China’s leading e-retailer, Tmall.com, has revealed the most popular wine brands it sold in 2016, with Australia's Penfolds coming in at No.4 on the list.
The top three were Lafite, followed by China’s Changyu, then Chateau Monlot.
Sales on Tmall have tripled since 2013, with about half of the country's total wine sales now being online.
According to Tmall's latest report on wine trends, more than 80% of consumers shopping for wines online opted for imported wines. The report analysed 434 million online consumers across 31 provinces, cities and districts in China.
Millennials are now the country’s most important wine drinkers, with consumers in the 18 to 22 age group spending nearly three times as much as they did in 2013.
The average age of subscribers to Tmall, is just 27, making it an important platform to engage with younger consumers.
The Tmall stats dovetail with a new Rabobank report, which noted that wine companies investing in China - “what is now one of the world’s largest wine import markets” - should be turning their focus to e-commerce.
Rabobank senior analyst Marc Soccio said: “We’ve recently seen a significant shift in the way wine is distributed, purchased and consumed in China.
“There is now a shift towards a younger retail consumer who is looking to engage more intently with the wine category, displaying a thirst for foreign wine culture and education.
“They are also much more willing to purchase wine for their own personal and social consumption, rather than as a gift, as older generation have done.”
Click here to read Wine Australia's tips for getting your product into Tmall's Australian Wine Store.
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