Open AccessThe importance of wine attributes in an emerging wine-producing country
Author(s) -
Chris Pentz,
Alexandra Forrester
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
south african journal of business management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.179
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 2078-5976
pISSN - 2078-5585
DOI - 10.4102/sajbm.v51i1.1932
Subject(s) - wine , wine tasting , purchasing , marketing , descriptive statistics , consumption (sociology) , originality , business , advertising , psychology , geography , food science , social psychology , sociology , mathematics , statistics , social science , chemistry , creativity
Purpose: This article investigated and compared the relative importance of 14 wine attributes on the wine-purchasing behaviour of South African consumers of different generational groups.Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 646 South African wine consumers by means of a structured online questionnaire. Respondents were divided into two main age groups, 18–40 years of age and 41 years and older. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, best–worst scaling and independent sample t-tests.Findings/results: Results showed that there were both similarities and differences in the relative importance of wine attributes between the two age groups investigated. Both groups regarded the previous tasting of a wine and recommendations by others as the two most important wine attributes when purchasing wine for their own consumption. An in-store promotional display of wines was regarded as the least important wine attribute by the older cohort, whereas an alcohol level below 13% was rated by the younger cohort as the least important wine attribute.Practical implications: The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of wine-purchasing behaviour in the emerging wine-producing countries. Results can be used by marketing managers to create more effective marketing strategies to increase wine sales in South Africa amongst different age groups.Originality or value: This study is a pioneering venture, given the absence of published knowledge on the possible generational differences in the wine consumer behaviour of South Africans.