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UKÂ’s largest independent wine merchant adds BazaarvoiceÂ’s social commerce technology to its newly launched site  

UK’s largest independent wine merchant adds Bazaarvoice’s social commerce technology to its newly launched site

 

Laithwaites Wine, the UK’s largest independent wine merchant is re-launching its website, and will be incorporating ratings and reviews to enrich the customer experience – offering peer to peer recommendations on over 1,300 products.

 

Social commerce technology company Bazaarvoice has been appointed by Laithwaites to implement its hosted Ratings & Reviews solution.

 

“We wanted to find a better way to engage with our customers – allow them to hear what other shoppers think and pass on valuable information to each other,” said Niki Freer, multichannel development manager at Laithwaites Wine. “We’re about real people and real wines, so the addition of user-generated content is a reflection of our brand values.”

 

Targeted marketing offers peer-to-peer technology fit

 

The wine merchant, which was founded 40 years ago, positions itself away from the discount-intensive supermarkets; instead working directly with winemakers and vineyards producing smaller volumes of high quality wine. Laithwaites Wine also stocks exclusive brands, which allows it to pass quality and value onto its customers.

 

“Laithwaites Wine customers are passionate about wine and they rely on one another for personal suggestions and wine education,” said Sam Decker, chief marketing officer at Bazaarvoice. “Allowing peer-to-peer recommendations online via ratings and reviews is a natural fit.”

 

Laithwaites Wine will also use the benefits of user-generated content in its search engine optimisation (SEO) activity. “The benefits will be noticeable – shoppers’ recommendations are a lot more valuable as people search in the language they speak, rather than marketing talk,” added Freer.