ITALIAN WINES IN CHINA’S E-COMMERCE MARKET: FOCUS ON PIEDMONT REGION PRODUCTS

In this study an analysis was conducted on the market performance of Italian wines, in particular from Piedmont region, and consumer preference in the Chinese e-commerce market. The Chinese e-commerce platform company, Taobao, and the professional online wine businesses, Yesmywine, Wine9 and Juxian, were investigated. Chinese consumers were willing to buy famous wines at a high price (i.e. Barolo). Furthermore, sparkling wines, from Piedmont and Emilia Romagna, and typical red wines, from Veneto and Tuscany, were frequently chosen. However, Italian wineries did not pay much attention to the Chinese e-commerce market, missing potential for increasing business.