An international comparison of retail consumer wine choice

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the results from a 12 country study mapping the influencers on the choice of wine for purchase in the retail store environment. It demonstrates the usefulness of the best-worst choice method in multi-country research to map similarities and differences across market borders. Design/methodology/approach – Using a choice set of 13 attributes (influencers) that was developed from the literature and pilot studies, the B-W choice method was used to conduct choice experiments related to what influenced consumer choice for the last bottle of wine they purchased in a retail store (in the context of “to have for dinner with friends”). Findings – The key influencers of previous trial and recommendation were highly important across most markets, with the exceptions in some markets of influencers such as “brand” (China and Brazil), “food matching” (France and Italy), “origin” (France) and “grape variety” (Austria). Research limitations/implications – The research analysis needs to be extended to conduct market segmentation comparisons of markets with whole of sample similar results to ascertain to what extent the market sub-segments are similar or different in order to examine if there are any truly “global” market segments or how individual segments differ across borders, cultures, New World:Old World divide and other regional influence factors. Originality/value – This paper presents choice influencer results for a twelve country study. It demonstrates the ability of the method to be used in multi-country research and its usefulness in identifying similarities and differences in consumer choice across different cultures and markets.