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Colour more important than price when choosing wine, says new Wilson report

Published:  11 February, 2011


Colour is the most important factor for up to nearly half (47%) of all British wine drinkers when deciding what type of wine to buy.

Colour is the most important factor for up to nearly half (47%) of all British wine drinkers when deciding what type of wine to buy.

Only 18% will decide based on a special offer, 13% choose the retail selling price, 9% decide by grape variety, 6% choose the country of origin and only 3% go by brand. The findings are the latest to be released by the Wilson Drinks Report and is based on research carried out by YouGov for the Wilson Drinks Report.

Tim Wilson, managing director of the Wilson Drinks Report said: "Supermarkets and off-licences that mainly display their wines by colour are doing the right thing, according to our analysis. However, what is also very interesting is that grape variety is more important in shoppers' decision making than either country of origin or brand.

"Few retailers display their wines specifically by colour and then grape variety, although some are now trialling wine style and food matching to encourage shoppers to buy better wines."

Of the 47% of shoppers that choose colour first, 27% saidthey then choose grape variety and the same proportion (27%) saidthat offers, including discounts, is their second decision after colour.

Wilson added: "Many shoppers are simply scared when they stand in front of big wine displays and lack the confidence to make informed choices. Their decision making can be very basic and retailers risk losing out on higher value sales when shoppers simply choose wine by colour and then see what is on special offer or at a certain price point.

"Some shoppers, however, rely on a little knowledge to start their decision making and often use pairings of grape and country of origin to shape their choice; for example red ? merlot ? Chile or white ? sauvignon blanc ? New Zealand."

The research does not provide good news for wine brand managers. Only 2% of supermarket or off-licence wine shoppers who mostly drink red wine choose brand first when deciding which wine to buy. It is a similar story for those shoppers who mostly drink white wine. Only 3% choose brand first when buying wine.

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