Vivino and Marsh Supermarkets Launch First U.S. Retail Pilot Program to Help Consumers Find Their Next Wine

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 21, 2016) - Vivino, the world's largest wine community, with more than 17 million users, today announced the launch of its first U.S. retail pilot program at Marsh Supermarkets, a leading regional grocery retailer in Indiana and Ohio. As part of the pilot program, 66 Marsh grocery stores now feature shelf-talkers displaying the Vivino Rating alongside Marsh's best-rated wines.

The Vivino Rating is the first and only wine rating system that is based on the opinions of wine lovers at every level of expertise. Using a five-star rating system, Vivino users have contributed ratings and tasting notes for more than eight million wines from around the globe, forming the largest wine library in the world. These crowdsourced reviews help wine lovers to navigate the complex wine buying process with confidence and ease.

A recent Vivino survey found that 93% of consumers reported needing help in a store with their wine-buying decisions. And while mobile and e-commerce sales continue to grow, brick-and-mortar still accounts for 68% of wine sales in the U.S., proving there's a major need to expand access to information at the shelf. This pilot program is the first-of-its-kind to launch in the U.S. and is part of Vivino's vision to redefine how consumers choose the wines they buy.

"We believe Vivino can help retailers like Marsh increase their foot traffic, improve customer satisfaction and sell more wine using the Vivino rating," said Heini Zachariassen, Vivino Founder and CEO. "We know from consumers that ratings are just as important as price in their purchasing decisions, but that information isn't readily available in store. Vivino can fulfill this void by partnering with retailers to help arm their customers with trusted, actionable information that will convert to more sales."

With more than 70 stores across Indiana and Ohio and a history of providing shopper satisfaction through innovation and choice, Marsh represents an ideal partner for the pilot program. In fact, the retailer is constantly pushing the boundaries of in-store shopper experiences, known as the first grocery store in the world to use electronic scanners to ring up purchases.

"At Marsh, we're passionate about customer experience and recognize the significant opportunity with Vivino to revolutionize the wine selection and buying experience," said David Kuncl, Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer, Marsh Supermarkets. "By bringing the Vivino rating to our customers in stores, we're going to be able to better serve and speak to them about wine right at the shelf, streamlining their purchasing decision process like never before."

Heini Zachariassen co-founded Vivino in 2010 with Theis Søndergaard with the premise of providing a way for wine drinkers of all levels and expertise to navigate the ever-changing world of wine and to choose a bottle or glass with ease and confidence. Users simply scan any wine label or wine list with their mobile device, and Vivino's proprietary image recognition technology instantly delivers ratings, reviews and average pricing for every bottle. Today, Vivino boasts the world's largest and most comprehensive wine library with its users contributing ratings and tasting notes for more than 8 million wines and scanning 300,000 bottles every day.

Vivino is free and available to download on Android, Apple and Windows devices. For more information, visit Vivino.com.

ABOUT VIVINO
Vivino takes the guesswork out of wine so that wine drinkers everywhere never have to drink a bad wine again. With more than 17 million users, Vivino is the world's largest wine community and most downloaded wine app, making wine discovery fun, accessible, and easy to understand for wine drinkers of every level. Users simply scan any wine label or wine list with their mobile device, and Vivino's proprietary image recognition technology instantly delivers ratings, reviews and average pricing for every bottle. Vivino users contribute tasting notes and ratings for millions of wines, scanning 300,000 bottles every day, collectively helping to form the largest wine library in the world. Founded by Heini Zachariassen and Theis Søndergaard in 2010, Vivino is available for download on Android, Apple and Windows devices. For more information, visit www.vivino.com.

ABOUT MARSH SUPERMARKETS
Headquartered in Indiana, Marsh operates 72 Marsh Supermarkets and O'Malia Food Markets in Indiana and Ohio, with 38 Indiana pharmacy locations. Marsh was the first grocery store in the world to use electronic scanners to ring up purchases, and today it's the first retailer in the U.S. to use beacon technology -- which uses geolocation to send coupons to shoppers' smartphones while they're in the store -- in all of its stores.