Analysis of Consumer Behaviour and Platform Optimization Strategies for the ENOTECA Wine Brand in the Chinese Market

Abstract

 This paper examines the cross-border e-commerce operations of Japanese premium wine retailer ENOTECA in China. Against the backdrop of China's expanding online wine market, rising cross-border e-commerce share, and the 2024 reduction of wine import tariffs to 14%, it focuses on ENOTECA's challenges of low platform conversion rates and high payment abandonment rates. Despite operating within a period of developmental opportunity, ENOTECA's performance is constrained by unclear tax notifications, opaque logistics information, and insufficient localisation of product content. Existing research predominantly addresses macro-level cross-border e-commerce policies, lacking empirical case studies. This study examines the consumer purchasing journey, analysing operational metrics such as platform ratings and add-to-cart conversion rates. Comparisons with competitors including Vivino and YesMyWine reveal that trust barriers and information gaps during the payment process are the primary causes of abandonment. Based on these findings, this study proposes low-cost optimisation solutions: upfront tax display, real-time logistics visualisation, and localised content. These aim to enhance user trust and conversion rates, providing a pathway for experience improvement for similar cross-border wine e-commerce platforms.