How wineries should use first-party data to strengthen their DTC strategy
To thrive, wineries must build deeper, direct relationships with comsumers and that means mastering data and, specifically, collecting and using first-party data.
What is first-party data?
First-party data is information collected directly from your customers. This includes email addresses gathered during tasting room visits, preferences captured through online wine orders, engagement with your emails, texts messages or newsletters, social media interactions, and customer satisfaction surveys. It’s the most accurate and valuable kind of data you can collect because it comes straight from people who have or will purchase from you.
At a time when wineries must rapidly transform to meet changing consumer expectations with innovative direct-to-consumer strategies, the effective use of first-party data is crucial to connecting with and engaging consumers.
Why it matters: more than just marketing
First-party data is more than just a powerful marketing tool - it creates a competitive advantage across your entire winery. Sales teams can use it to personalize outreach, hospitality staff can enhance tasting room experiences, and production teams can make smarter decisions about what wines to make, and in what quantities.
Unfortunately, many wineries lack a modern first-party data strategy, and it's inhibiting the abilty to acquire and retain customers.
A Lagging industry, and a massive opportunity
Despite the clear benefits, the adoption of first-party data, tools and tactics in the wine industry is still relatively low.
According to the 2023 Sovos ShipCompliant and WineBusiness.com DTC Wine Shipping Report:
• Only 36% of wineries use CRM platforms to manage customer relationships
• Less than 50% practice email segmentation
• Fewer than 20% actively track customer behavior online
These statistics present a significant opportunity for growth-oriented wineries to leap ahead of the competition by putting their data to work.
7 Tips to start using first-party data effectively
Here’s how your winery can begin collecting, managing, and leveraging customer data for real business impact:
1. Use a modern platform to unify your data
Adopt a platform that can integrate first-party data from tasting room sales, e-commerce, wine club management, payments, loyalty and customer relationship management systems.
2. Collect data during tasting room visits and events
Train staff to gather names, emails, and wine preferences during tastings, parties, and events, as well as personal information such as birthdays and anniversaries. Offer a thank you gift or tasting discount in exchange for sign-up. Collecting this data in-person builds trust and enriches your CRM.
3. Segment your customers by club tier, wine style, purchase behavior
Group customers based on what they buy and how they engage. Send exclusive pre-release offers to loyal cabernet buyers, or custom wine club perks based on member preferences. Segmentation improves open rates, conversions, sales and retention.
4. Personalize marketing and communications
Tailor messaging to reflect customer behavior like offering a reorder incentive for last month’s rosé purchase, or thanking a new club member with a welcome gift. Personalized content - delivered through the relevant customer touchpoints such as email, text message, website, etc - leads to higher customer satisfaction.
5. Track customer behavior to trigger smart campaigns
Set up automation that reacts to how people interact with your brand such as cart abandonment emails, failed online payment transaction, reminders for seasonal reorders and special anniversaries or follow-ups after in person visits. These small touches can drive major revenue.
6. Keep customer data up to date and clean
Regularly update and clean your customer data. Verify shipping addresses, remove duplicates, and make sure club preferences are up-to-date. High quality data improves campaign effectiveness, multi channel communications deliverability, reduces returns, and ensures accurate reporting.
7. Use feedback to guide experiences and releases
After events or purchases, ask for feedback on wines or customer satisfaction. Use this input to improve not just operationally, but in future targeting. For example, if many people praise your new Syrah, you can spotlight it in your next campaign or allocate it to your most loyal red wine fans.
Embrace innovation: Map your social buying networks
An effective way to quickly acquire first party data is through social buying, which enables your customers to purchase wine together on your website. This not only creates incremental revenue, but you are also able to understand how your customers are connected.
Group wine purchases allows wineries to identify, visualize and engage social buying networks - clusters of customers who directly influence each other’s purchases. By uncovering these networks, you can:
• Launch group offers and referral incentives
• Reward customers who purchase wine together
• Tap into word-of-mouth to drive organic growth
This turns first-party data from a static list in your CRM into a living map of influence and advocacy - amplifying your marketing and sales efforts exponentially without spending additional marketing budget.
Final thoughts: first-party data Is a business Imperative
With tightening privacy regulations and the decline of third-party tracking, owning your customer relationships is no longer optional - it’s essential.
Wineries that become data driven by investing in modern tools, and act on customer insights, will see stronger DTC performance, higher retention, and more resilient revenue. First-party data is your winery’s key to deeper relationships, better decisions, and long-term success.