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Purpose: Global wine consumption has increased over the years. In 2021, Portugal reached an annual per capita consumption of almost 52 liters, followed by France, with an average consumption of around 47 liters of wine. However, Italy, in addition to having the third highest per capita consumption of wine, produces more wine than any other country in the world. In 2022, the volume of Italian wine production amounted to more than 49 million hectoliters (Statista, 2023). Currently, more than a third of all wine consumed globally is produced in another country, signifying a significant change in wine consumption patterns (Ohana-Levi & Netzer, 2023). The main wine exporters in 2019 were Italy, Spain and France, collectively representing 54% of the global market, while the largest importers were Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States (Carrasco et al., 2023). Therefore, to respond to this clear growth trend in the sector, it is considered important to deepen research into consumer involvement and perceived risks. Therefore, this study aims to verify the purchasing decision process of habitual wine consumers. Specifically: 1) explores the perceived risks that most affect habitual wine consumers; and 2) studies consumer involvement with wine. It is worth mentioning that the wine sector is competitive and demanding, and the search for new business opportunities involves renewal and adaptation to the current market. Furthermore, the literature identifies wine as a product whose acquisition involves a series of factors that imply the perception of risk in the appropriate choice of the product, compromising consumer decisions and determining behavior. Perceived risk significantly influences consumer behavior in relation to wine consumption (Nieto Villegas et al., 2023); Staub & Siegrist, 2022; Gupta & Duggal, 2020). Furthermore, factors such as perceived benefits, value for money and convenience play a crucial role in shaping consumers' attitudes towards wine, affecting their purchasing decisions (Le Fur et al., 2016). However, regardless of the product, the consumer's decision-making process encompasses all activities that precede the moment of purchase, in which the individual intervenes, rationally or emotionally, with the aim of choosing based on their needs. This process has three stages: pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase (Quintanilla et al., 2014). As it is a product that cannot be evaluated by its internal characteristics until the moment of consumption, there is a perception of greater risk when the consumer makes his choice (Barber & Almanza, 2006), with a psychological risk that refers to the impact of being judged by the chosen wine (Bauman et al., 2019). Consumers' relationship with wine is multifaceted and influenced by several factors. Studies show that consumers associate their wine tourism experiences with subsequent wine preferences, emphasizing the importance of creating memorable wine tourism experiences to increase consumer engagement and loyalty (Connolly, 2019). Emotions play a significant role in consumers' wine choices, with positive experiences influencing preferences, especially for organic and vintage organic wines, preferred by women and environmentally conscious individuals (Picard et al., 2018). Wine consumption is deeply emotional and often occurs in social settings, with intrinsic and extrinsic factors impacting consumer emotions during consumption, highlighting the importance of understanding these emotional connections for consumer science and industry (Rahmani et al., 2019). Furthermore, consumers' purchasing choices are influenced by attributes such as gender, educational status, brand, price, place of production, harvest, and certification, emphasizing the need to focus on quality and brand when marketing wine products (Niimi et al., 2019). Methodology: A quantitative research approach was adopted, involving a nonprobabilistic convenience sample, with 237 regular wine consumers from Portugal and Spain. To measure “consumer involvement” the WIP scale developed by Bruwer et al. was used. (2014), which classifies consumers between “high involvement” and “low involvement”. The variable “perceived risk” was measured by a scale with 5 items: “The wine does not taste good”; “The (economic) value does not correspond to the wine”; “The people I share it with don’t like wine”; “This wine causes a headache” and “Let others judge the wine I chose”. Results: Regarding involvement with wine, the study reveals that around 80% of respondents have extensive involvement, which means that this product satisfies basic needs and is valued by consumers. Wine is interesting and important, it gives pleasure when buying and consuming it, they consider it a gift for themselves, or it allows them to leave a good impression among friends and acquaintances. Perceived risk is a factor that affects the consumer's purchasing decision process. In this study two conclusions are clear: first, in general terms, the perceived risk of habitual wine consumers is high and, second, two items, “The wine does not taste good” and “The economic value does not correspond to the wine” were those with the highest average. These two items measure functional risk and economic risk, respectively. When consumers know the brand, the perceived risk is better and decision-making is simplified, but when faced with the unknown, regular consumers of wine that are highly involved suffer a higher perceived risk. Originality: This study focuses on the importance of understanding the most relevant risks for wine consumers, considering that it is a product that cannot be evaluated by its internal characteristics until the moment of consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
