Success Stories: Decantalo

Do we eat with our eyes? Decántalo is an e-commerce specializing in Spanish and international wines who, through their online store, have created a space for the whole winemaking sector: wineries, sommeliers and consumers.

From their over 1000 m² Barcelona warehouse, they manage the entire sales process: product stocking, wine conservation, logistics and personalized assistance for their customers.

“One of the main difficulties in selling any product online, and especially in the food sector, is the barrier between the buyer and the seller. Personally, we have a catalog of almost 5,000 products with different characteristics, some of which are unknown to the consumer”, says Hector Pla, the company’s e-commerce Manager.

“We can talk about different varieties of grapes, types of terrain, altitudes, ways of crafting and aging … it is a whole world. That’s why it’s so important to try to answer all the questions a customer might have using the tools available. These include a good product file, explanatory videos, expert recommendations and, of course, a tool that lets us directly interact with the consumer and answer their questions at the time of purchase”.

These include a good product file, explanatory videos, expert recommendations and, of course, a tool that lets us directly interact with the consumer and answer their questions at the time of purchase”.

The Decántalo team has several wine experts who can answer any question about their products, so really, we should talk about their having an online sommelier, thanks to the proactive and visual support they can offer with Oct8ne.

“The consumer experience is very rewarding. If we put ourselves in a customer’s shoes who doesn’t have great knowledge of oenology, we understand that it can be extremely frustrating having a huge catalog and not knowing what to decide. Having an expert accompany them is essential”.

Decántalo’s data confirm this. In a period of three months, using our visual customer service tool, their conversion rate has grown to 20.15% if there’s an agent available to give advice and show products to customers.

“We try to be there and anticipate the questions. Given our customers’ profile, the coviewer helps us accompany them closely, which we believe is truly necessary. For example, with visual support, our experts can zoom in on the labels and it’s a great help to show the specific characteristics of a wine that each customer is looking for.

With visual customer service, everything is much easier than with a traditional live chat. We offer a more complete and enjoyable experience: it’s important that the customer feels accompanied throughout the process and, as we mentioned before, our type of customer really needs it”.

The Decántalo team makes it very clear that visual support not only improves the customer experience, this new way of serving customers has improved their conversion ratings: “When a customer talks to one of our experts, there’s a distinct probability they will end up making a purchase. It’s logical: if the person who’s interested in a product has any questions, they need us to be there at just the right moment to answer them, which is something we do on a high percentage of occasions.”

Another very interesting statistic for this e-commerce is the increase in purchases made directly from the chat: “The fact that you can add products to the cart is a key feature: it’s a step that you save the customer in a key moment.” Of all the customers that we’ve attended and who’ve added products with the Add to cart button, 30% have ended up making a purchase.

But how does having a great shopping experience impact customers? For Decántalo, it’s undoubtedly reflected in loyalty: “If we’re able to resolve questions and complete the entire cycle in a way that satisfies the customer, it’s very possible that they will return”. In fact, they’ve calculated that they convert 12.28% of customers that return to their store a second time.

“We often receive emails from customers we’ve made a recommendation to and once they’ve tasted the wine, they write to thank us. Imagine we’re talking about a wedding: the couple doesn’t have to be wine experts but they want to serve the best on such a special day. Giving a good recommendation and doing it as intimately as possible is of especially important.”

It’s pretty normal for a user to find one or several deterrents when browsing an e-commerce. For Decántalo, the most obvious one in the world of electronic commerce is the payment process: it’s a leakage point if the customer has already decided what to buy and suddenly a problem arises.

“Furthermore, for us, questions may also come up with the product cards: what percentage of a grape does a wine have, if it’s suitable for vegans, if it can be stored for a long time, etc. They are reasonable queries and they need to be resolved in the right way: first through the product page itself and, for further reinforcement, through customer service support.

This is why we’ve programmed a series of triggers, both at the usual leakage points and on the pages where we know human support is needed or where we can add extra value because the product needs it. We try to always be there without being intrusive because our goal is for the customer to feel accompanied”.

“You have to have as close a relationship as possible with the customer and at Decántalo, we have different types of consumers, ranging from wine experts to people who are just looking to buy a good gift. There are regulars as well as occasional buyers.

To ensure this closeness, we depend on our team’s expertise to relay valuable knowledge to the customer. Wine is more than just a product. It’s complex. Behind it is a terrain, a climate, a person who produces it, a technique, etc. We have to be able to convey all this to consumers and, in a certain way, help them create a special bond with the product they’re buying.

The future of customer service is going towards ultra personalization. You have to have all of a customer’s information to be able to provide the best possible experience based on their needs, tastes, habits and purchasing patterns. With all the information we have through Oct8ne, we’re able to anticipate their needs and make the experience as memorable as possible.”

For Hector, at the end it’s simple, “You don’t need to invent something new, it’s about recreating the everyday shopping experience.”