When designing a wine list and presenting it to a customer, it’s easier to go on ‘price first’ layout or ‘wines by region’ and let the punter choose what he wants on price order, but you are missing a massive opportunity of sales and therefore more profit. There’s a brilliant article written by William Poundstone about ‘The Hidden Psychology of Menu Design’ which explores the food menu design and behavioural economics that nudge us into selecting from it. The same principles can be applied to the wine list, a well-designed, thought out wine list will increase Profit all the time. Let me show you some ideas that you can apply to your list to make you more profitable.
Have a look at the list below.
There are 4 key factors behind your wine list that encourage consumers to trade up move away from safe bets and boost your bottom line.
1. Psychology – Including consumer perception, attention and emotion
2. Price – Tactical use of cash margin to drive volume of revenue
3. Marketing – Correct pricing, wine of the month promotions
4. Good Design – Attractive and eye catching with pagination to stimulate interaction
The Upper Right-Hand Corner
The first thing people do when they look at a list is look at it’s upper right-hand corner. The Geography of the list is very important when people decide what they are going to have. Anchoring high profit premium wines to the top right-hand corner has great tone setting significance.
The Anchor
This generally the most expensive wine and attracts the eye, by putting a slightly cheaper wine below it/placed next to it, but still expensive it makes it look like a bargain.
Buzz Words
Splitting the list into sections of taste helps people relate to a style they know; this is known as ‘Buzz Words’ people are more likely to order something with a description then without.
The Benefit of Boxes
The eyes are drawn to boxes, and customers are statistically more likely to order whatever is inside them. Highlighted boxes can be reserved for more premium profitable wines or ‘meal deals’ where your promoting a wine and food combo that make you great profit.
Price Comparison
When prices are printed in neat, right justified columns, everyone glances down the line to compare prices. We recommend a centred justification that leaves the prices scattered, this gentle encourages the customer to order what they want, not pick the cheapest price. Another way of minimising the attention to cost is omit the pound sign, then it becomes just a number and less of a psychological value.
