From gifts to festive tables: Svinando and the growth of online beverages
The festive season isone of the hottest times for online shopping, and wine - along with spirits - is among the absolute protagonists. It is not just a matter of choosing a bottle to give as a gift, but of planning in advance what to uncork at the table. In this scenario, theonline wine shop Svinando is a privileged observatory to understand how the way in which users buy online is changing.
Scenario: online beverages and the role of Q4
The total e-commerce food & beverage market was worth an estimated $656 billion in 2024, with a forecast for 2025 at around $765 billion (+16.6 %) according to the report by The Business Research Company.
In Italy, for the online wine sector, the GIV-Making Science report indicates that sparkling wines generated 56% of wine e-commerce sales in 2024, surpassing still red wines.
These figures show how the digital channel has now also become relevant for wine and spirits. The fourth quarter (from the end of November to the Christmas period) is a key time: purchases for gifts, premium packages, table/holiday combinations.
What users are looking for: quality, emotion, safety
During the festive period, online consumer behaviour is enriched with nuances that go beyond the mere search for the best price. Online shoppers are increasingly seeking a balance between quality, emotion and reliability of service.
A first evidence is the growing interest in gift boxes and special editions. Careful packaging, iconic bottles or limited productions respond to the desire for a gift that is both elegant and meaningful.
Alongside this trend is an increased attention to perceived quality: the consumer is not just looking for 'a good bottle', but a product that has something to say. This is where premium wines, artisanal productions, labels with a strong terroir-identity relationship come into play.
Another increasingly decisive element is the security of purchase: reliable delivery times, break-proof packaging, a straightforward ordering process and immediate service. In the festive season - where every day can make a difference - logistics become part of the experience.
Finally, the share of consumers seeking inspiration is also growing: pairing ideas, personalised recommendations, wine guides to the table. Buying is no longer just a transaction, but a discovery.
The Svinando model: an online wine shop that combines selection, technology and storytelling
Svinando was created as an online wine shop dedicated to those who love to discover, with a catalogue of over 4,000 selected references including wines, spirits, craft beers and gastronomic specialities. The basic idea is to bring the expertise of a traditional wine cellar to the digital world, combining it with the ability to propose web-proof offers - often with significant discounts compared to the list price - and a simple, direct buying experience, without too many technicalities. The selection of labels is handled by an in-house team that favours territorial wineries, quality productions and references with a strong identity character, while the product sheets have an editorial slant designed to accompany the user in his or her choices, rather than merely describing their technical characteristics.
Svinando now operates ineight European markets (Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland), fully customising the buying experience.
A key element is the editorial approach: each product is narrated through narrative cards, curated content and articles that accompany the consumer in their discovery. Not only sales, therefore, but a true editorial ecosystem that combines popularisation, wine culture and buying guidance. It is this combination of selection and storytelling that makes Svinando a particularly interesting case on the beverage scene.
To this is added Nando, the artificial intelligence-based virtual sommelier launched in 2025: an assistant that guides users through labels, pairings, consumption occasions and budgets, offering personalised advice in the language of an expert wine expert. Nando was created to reduce disorientation in the face of such a wide range of offers and represents the first concrete application of AI within the Italian Wine Brands group with a view to customer advice. In this way, Svinando integrates human curatorship, technology and automation, reinforcing its position as a privileged observatory on new online wine and spirits purchasing behaviour.
The festive season confirms its role as the driving force behind e-commerce beverages, intertwining gift-giving, conviviality and the search for quality. The digital consumer is increasingly aware and seeks a complete shopping experience, beyond the simple transaction. In this context, Svinando is an emblematic case: a model that combines curation, technology and personalisation, intercepting the evolutions of the market and an increasingly articulated demand.
The growth of online beverages follows a clear trajectory: quality, service, storytelling and innovation will make the difference. The Svinando case shows that competitiveness is not only about assortment, but about the ability to guide the consumer on a path of discovery, combining advanced tools - such as artificial intelligence - with the authority of an expert guide. It is in this synthesis between wine-making tradition and digital evolution that the future of online beverages will be played out.
