Arterra has a new look for its displays at IGA and Provigo locations across Quebec, designed to seize on a new demand for wine in grocery stores that has arisen during the pandemic.

Though wine has been in grocery for many years, most shoppers still bought wine almost exclusively from the province’s crown corporation, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), according to Mira Natal, VP of sales for Eastern Canada at Arterra. That has begun to change during the pandemic as shoppers began seeing the value of incorporating wine into a one-stop shop.

“We saw new shoppers turn to grocery during the pandemic because the SAQ had restricted hours, fewer people working in store, and the waiting lines to go in were quite long,” she adds. “We wanted to keep that shopper after COVID, and the display program is part of that ambition.”

The new displays were developed by agency Bob, and are “all about solving for a shopper need that isn’t currently met in the category.”

As an example, Natal says, “some displays are merchandised close to the cheese section, and we’ll do a mix-and-match around a product.” In other cases, the displays are designed to “solve around something for dinner” by showing which wine pairs best with what the customer is planning to cook.

The goal is “to make sure the category is top of mind for the shopper and, really, to bring them solutions,” she adds.

In IGA specifically, the goal was to “premiumize the experience,” says Natal. As a result, the new displays are large, wooden, and have a premium look and feel that’s all about creating an experience within the store – one that could rival the “gold standard” set by the SAQ.

In Provigo, where some of the displays have built-in fridges, the strategy is about converting traffic, Natal says. Arterra sought to do this by capitalizing on its strong market penetration, particularly in Provigo Le Marché locations, and harnessing the PC Points loyalty program “to really bring the transactions up and build loyalty around the wine category” – again rivalling the SAQ and its existing Inspire loyalty program.

“SAQ does such a great job, and so for our grocers in Quebec, this was really about defining their strategy to go up against the SAQ and remain meaningful and relevant to the consumer, while offering up something the SAQ can’t,” explains Natal. “The answer is really through pairing, using food and wine together. And the displays bring that possibility because they help move the wine out of the wine section to be displayed elsewhere in the store.”