FDBusiness.com

47% of British adults who buy wine for themselves or others in supermarkets or off licences say that the first thing they decide upon is colour, according to new research published by the Wilson Drinks Report. 18% choose special offers on wine first, 13% choose the retail selling price, 9% decide on grape variety, 6% choose country of origin whilst only 3% choose the brand of the wine.

New consumer research carried out by YouGov for the Wilson Drinks Report also shows that 71% of British adults buy wine for themselves or others in a supermarket or off licence, a significant majority of the population.

Tim Wilson, managing director of the Wilson Drinks Report, comments : “This research is very interesting as it clearly shows that the very first thing that the average British wine shopper decides upon when choosing wine is colour. 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.”

The analysis by WDR shows 3 levels of decision making. Of the 47% of shoppers that choose colour first, 27% say that they then choose grape variety and the same proportion (27%) say that offers, including discounts, is their second decision after colour.

The research does not provide good news for wine brand managers. Only 2% of supermarket or off license 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.