“Every gift creates two customers: the buyer and the recipient. Most brands only nurture the buyer and leave half the value on the table…”

👉 More gifts sent means more recipients reached.

👉 More recipients reached means more piping hot leads.

👉 More piping hot leads? Well, you’re just one re-engagement email away from a super slick conversion.

(Did you know that referred customers have higher retention and at least 16% higher value than non-referred customers with similar demographics, according to the Journal of Marketing?)

If you’re ready to learn more about gifting for your brand (and how to amp up your strategy around these high-intent referrals), download the Ultimate Gifting Playbook right here for free » https://www.zest.co/2025-ultimate-gifting-playbook

If you’ve been debating whether 2026 is the year to invest in your gifting channel, it’s time to sip on these facts:

• Wine is inherently giftable — birthdays, holidays, corporate milestones — making it one of the best categories to capitalize on the massive, largely untapped online gifting market.

• The gifting flywheel drives new customers organically, since every bottle received as a gift is a brand discovery moment that can turn recipients into loyal buyers without spending on ads.

• Corporate gifting is a massive B2B opportunity that wine brands are perfectly positioned for, but most are still fumbling through manual processes instead of leveraging modern tools.

• Gifting reduces over-reliance on Q4, capturing year-round occasions like anniversaries, promotions, client gifts, and thank-you gestures to create more predictable revenue.

• Getting in early is a competitive advantage. Most wine brands haven't modernized their gifting experience yet, so those who act in 2026 will lock in customer loyalty before competitors catch up.

Still not sure? Read up on even more reasons why now is the time to get gifting on your site → Is a Gifting Platform Right for My Ecommerce Brand in 2026?

Online gifting is one of the fastest-growing ecommerce categories, and wine is right at the top.

The truth is, the brands winning in this space aren't just riding the trend. They're building dedicated gifting infrastructure to squeeze every last drop from tis big opportunity.

Wineries and beverage brands that invest in purpose-built gifting tools like Zest typically see significant gift sale growth in their very first holiday season. And those that scale over multiple years are seeing 30–75% year-over-year growth through channels like concierge gifting and self-service corporate gifting.

Clif Family Winery is one brand that made the shift (and hasn't looked back).

"Gifting orders were pretty much always high-touch and handled over the course of several calls and emails. Now, we can sell gifts while we sleep, which we see happen all the time!" 

— Katie Taylor, Gifting & Subscriptions Sales Manager, Clif Family Winery

Curious why wine keeps showing up at the top of gifting trends and what separates brands that capture this demand from those that don't? We broke it all down in our latest post.

Read up right here → Top 3 Ecommerce Industries for Online Gifting Platforms