Wine and spirits buying is shaped by taste, occasion, discovery, and gifting. Product type, price tier, brand loyalty, and food pairings all influence choices, and many purchases happen around special occasions or when restocking a home bar.
This article shows how to use Smart Recommender in Insider One to guide discovery, suggest pairings, and support gifting. It includes an A/B test walkthrough for pairing cross-sells and strategies for each page type.
Before you start: Make sure your product catalog includes the attributes this article filters on, such as Category, Taste, Occasion, and Tier. Create missing custom attributes on the Product Attributes page and mark them as filterable.
What you can achieve with Smart Recommender
Taste-based discovery
Show lists such as "Fruity Whites" or "Smoky Whiskeys" based on taste profiles and preferences.
Pairings for every bottle
Recommend food pairings, mixers, or accessories such as openers and shakers on product pages.
Gift sets for occasions
Suggest bundles such as an "Anniversary Wine Duo" for holidays, birthdays, or corporate gifts.
Easy reordering
Show previously purchased or frequently bought bottles on the homepage.
Checkout add-ons
Recommend bitters, snacks, or miniatures on the cart page to raise average order value (AOV).
Category-based personalization
Adapt the homepage to shoppers who prefer wine, spirits, or cocktails.
Attribute-based suggestions
Use Attribute Affinity with grape variety, alcohol content, or region.
A/B testing
Test placement, pairing logic, and messaging such as "Editor's Picks" versus "Trending Now."
Walkthrough: Boost AOV with pairing cross-sells
Wine purchases are often tied to an occasion, such as hosting a dinner. Recommending items that complete the occasion raises AOV.
This walkthrough tests two cross-sell strategies on wine product detail pages:
Variant A: Recommend cheese pairings.
Variant B: Recommend glassware.
Step 1: Create the recommendation strategies
Navigate to Recommendation Strategies and click Create. Configure the first strategy as follows:
Select Product Detail Page as the page type.
Select Purchased Together as the algorithm.
Enter the number of products to recommend.
Exclude products purchased in the last four weeks.
Add a filter for the category attribute: Category + is + Cheese Pairings.
Create the second strategy with the same settings and change only the category filter:
Category + is + Glassware.
Note: Keep every other setting identical between the two strategies. If more than one setting changes, you cannot tell which change caused the difference in results.
Step 2: Launch the campaign
Navigate to Web Smart Recommender and click Create.
Select the integration method for the widget.
On the Segments step, select customers with a low AOV under Purchasing Behavior and set your threshold.
On the Rules step, use Page Rules to target the product detail pages of wines.
On the Design step, assign one strategy to each variant and set the traffic allocation for each variant.
Click Edit Design to open the Advanced Product Card Designer and customize your product cards.
Select the locales and stores where the campaign appears.
Review the campaign details, confirm that every setting matches your goal, and click Launch.
Note: Every attribute you show on a product card must exist in your product catalog. To show more information, create custom attributes on the Product Attributes page.
Step 3: Track campaign metrics
Navigate to Smart Recommender Analytics.
Find your campaign in the Campaign and Variant Metrics table. When the test period ends, click the campaign name.
Compare Direct Revenue, Average Order Value (AOV), and Conversion Rate for the two variants. This shows whether cheese pairings or glassware raise AOV more for low-spending customers.
If one variant clearly wins, set its traffic allocation to 100% so every visitor sees the better strategy.
After you find a winner, test other pairings, such as decanters or gift boxes.
Step 4: Optimize your campaigns
After the campaign has run long enough to collect data, use Smart Recommender Analytics to improve it:
Engagement funnel: Review product impressions, click-through rate, add-to-cart rate, and conversion rate to see where shoppers drop off.
Campaign and variant performance: Compare AOV, Conversion Rate, and Direct Revenue in the Campaign and Variant Metrics table, then refine or scale the winning variant.
Product-level impact: Open Top 100 Product Analytics to see which recommended products perform best. Give extra visibility to strategic products that perform below expectations.
Category trends: Use Category Analytics to find the categories that drive the most conversions, and decide whether to prioritize them or promote weaker ones.
Use cases by page type
Home page
Taste-based collections
Show the most viewed bottles for a taste profile, personalized to each shopper.
Create a strategy with the Most Popular algorithm.
Turn on the Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity toggle.
Add the filter Taste + is + Fruity.
If you do not have a Taste attribute, create it on the Product Attributes page.
Tip: Try titles such as "Discover Fruity Favorites" or "Explore Bold Reds."
Occasion-ready picks
Show best-selling bottles for an upcoming occasion, such as New Year's or a dinner party.
Create a strategy with the Top Sellers algorithm.
Add the filter Occasion + is + New Year.
If you do not have an Occasion attribute, create it on the Product Attributes page.
Tip: Run this campaign in the weeks before each occasion and change the filter value as the calendar moves.
Product detail page
Cocktail essentials
Recommend the mixers, syrups, or bitters that go with the spirit the shopper is viewing.
Create a strategy with the Purchased Together algorithm.
Add the filter Category + is one of + Mixers, Syrups, Bitters.
Exclude recently purchased products.
Tip: Try headlines such as "Make It a Perfect Pour."
Upgrade to a premium bottle
Suggest a higher-tier bottle in the same category, such as an aged reserve next to a mid-range whiskey.
Create a strategy with the Trending Products algorithm.
Add two filters: Tier + is + Premium, and Category + matches the item they're currently viewing. Connect them with an AND connector.
If you do not have a Tier attribute, create it on the Product Attributes page.
Tip: Try headlines such as "Try This Aged Reserve."
Category page
Trending in this category
Show the bottles gaining the most interest this week in the category the shopper is browsing, such as red wines.
Create a strategy with the Trending Products algorithm.
Add the filter Category + contains + the category they're currently viewing.
If your categories are hierarchical, select the Expand the category filter to include recommendations from the next category if there aren't enough products to display checkbox, so the widget still fills when the current category has few products.
Turn on the Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity toggle.
Limited-time deals
Show the most discounted bottles in the current category, such as sparkling wines.
Create a strategy with the Highest Discounted algorithm.
Add the filter Category + matches + the category they're currently viewing.
Leave Attribute Affinity off.
Cart page
Pairings to add
Suggest popular add-ons that suit most carts, such as snacks, bar accessories, or mixers.
Create a strategy with the Most Popular algorithm.
Add the filter Category + is one of + Snacks, Accessories, Mixers.
Leave Attribute Affinity off.
Tip: A/B test copy such as "Complete Your Bar" and "Add the Finishing Touch."
Reach free shipping
Show products that help shoppers reach your free shipping threshold.
Create a strategy with the Checkout Recommendation algorithm and set the spend threshold (for example, 100 USD).
No filters are required. Attribute Affinity is optional.
Tip: Use copy such as "You are 12 USD away from free shipping." If you do not offer free shipping, use Purchased Together instead.