whatever happens trend wise, this Christmas will be tough for wine online retailers who struggle to sell champagne, but other fizz brands might be their salvation. The champagne online category will come back, the question is when and how big ?

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