By now you’ve probably already read how much the "reason of quality" affects your decision of how to buy wine regardless if you’re at the supermarket or in a wine store.
Today, based on those two studies carried out in 2020, I’ll address the other two “reasons” that we give ourselves in the act of buying - trust and price.
The price is the only reason that is measurable and perhaps the deciding factor, however we’ll get to that. Remember again that we buy by emotion and justify by reason.
Excluding the employee of the establishment that could create confidence in buying a wine, that based on past suggestions is against your palate, I want to talk about the confidence that you feel in relation to a brand of wine, or even the producer no matter what wine he produces.
Due to the pandemic, you’re probably not taking long to shop and you’ll have the tendency to buy what you already know and trust without having to read labels, ingredients, nutritional tables, etc. In addition, with less trips to the grocery store you have the need to buy larger quantities.
Playing it safe, the wine consumer, according to studies carried out in the USA and in the United Kingdom, is buying more wine from producers that they consider to be reliable and safe rather than experimenting on new wine adventures. If foreign wines were part of the range of options beforehand, today not so much. Today the consumer certainly prefers to buy more locally or nationwide.
On the other hand, with the creation of online stores for the direct sale of wines, Portuguese wine producers are today, more than ever, closer to the end customer. And If everything goes well with payments, shipping and deliveries and with no broken bottles, they create even stronger ties to their wine lovers. Something that an advertising or brand awareness campaign would not do with such lasting results in the subconscious.
This is a fertile field for small wine producers, in addition to positioning, to gain confidence if they manage to create emotional connections with customers.
A satisfied customer will be three times more likely to speak well about a wine. And you’re probably a part of the 92% of people who trust the recommendation of a friend.
As for the price? Yes, Portuguese wine is cheap! Too cheap.
The quantity of wines that are available at low prices in supermarkets in Portugal, I would say less than
€6 ... most have been recognized for quality and are often awarded harvest after harvest.
You don't have to buy an expensive bottle of wine to have good quality wine in Portugal. Unfortunately this also has its adverse effect as many wines see their quality questioned by consumers because of its price point, until they drink it of course.
According to both studies, in the end it is not the bottle of wine with the most beautiful label that will influence the consumer's decision, it’s how much money they have in their pocket.
And in the supermarkets, it’s the big producers that offer the best wines at prices that don't make you think too much.
According to data from the Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho (Portugueses vine and wine institute), between January and September 2020 the average cost of a bottle of still wine (white / rosé / red) purchased in supermarkets across Portugal was 3.45€.
In conclusion, without detracting from the value and prestige of a wine bottle label (a theme for another article in the near future), there are other reasons that lead us to buy that wine. More consciously, price, and not so much, quality and trust, whether or not you know the producer or the wine itself.
Now depending on your sex, other variants enter this equation, but for today we will leave it here.
My recommendation is whenever possible, get out of your comfort zone, be it a region, variety or favorite producer and venture out because there’s a whole world or wine to get to know and to drink.
Happy shopping and cheers!
So what are some of the reasons you choose to buy one wine bottle over the other? Let me know in the comments below.
