Moncton’s Vintelligence Uncorks at NB Liquor
MONCTON – The days of buying wine based on its cool-looking label are numbered in New Brunswick.
On Friday, Moncton-based startup Vintelligence rolled out its recommendation-based kiosks at four NB Liquor locations across the province.
Vintelligence is a customized app and kiosk for retailers, resturants and events that aims to simplify wine buying for consumers by bridging the gap between online and retail.
“There’s just so many kinds and the majority of people are picking wine based on the label or a sales sticker, but they don’t know what they are actually buying,” said Nicholas Carter, co-founder and CEO of Vintelligence.
“What we’ve created over the last few months is something that’s going to help that process and simplify the entire transaction for the customer.”
Aimed at the beginner to intermediate wine lover, the app kiosks will recommend wines that suit the consumer’s preferences within minutes. It also serves digital sommelier, ready to pair perfectly with the consumer’s taste profile or even what they plan on having for dinner.
“This is for someone who wants to try new wines and experiment and learn a bit throughout the process,” Carter says. “It’s also a big help in stores as well because it’s just a constant resource of options.”
NB Liquor communications officer Mark Barbour says the $8,900 investment in the four kiosks will provide them with a better understanding of how to go forward with the new NB Liquor app in the works while providing wine shoppers with a customized experience.
“We want to be known as a world class retailer and this is one step to help us achieve that goal,” Barbour said. “All the data and the research we’re going to be conducting with this is going to allow us to better build our app … The wine category is growing therefore we want to take advantage of that to better understand our customers in order to translate that into a better store experience for them.”
“Not everybody wants to interact (with product advisors), some people are very comfortable with just their cell phones and already coming in with the education and the knowledge … the main goal of this is to provide an education component for the customer.”
Friday morning, Vintelligence unveiled kiosks at the Dieppe Regis, Kennebecasis Valley, and Frederictons York and Prospect Street locations.
“It’s improving the consumer experience in-store. It’s helping consumers find what they’re looking for,” Carter says. “I find in any retail, you want to be able to buy with confidence and you want to know what you’re purchasing and know that you’re getting something you like.”
Carter said they plan to expand into as many NB Liquor locations as possible. They are also working to bring Vintelligence kiosks to liquor stores across Canada and beyond, with tests at other locations already underway.