Towards quality consumption: Segmentation of the Hungarian wine market based on wine consumption and purchasing habits
International Journal of Wine Business Research
ISSN: 1751-1062
Article publication date: 2 September 2019
Issue publication date: 31 October 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Hungarian wine culture has been developing steadily over the past decades. The number of wineries offering quality wine is growing as consumer interest in quality consumption increases. The purpose of this paper is to study the segmentation of the Hungarian wine consumers based on their purchase habits and preferences to identify how this shift towards quality consumption is represented in these segments.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was conducted in Hungary. Nearly 28,000 consumers filled in the questionnaire. The TwoStep Cluster analysis could handle the large database and variables measured on different measurement scales.
Findings
The growing interest towards quality wine in the market is reflected in the study’s segmentation results. The large sample size made it possible to identify a special Hungarian wine consumer group, which has different buying habits than traditional wine consumer segments. Four segments were evolved: ordinary wine consumers, unsophisticated wine consumers, wealthy wine-experts and open-minded consumers. The last two segments seem to be the most valuable groups for high-quality wine producers.
Originality/value
The sample size allowed a relatively novel segmentation, whereby the preferences and purchasing habits of smaller, high-quality wine consumer groups became measurable.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank to the sponsors of the Great Wine Test, Winelovers, Borháló, Borászportál, Vinoport and Borkollégium. The authors would also like to express their gratitude to George, Vera and Julia Deák, Tibor Hlédik, Gábor Zemplén, the editor and reviewers for helpful comments that greatly strengthened the manuscript.
Citation
Hlédik, E. and Harsányi, D. (2019), "Towards quality consumption: Segmentation of the Hungarian wine market based on wine consumption and purchasing habits", International Journal of Wine Business Research, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 602-617. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWBR-10-2018-0063
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited