Final Takeaways:
Top Insights to Act On
After analyzing 1.4 million memberships and 17,000+ wine clubs, a clear theme emerges: Modern wine clubs thrive when they balance structure with flexibility, tradition with choice, and consistency with member control.
Traditional clubs remain the backbone, but customization is the accelerator
Traditional clubs still drive the highest revenue and longest tenure. But the clubs that perform best within that model are the ones that allow members to choose, swap, and edit.
- Customizable traditional shipments average $314 vs $189 for set-item.
- Edited shipments add $36 in value.
- Customizable traditional members stick around the longest: 1,159 days on average.
Flexibility isn’t just a perk, it’s a revenue strategy.
Subscription clubs expand your reach and capture modern buyers
Subscriptions aren’t replacing traditional clubs, they’re complementing them.
- Higher editing engagement (67.9% of members edit).
- Lower commitment and shorter tenure fit an entirely different customer mindset.
- Ideal for younger buyers, new visitors, and customers not ready for a 3-year traditional relationship.
They’re a gateway, not a downgrade.
Member behavior is dynamic. Skips, holds, and rejoins are part of the lifecycle
Modern customers manage clubs like they manage streaming services: actively.
- 1 in 10 skip shipments.
- Subscription members skip the most (17%).
- Holds keep traditional members in the loop.
- 3.3% of canceled members eventually rejoin.
Retention isn’t linear. Design for reactivation, not just prevention.
Seasonality matters. Plan around predictable cycles.
Growth and churn follow consistent rhythms across the industry:
- Signups spike in August–October, dip in December.
- Cancellations peak sharply in January.
Wineries that anticipate the cycle, not react to it, retain more members and drive steadier growth.
The wineries winning today are the ones building flexible, member-first programs
Modern customers manage clubs like they manage streaming services: actively.
- 1 in 10 skip shipments.
- Subscription members skip the most (17%).
- Holds keep traditional members in the loop.
- 3.3% of canceled members eventually rejoin.
Retention isn’t linear. Design for reactivation, not just prevention.
The Bottom Line
Across every dataset, one theme repeats:
Control, choice, and communication drive value, tenure, and satisfaction.
Whether it’s subscription or traditional, set-item or user can choose, the highest-performing clubs empower members to engage with their wine on their terms.
Wine clubs aren’t static. They’ve evolved into dynamic membership programs where personalization, flexibility, and exceptional customer experience lead the way.
With Commerce7, wineries have the tools to:
- Build flexible, customizable club options
- Enable seamless editing and personalization
- Reduce churn with built-in communication tools
- Understand member behaviour through unified customer data