Internet Adoption by Australian Wineries: Perceived Benefits and Direct Marketing Practices

Abstract

This article reports on research that examined internet adoption by 225 Australian wineries. Findings indicate that this new technology has been widely embraced by the industry and that numerous perceived benefits, especially associated with e‐mail marketing, are being achieved. The study found that many wineries collected e‐mail addresses for marketing purposes, whilst many engage in a high degree of direct marketing using the e‐mail medium to distribute newsletters. Smaller wineries appear to be the main proponents in using the Internet, the study concluding that this group achieved the highest proportion of Web sales. A link was established between small wineries that had a high use of e‐mail permission marketing and increased web sales.