Work in Progress Session

Citation:

David Corkindale (1996) ,"Work in Progress Session", in AP - Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 2, eds. Russel Belk and Ronald Groves, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 40.

Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 2, 1996      Page 40

WORK IN PROGRESS SESSION

David Corkindale, University of South Australia

 

UNDERSTANDING WINE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: A DUAL METHOD STUDY

Tony Spawton, University of South Australia

Larry Lockshine, University of South Australia

Wine Industries internationally pay scant regard to future development by gaining an intimate knowledge of the win consumer: their motivations and behaviour. In recent times researchers have endeavoured to redress this oversight via Spawton (1990) Gillespie (1994), Mitchel, V, Greatorex, M (1989), Kennedy and Sharp (1994), Lockshin and Spawton (1995), Macintosh, Lockshin and Spawton (1996) and tried to explain the various stimuli that are associated with win purchase and consumption. In addition the research findings have been used as a basis for market segmentation in order that the elements of the marketing mix can be utilised in order to reinforce current behaviour or to stimulate future behaviour. An underlying theme of the work focuses on the fact that there is an element of risk involved in wine purchase behaviour and that consumers endeavour to reduce this risk.

The main factors risk identified are:

*  psychological: being potentially damaging to the buyers own self esteem by making the wrong wine choice versus the expectation of being "good host or hostess" and thus create an favourable impression

*  functional: the inability to determine that the wine is faulty, or is the wrong choice of wine for that occasion as an accompaniment to a dish or meal.

*  economic: ie is the perceived value of the product relative to the price paid

In addition, there are three additional issues that need evaluation as to their role:

*  the level of consumer and purchaser involvement with the wine product and how this affects wine purchase and consumption behaviour.

*  occasion enhancement - celebration and the role of wines especially sparkling wines

*  the role of gender: in the developing wine markets, such as Australia and perhaps also in UK, North America, where consumer research is beginning to show that women are predominantly the consumers but not necessarily the purchasers of win.

This paper is in two parts. The first part examines the role of risk reduction as means of understanding purchase behaviour. This approach is sued to suggest a means of market segmentation. The second part takes the approach that the purchaser’s involvement with the wine product offers marketers, in particular retailers, an opportunity to market the merchandise wine product to attract particular types of buyers. This cluster method of market segmentation is deployed to our knowledge by Tesco the UK supermarket chain and Liquourland in Australia.

 

MEAT CONSUMPTION PATTERNS: SOME AUSTRALIAN EVIDENCE

Christine Storer, Curtin University

Geoffrey Soutar, Edith Cowan University

Murray Hawkins, Curtin University

This paper explores the way in which Australians’ eat meat and how it has changed significantly in recent years. Per capita consumption of red meats has fallen steadily, while white meat consumption has, until recently, recent (Western Australian Meat Marketing Corporation 1991). During 1994-95 meat consumption fell over nine percent, with the largest falls in mutton and beef consumption, while poultry consumption fess three percent. Similar patterns are evident in Europe and in North America.

 

IMAGES OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: A WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CASE STUDY

Hume Winzar, Murdoch University, Western Australia

Results of a proprietary study illustrate the value of measuring perceptions of product attributes. Conjoint analysis was used to measure the relative value of different aspects of retirement investment packages that could be defined in terms of business type (bank, building society or credit union), ownership (state based or national) and services provided (for example: interest rate, absorption of government charges, credit card, insurance package, bill-paying services). Four market segments were identified, each with different utility functions for retirement financial services. The could be recognised by their concern for security, price consciousness and additional services. The measures provide guidelines for developing new product offerings in the market place, and indications of potential market share.

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