During lockdown, customers had the options of placing orders for delivery with their local store, shopping online on Majestic’s website – which initially crashed with the high demand – and expansions in its partnership with Deliveroo from 180 of its stores.
150,000 new customers began using delivery services from their local Majestic stores nationwide, and its online sales were up by 300%.
The company also reported a 7% increase in mobile shopping during lockdown, and that 6pm was the peak shopping hour, up by over 250%.
Whilst this allowed the company to increase its market share from 5.3,%, up from 4.5%, Majestic also faced increased costs and reductions in the business to business arm and the Calais stores, which were down 94%.
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What were customers buying?
Majestic reported an 11% increase in the average bottle price, indicating customers were buying higher quality wines.
Rosé sales were up 95% compared to the same period (April – June) last year, thanks in part to the spell of good weather over lockdown.
Regions and countries that had significant increases include Australia up 159%, Loire up 54%, Burgundy up 29%, Sherry up 75% and Beaujolais up 77%.
English wine sales were up 122%, while Champagne was down 8%, as well as magnums down 49% and dessert wines down by 45%.
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Plans for future growth
Majestic has also revealed its growth strategy plans, partly in light of its lockdown success. This includes two new stores by the end of 2020, in Henley and Beckenham, with more planned for next year, and to increase sales by 10% over five years.
‘Getting back to what we do best is the absolute cornerstone of our plan to grow Majestic. Our stores are at the centre of who we are and what we do,’ said John Colley, CEO at Majestic.
‘As we come out of lockdown, we’re seeing customers who have discovered us as an online retailer over the past couple of months now visiting our stores – and getting the true Majestic experience. If anything, this has given us more confidence in the role of our bricks and mortar arm, and it’s ability to offer a truly multi-channel experience for our customers.’
The company also recently announced an expansion to its own label ‘Definition’ range, increasing to 29 wines.
Look out for Decanter.com’s pick of some of the best Definition wines to try, coming soon.
