Retailer wine recommendations: More of the same

If my buying history is $10 wine, why do they think I will pay $30?

Those of us who buy wine get offers and come-ons from retailers all the time — and we get even more if we forget to un-check the box that lets retailers flood our email with all those “30% off– act now” offers.

But, as noted on the blog before, most retailers don’t do a very good job of it. One would think, with all of the current hubbub about artificial intelligence, that their offers would have improved – but a couple of recent emails show just the opposite.

Wine.com recently suggested that because I bought a $10 French white blend that I should try a Portuguese white blend at twice the price; an Alsatian white blend at almost twice the price (and which is a touch sweet); and a French white blend, also almost twice the price and that is two vintages old.

We’ll ignore the pricing bit for a minute to try and figure out why the site’s algorithm would recommend wines that aren’t much like the one I bought. The Portuguese is the closest, but it’s a little heavier and less fresh. The others aren’t even close.

So maybe it is about the price.

Because more or less the same thing happened with a recent email from Saratoga Wine. “We provide our subscribers with curated offers and selections based on purchase history, interests and new items we have available to order,” said the email. So what were the recommendations? One wine less than $12, and most of the rest were $30 or more (and many were more than a couple of vintages old, too). Which hardly sounds like my purchase history, does it?

My guess is that these retailers are caught in a self-fulfilling prophecy – we’re supposed to be buying less and paying more for the wine we do drink, so that’s what they’re trying to sell me.

Which seems like a waste of time, doesn’t it?

Photo: Adrienn from Pexels