Spar Ireland pilots new Wine Wizard app to aid selection

By Emily Kearns, Fiona Briggs

Published: 22 October, 2013

Spar stores in Ireland are piloting a new wine app, available on iPhone and in-store iPad kiosks, designed to aid wine selection.

Spar Ireland joined forces with Spar International to develop the wine app last year.

Currently only available for iPhone and iPad, a final version, which should be available for download from November 2013, will also be available on Android.

Customers that shop for wines generally appreciate assistance in selecting a wine, seeking information on the vineyard, the region as well as matching foods, said Spar.

According to the retailer, the Spar Wine Wizard makes wine selection easier, and in particular makes the shopping experience in the wine department both fun and more accessible.

The app is said to be simple to use. In addition to scanning the barcode to access information, customers can also browse a "featured" section, where wines are listed that are on promotion, exclusively available at Spar, award winners, or even wines recently added to the range.

For real wine enthusiasts, a journal feature includes specific blogs providing tips and insights about a wine, wine regions, producers or recipe suggestions.

Gill O'Meara, sales and development manager at BWG Foods, which operates Spar stores in Ireland, said: "It will be a free app available for download and it will also be in-store on an iPad. The app will give information about the wine, for example if you scan a bottle with the app you will be able to see what food goes with that particular wine.

"You will also be able to ask questions, for example if you want a Cabernet from Australia you can input that data and the app will tell you what's in store."

Spar International plans to adapt and roll out the app to other Spar markets. Interest has been expressed in Zambia, the UK and Scandinavia, it said.

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