Decanter Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter in November 2015
China's new wave of wine consumers are very tech savvy, as this clip from the Decanter Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter in November 2015 shows.
(Image credit: Decanter)

One of China's largest online retailers, JD.com, expects to triple its wine sales in 2016, as consumers harness the power of the internet to seek out bottles to try.

Inside story: Online wine sales in China

JD.com‘s head of wine business, Zhao Dabin, told DecanterChina.com in an exclusive interview that the retailer sold 400m yuan (US$61.5m) of wine direct to consumers in 2015. That figure is expected to triple in 2016, he said.

JD also hosts pages for individual merchants, acting as a gateway to a new generation of mainstream wine consumers in China – beyond the gift-giving between government officials that has been significantly curtailed by the present regime.

Wine sales through these JD.com-hosted, online ‘shopping malls’ for merchants are expected to hit 1.5bn yuan this year.

His comments tally with those from several wine importers and merchants in China, which are freeing up investment for e-commerce.

Total online retail sales of physical, consumer goods in China rose by 32% in 2015, to reach 3.2tn yuan, or US$492bn, according to Chinese government figures. Online sales of tobacco and liquor products increased by nearly 13% versus 2014, to 196bn yuan.

JD is seeking to compete with larger players in the market, such as Alibaba‘s Tmall and Taobao platforms.

In wine, JD’s Zhao sees a lot of potential. ‘Most of our wine consumers are still at entry level,’ he said. ‘Only 3% to 4% of our registered users buy wines at the moment. There’s still plenty of room to grow.’

Original interview by Sylvia Wu, editor of DecanterChina.com

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.