Estimating Optimal Prices for Wine Exhibition Awards Using Comparative Judgements

Abstract

Producers of bottled wine have their products evaluated at various wine exhibitions for the purpose of receiving awards that can be displayed on the bottles. This contribution introduces an approach for retailers and producers to estimate optimal prices for wine exhibition awards. A case study has been employed in cooperation with a major Czech wine company to investigate the practical application of the method. Wine exhibition awards are found to be among the important factors affecting consumer preferences for bottled wine. A Conjoint experiment allowed for estimating the relative importance of selected wine exhibitions as award origins and for determining the partial utilities of selected awards (medals). Calculating the individual price equivalents for those awards and three selected wines enables the estimation of prices for maximum turnover. According to the approach, price equivalents and markups can be estimated based on consumer preferences. Retailers as well as producers can employ the procedure for matching their offers with specifically designed prices to their target group's needs and wants in their individual markets.     

Local and/or organic: a study on consumer preferences for organic food and food from different origins

This paper gives a deeper insight into consumer preferences for different food products of varying place of origin (i.e. local, Germany, neighboring country, non‐EU country) and production practices (i.e. organic vs. non‐organic). Consumer surveys combined with choice experiments were conducted with 641 consumers in eight German regions. Mixed logit models were estimated to draw conclusions on consumers’ preferences for different product attributes. The Stimulus‐Organism‐Response model was applied to theoretically frame the key findings. Results reveal that consumers prefer locally produced food to organic food. However, conclusions on consumers’ preferences should not be generalized as they vary depending on product type and consumers’ place of residence. When looking at the willingness‐to‐pay estimates for ‘organic’ and ‘local’ while distinguishing among consumers from different regions of Germany, results indicate that consumers living in rural areas and consumers living in the eastern part of Germany are less willing to pay a premium for organic products than urban consumers and consumers from other parts of Germany. As preferences for origin attributes and organic production vary between different food products and in different regions of Germany, market actors should design marketing activities accordingly. This study adds to the international research on consumers’ preferences for organic and/or local food. The results provide better insights into preference structures, as more than one product has been included and surveys were conducted in different regions across Germany.     

Are Sustainable Consumers Health Conscious? A Segmentation Study of Wine Consumers

As a result of consumers’ increasing concerns with ethical, environmental, and health issues, sustainable consumption and production have become a popular topic of recent academic research and industry practices. The current study sought to provide in-depth insights into consumers’ views on sustainability by simultaneously examining their environmental and social awareness and behavior, health-conscious lifestyles, and diets; as well as the perceived importance of social and nutrition information on wine labels. Based on empirical data obtained through a web-based survey distributed to consumer panels in three markets – the US, the UK, and Germany – this research segmented wine consumers into four categories: Apathetic Consumers; Health-Conscious Diners; Holistic Perfectionists; and Ethical Advocates. The findings indicate that in general wine consumers are mindful about the environmental problems, social responsibility of companies, ethically produced and sustainably sourced products. The majority adhere to healthy lifestyles and watch their diets. Nevertheless, with the exception of only one cluster (Holistic Perfectionists), wine consumers do not actively seek social, environmental, or nutritional information on wine labels. This study shows that, at least currently, the preferences for the social factors are unlikely to outweigh dominating traditional wine purchase drivers, such as price, brand, country of origin, and grape variety. Industry implications for tailored marketing strategies are discussed.     

All Things Being Equal

Abstract

While many consumers enjoy beer, wine and spirits and while many restaurant professionals believe they understand the differences among the three categories, myths and misconceptions abound within the field of beverage alcohol. By observing the production processes for each category it is evident that beer, wine and spirits are more alike than different and consumer preferences and foodservice recommendations should focus on taste, price, food selection and other subjective factors rather than misinformation as to essential nature. Physiological reactions to alcohol beverages are predicated more on the number of ethyl alcohol molecules ingested than on chosen beverage category. As production processes evidence, standard servings of 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of table wine and 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits contain equivalent amounts of chemically identical alcohol. Restaurant personnel should observe drinking patterns of beer and wine consumers as closely as spirits drinkers for adverse consequences.     

Helping You to Waste Less? Consumer Acceptance of Food Marketing Offers Targeted to Food-Related Lifestyle Segments of Consumers

ABSTRACT

Consumer households and consumer behavior have been identified as the major cause of food waste in the supply chain. Food marketing might offer products and services that help consumers to reduce their food waste or reduce the consumer-related food waste at the consumer–retailer interface. However, such strategies require consumer acceptance and targeting the right customers. Through an online survey of 800 Danish consumers and a measure of food-related lifestyle, four clusters of consumer segments are identified. The segments are compared with regard to their acceptance of a number of actions consumers can take to reduce food waste or their acceptance of food marketing services they would need to pay for. Acceptance differs with food involvement and the role of the price criterion, as well as with gender, education and age. The findings show how food marketing can help consumers to reduce food waste, through actions targeted to specific segments of consumers characterized by food-related lifestyle differences.     

Quality Factors Influencing Consumer Demand for Small Fruit by Focus Group and Sensory Test

ABSTRACT

The market of berries is a niche of high value in Italy. Small fruit’s healthy properties are well known in the international market, but little is known about the reason for a low commercialization rate of fresh small fruit in Italy. The objective of this study was to assess consumer preferences in Italy for selected berry species. Moreover, the study aims to identify the relevant attributes of berries that affect the demand for this produce according to consumers and to compare these attributes. We assessed relevant attributes affecting the demand for fresh berries for different consumers’ profiles and compared berries’ attributes rankings. The results reveal high concordance between blackberries and raspberries; price is the attribute that constrains more purchases because it is deemed too high. Consumers prefer small fruit because of the rising interest in their nutraceutical value, and they have a higher willingness to pay because of this important attribute.     

Nutritional labelling information: Utilisation of new technologies

Abstract

The increase in food-related diseases in society has led to a variety of public policy and private sector initiatives, such as the use of nutritional labels. Although nutritional labels have been shown to be broadly effective in terms of informing food choice, their influence is moderated by a variety of factors, such as how information is conveyed and processed by consumers. Recent advances in technology might overcome these limitations. Using a choice experiment, this paper examines consumer preferences for alternative technological devices that may aid consumer processing of nutritional information on food packaging. The results show which attributes of the technology consumers prefer, and identifies three distinct segments of consumers (‘information hungry innovators’, ‘active label readers’, and ‘onlookers’), and differences between them in relation to their preferences, demographics, and psychographic characteristics. The identification of segments is a novel aspect of this research, and highlights the importance of finding more customised solutions to the communication of nutritional information – an issue to which technology can contribute.     

Imagery and Consumption of Wine: A Southern United States Case Study

The present study examines images that wine evokes among frequent and non-frequent wine consumers, as well as factors driving wine choices (e.g., type of wine, country/region) and the level of consumption of wines from different regions?/?countries. The findings indicate that regardless of respondents' wine consumption level, wine evokes various positive memories, particularly related to pleasure, special occasions, relaxation food, and travel. However, lack of consumption experience of wines from different origin is noticed among the more frequent consumers. The importance of education is therefore emphasised to create a long-term link between the wine product and consumers.     

What Is the Right Delivery Option for You? Consumer Preferences for Delivery Attributes in Online Retailing

Nowadays, online retailers are offering a variety of delivery options consisting of varying combinations of delivery attributes. This study investigates how consumers value these delivery attributes (e.g., delivery speed, time slot, daytime/evening delivery, delivery date, and delivery fee) when selecting a delivery option for their online purchases. Mental accounting theory is used to frame the research and to suggest how mental accounts for money, time, and convenience influence consumer preferences for online delivery options. Specifically, the results of a conjoint analysis show that the most important attribute in shaping consumer preferences is the delivery fee, followed by nonprice delivery attributes. For individual attributes, significant differences are found in consumer preferences between gender and income groups. Cluster analysis reveals three consumer segments that show distinct preference structures: We identify a “price‐oriented,” a “time‐ and convenience‐oriented,” and a “value‐for‐money‐oriented” consumer segment. This study has practical implications for online retailers when implementing suitable delivery strategies and designing effective delivery options to maximize consumer satisfaction.     

Consumer Preferences and Buying Criteria in Rice: A Study to Identify Market Strategy for Thailand Jasmine Rice Export

ABSTRACT

Rice consumption per capita in many Asian countries decreased, but it is consumed more in non-rice-eating countries. This study aimed to investigate consumer preferences and attitudes toward Jasmine rice among consumers in target rice export countries to identify opportunities and strategic implications. A quantitative study with 1,128 consumers of target nationalities was conducted in combination with focus group discussions. Factor analysis of consumers' buying decision criteria yielded four factors: marketing activities (explained variance 26.8%), quality (13%), price (10.5%), and country of origin (7.7%). Discrimination analysis was performed to investigate differences in buying criteria between traditional rice-eating and non-rice-eating countries (p?=?0.000). Marketing activities, price, and country of origin were the best discriminators, whereas quality was a poor discriminator. Rice was not a substitute to other staple foods due to price change. Product quality, differentiation, and price play an important role. Building a reputation by using a clear statement on the country of origin should be a priority for Thailand. On the basis of their preference, consumers were segmented into three groups and marketing strategies were proposed.     

Conjoint analysis of consumer preferences for roasted peanut products in Haiti

This study evaluated Haitian consumers’ preferences for three attributes of roasted peanuts: form (dry‐roasted vs. honey‐roasted), country of origin (Haiti vs. USA) and price (lowest vs. most common vs. highest). A sample of 199 respondents from three locations near Port‐au‐Prince revealed that price was overwhelmingly the most important attribute, although three well‐differentiated consumer segments were identified: the largest (44% of the sample) based strictly on price; a second (29%) distinguished by preference for honey‐roasted peanuts of Haitian origin; and a third (27%) preferring dry‐roasted peanuts imported from the USA. Segment membership was predicted by gender, education, household size, survey location and whether or not respondents were themselves the purchasers of the peanuts and peanut butter they consumed. Market simulation of a proposed, new domestic product (honey‐roasted peanuts from Haiti) revealed that a price near that of the currently imported product would maximize domestic revenues at about 15% above the current base.     

Consumer Preferences for ‘Localness’ and Organic Food Production

While organic food is based on well-defined production criteria, the criteria for ‘local’ food are less clear. This study investigates the preferences and trade-offs of distinct consumer segments relative to organic production and several dimensions of local food (sales channel, size of company, and geographical location of animals used in the production). The analysis is based on a quantitative survey of 505 Danish consumers and a choice experiment involving beef salami. Data were analyzed in a principal component and a latent class analysis. We identify five consumer segments whose preferences for organic and local product attributes differed substantially. Most respondents considered geographical proximity in the raising of cattle to be the most important attribute and a third of the consumers were willing to pay a premium for organic salami. The segmentation provides more detailed information about stated consumer behavior than what is typically elicited when considering only average consumer behavior.     

Country-of-Origin Effects on Russian Wine Consumers

In recent years, Russia has experienced significant economic growth. The wine industry is among those most affected by increases in disposable income. As a consequence, Russian wine importers have widened the range at the upper end of the quality spectrum. In the current scenario, some key questions arise concerning consumer attitudes toward wine and the way it is perceived in this evolving market. This article attempts to investigate such concerns through a choice experiment approach conducted by means of a questionnaire-based survey submitted to 388 Russian households located in the country's three largest cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Novosibirsk). In the experiment, respondents were asked to choose their favorite wine among seven dry red wines. The stated choices are analyzed using a random utility model to obtain an estimation of the price effect through a triangular distribution. Our results indicate the presence of three distinct market segments in the Russian wine market: a segment with only high-quality, highly priced Italian and French wines, a medium-quality segment currently limited to Spanish wines, and a much lower quality segment of wines in which demand for alcohol is essentially satisfied.     

Price-aware enhanced dynamic recommendation based on deep learning

Price is one of the essential elements influencing consumer purchase behavior. Like consumers’ preferences in products, their price preferences also dynamically change over time. However, dynamic price preferences haven’t been fully considered in existed recommendation studies. In this study, we propose a deep learning-based dynamic recommendation model by considering consumers’ dynamic preferences in both product and price. We specially design a review-and-rating-based sequence generator to select products whose prices the consumers are satisfied with to form the new purchase sequence. We also develop a multi-level attention mechanism in the transformer layer to explore the correlations between consumers’ price choices and to combine the price preferences with the product preferences. Experimental results show the proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art models on some real-world datasets. Our findings can help retailers understand consumers’ price preferences and make informed decisions related to pricing, discounting, and bundle sales strategies.     

Provenance as a filtering and framing device in the qualification of wine

This research examines how provenance – where a product was produced, by whom, how and when – features in the work of cultural intermediaries in the Australian premium wine market, at two different stages in the career of a wine. First, evaluations of provenance attributes (in terms of sincerity, tradition and transparency) serve as filters through which wine promoters identify market-worthy wines; second, those attributes are strategically deployed to frame the wine as a worthy choice for consumers (focusing on the use of the winemaker as a framing device). The article offers a distinctive account of the qualification of wine, and makes the case for a cultural economic conceptualization of provenance as a negotiated, accomplished quality. In foregrounding wine promoters’ emotional attachments to provenance attributes of wines they choose to promote, the research highlights the affective dimensions of markets, which are made, in part, through the consuming passions of cultural intermediaries.     

Do consumer expectations match experience? Predicting the influence of price and country of origin on perceptions of product quality

This study investigates the respective influences of price and country of origin as extrinsic cues on consumer evaluations of wine quality when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory perceptions, and then compares these results with those of a survey employing identical intrinsic and extrinsic cues. Taste testing experiments were conducted (N = 263) using Chardonnay and a three (COO) by three (price) by three (acid level) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design. Price and COO were both found to be more important contributors to perception of wine quality than taste. The study advances our understanding of the influence of extrinsic cues to dominant quality assessment and shows conjoint analysis to be a credible means of measuring consumer reactions to specific wine attributes.     

Consumer Preferences for Locally Produced Food Ingredient Sourcing in Restaurants

Increasing restaurant supply chain participants’ knowledge of consumer preferences toward the use of locally produced ingredients in restaurants may provide insight into a valuable marketing opportunity. This study uses conjoint analysis to evaluate consumers’ locally produced ingredient preferences relative to two other key restaurant attributes (the price of the dining experience and restaurant type). Results suggest that, for one fifth of surveyed restaurant consumers, a restaurant’s practice of “buying locally” is the primary restaurant attribute of importance. The implications of these results for supply chain providers (e.g., producers, manufacturers, and food service distributors) are discussed.     

An exploration of parental preferences for child care services in Canada

ABSTRACT

This article explores parental preferences for child care service providers according to parents' high/low-income status. While government child care assistance programs are intended to support low-income parents, parents are challenged to find desirable service options. Multisource pilot research suggested distinct attributes and levels of parents' preferences: staff, facilities, fees, programs, and convenience. Data were collected from 152 parents using 13 child care facilities in Canada, and were analyzed using conjoint analysis. Results suggest that consumer preferences can be explained by these attributes, and that the preferences of low-income parents differed from those of high-income parents, particularly regarding price and convenience.     

Promoting green buildings: Do Chinese consumers care about green building enhancements?

This paper explores sustainability‐related choices about buildings by analysing how consumers rated the relative importance of various attributes of conventional and green buildings. It also analyses how consumers judge environmental and health‐oriented improvements in green buildings. Unlike previous studies, this research applied conjoint analysis to explore the green building market at the consumer's level by regarding green buildings as nondurable green products and services. We used a survey to gather consumer preferences about several green building hotel models which partly applied green energy, modern wood structures and improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ). In total, 341 consumers participated the survey in two of China's largest cities: Beijing and Shanghai. The results revealed that green energy was the most preferred attribute of green buildings, exerting an even stronger overall effect on consumer choice than price. Afterwards, we identified distinct consumer segments and determined the background characteristics of each segment based on the similarities in the preferences for each attribute. The largest consumer segment, consisting of younger consumers, ranked green energy as the most important criterion. However, an improved indoor environmental quality was generally not highly ranked, and individuals in the consumer segment, which included more older and female consumers, were more likely to reject modern wood structures. The results also revealed that higher‐income individuals were most concerned with price, and consumers with higher levels of education were willing to pay more to support green buildings.     

Market Segmentation by Exploring Buyer Lifestyle Dimensions and Ethnocentrism Among Vietnamese Consumers: An Empirical Study

ABSTRACT

Studying consumer lifestyles and ethnocentrism is a unique way of finding out buyer behavior and market segmentation. This paper identifies consumer market segments existing among Vietnamese consumers by using lifestyle patterns and ethnocentrism. Data for the study was collected through personal interviews in two main cities in Vietnam, Ho-Chi Min City and Hanoi, which attract growing urban industrialization and population migration rapidly degrading places. Survey findings indicated that ten lifestyle dimensions among the Vietnamese consumers had an influence on their ethnocentric tendencies and buying behavior. The findings provide some implications to marketers who currently operate in or are planning to enter into the Vietnamese market in the near future.