The world of direct-to-consumer wine sales is undergoing significant shifts, and two reports—the 2025 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report and the 2025 Vinoshipper National Direct Sales Report—offer valuable insights into the industry's performance in 2024. While both reports analyze the DTC wine market, they present contrasting perspectives on industry trends, challenges, and opportunities.
Market Performance: A Year of Contradictions
Decline in Traditional Shipping (DTC Report) vs. Selective Growth (Vinoshipper Report)
The DTC Wine Shipping Report paints a bleak picture, showing the largest year-over-year decline in both volume (-10%) and value (-5%) since the report began in 2010. It attributes this downturn to economic pressures, inflation, and declining consumer interest in lower-priced wines.
In contrast, the Vinoshipper Report presents a more mixed picture, stating that 32.93% of wineries saw growth, 36.55% experienced declines, and 30.52% remained flat. This suggests that success in the DTC market depends more on individual winery strategies rather than broad market trends.
Pricing Trends: Premiumization vs. Stable Discounts
The DTC Report shows that the average bottle prices increased by 6% to a record $51.20, but price increases have slowed over the past few years. However, premium wines ($80+) saw only a 2% growth, signaling a stall in premiumization.
Meanwhile, the Vinoshipper Report shows a 6.37% increase in average order value to $135.15, with pricing per liter rising steadily since 2021. However, discounting levels remained stable at 14-15%, indicating that wineries leveraged promotions to maintain sales.
Channel Performance: The Battle Between Traditional and Digital
Traditional Wineries Struggle (DTC) vs. E-commerce and Clubs Thriving (Vinoshipper)
The DTC Report reveals declines across all regions, winery sizes, and price categories, with large wineries (500,000+ cases) experiencing the steepest drops in volume (-18%). This could suggest that traditional DTC shipping is losing its dominance.
Vinoshipper shows that wineries with strong e-commerce and wine club models performed better, with wine clubs seeing steady growth in adoption, reaching 32% of wineries in 2024. The highest-performing sales channel was point-of-sale transactions in the tasting room, with the highest average order values.
Geographic and Winery Size Differences
California’s Dominance Declining
The DTC Report shows that California remains the top shipping destination, but Napa and Sonoma saw declines in volume (-12%) despite rising prices.
The Vinoshipper Report highlights that non-California wineries outperformed their California counterparts, signaling a shift in industry power.
Small Wineries Holding Strong
The DTC Report suggests that small wineries (5,000–49,999 cases) weathered the downturn better, experiencing a smaller-than-average decline in volume (-7%).
The Vinoshipper Report reinforces this by showing that newer wineries (0-2 years old) outperformed legacy wineries (16+ years old), indicating that innovative business models are the key to success.
Key Takeaways and Future Outlook
Where is the DTC Wine Market Headed?
Both reports agree that the wine industry is at an inflection point, with traditional DTC shipping channels under pressure but e-commerce and wine clubs presenting new opportunities.
Technology adoption (POS systems, club management software, and marketing automation) seem to be the key differentiator for successful wineries.
What Wineries Can Do
Embrace Digital Sales – Wineries leveraging e-commerce, wine clubs, and direct-to-trade sales are seeing more resilience than those relying solely on traditional shipping.
Optimize Pricing & Promotions – With rising costs, smart discounting strategies and flexible pricing models (e.g., customizable club releases) will be critical.
Invest in Consumer Engagement – Consumers are demanding more personalized experiences, whether through custom wine clubs, experiential events, or digital marketing.
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