Wine producers’ online stores represent a significant advancement in digital maturity, allowing consumers to purchase wine directly from the vineyard. This concept, as highlighted by Black and Ulin (2013), encapsulates the journey from vineyard to glass. Direct interactions with consumers generate valuable data that can be leveraged for hyper-personalization, a model proposed by Mendia and Cuautle (2022), making online stores ideal candidates for this approach.

In my analysis, the ‘Online Store’ category ranked third, comprising 158 companies, or 13% of the total producers. Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of wine producers and the prevalence of online stores across various Portuguese wine regions. Notably, the Douro Region leads with 47 online stores out of 362 producers, indicating a relatively high level of digital maturity. In contrast, regions such as Távora-Barosa (0), Madeira (1), and the Azores (2) show significantly fewer online stores, reflecting a slower pace of digital adoption.

This disparity highlights the varying readiness levels among Portuguese wine regions to implement advanced digital strategies, such as hyper-personalization. Understanding this geographical variance in digital maturity is crucial for contextualizing the implementation of hyper-personalization. Regions with a greater number of online stores are better positioned to utilize the data generated from direct consumer interactions, facilitating personalized marketing strategies. Conversely, regions with fewer online stores may require targeted support to enhance their digital capabilities and fully engage in the digital economy.

Data for this analysis was extracted through an audit of the web presence of Portuguese wine companies, utilizing Sabi’s report that considers CAE Rev. 3 (Primary codes only): 1102 – Manufacture of wine from the grape. This audit aims to provide a clearer picture of the digital landscape of Portuguese wine producers, forming part of my hyper-personalization studies at Portucalense University as part of my PhD thesis.