Kelly Page‐Thomas, Gloria Moss, David Chelly and Song Yabin
The purpose of this study is to investigate Western and Central European consumers and web retailers with respect to the importance and accessibility of delivery information…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate Western and Central European consumers and web retailers with respect to the importance and accessibility of delivery information online prior to purchase.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate the importance and accessibility of delivery information online, a survey was conducted of 715 internet consumers from the UK, Hungary and the Czech Republic to explore how important they rate online delivery information. In addition to this, retailing web sites from leading retailers in the UK, Hungary and the Czech Republic were content analysed in order to establish the extent to which they provided online delivery information.
Findings
The research identifies that consumers rate delivery pricing guides, delivery guarantees and delivery schedules as the most important delivery information they expect online prior to purchase. However, content analysis of retailer web sites reveals that many retailers do not adequately provide information about how they “guarantee product delivery”.
Practical implications
It is recommended here that prior to purchase online retailers should make detailed delivery information more accessible to consumers (e.g. pricing guides, timing schedules, etc.) and should consider using delivery service guarantees to assure consumers of delivery service standards and retailer responsibilities.
Originality/value
This paper makes a decisive contribution to e‐shopping behaviour and online retailing by providing insight into why visits to retailing web sites may not be followed up by purchase. This insight results from an examination of an often neglected area of the online buying process, namely “order delivery and fulfilment”. By examining the expectations of e‐consumers across Europe it investigates the role access to delivery information can have in managing customer delivery service expectations and in building trust in online retailers.
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Murray Mackenzie, Karin Weber, Joanna Fountain and Reza Abbasi
This study aims to provide insights into wine consumers in Hong Kong and Mainland China, and the diversity of their behavior, by investigating their motivations, consumption and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide insights into wine consumers in Hong Kong and Mainland China, and the diversity of their behavior, by investigating their motivations, consumption and purchasing behavior and segmenting the sample based on wine knowledge and frequency of consumption to identify three distinct clusters that are then profiled.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected through an online survey of wine consumers of ethnic Chinese origin residing in Mainland China and Hong Kong, using two methods of recruitment (a convenience sample from wine-related databases, a panel survey undertaken by an international market research firm). The final sample comprised 477 respondents, about equally divided among Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong wine consumers. Analysis of the data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows (SPSS) 29 included a series of descriptive analyses, followed by a two-step cluster analysis using an Euclidean distance method.
Findings
Wine knowledge and frequency of wine consumption were relatively higher within the sample as a whole than previous studies, but three distinct consumer segments are evident. There is evidence of a democratization of wine consumption, and a greater focus on wine consumption for enjoyment in relaxed and informal settings. rather than consumption driven by health and status, occurring primarily in commercial or business settings. The dominance of red wine in this market is also declining, and intrinsic cues – specifically, prior experience of the wine – are becoming important in wine purchase decisions.
Originality/value
This study uses a broad sample of wine consumers to identify trends in wine consumption patterns and motivations, and purchase decision-making behavior, of Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong wine consumers. The identification of three clusters of wine consumers offers both points of comparison with previous segmentation research globally and within China, whilst also identifying scope for further research.
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Wang Yabin and Jiagui Li
The purpose of this paper is to explore China’s online wine market segmentation on the basis of the wine-related lifestyle (WRL). Moreover, this study can provide further…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore China’s online wine market segmentation on the basis of the wine-related lifestyle (WRL). Moreover, this study can provide further understanding and reference about China’s wine market segmentation research, which is limited at present. This work can be helpful for those who want to do further research in the Chinese wine market. It is good for wine importers wanting to import wine to China to understand the Chinese wine consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were obtained from a sample of 3,369 participants through cooperation between the College of Enology and the Yesmywine.com website. Questionnaire items included gender, age, area distribution, unit price, bottles consumed, drinking frequency, drinking time, wine-related knowledge, etc. Combined with the influence factors of the WRL, a structural equation model was developed. The data analysis, particularly employing principal component analysis, enabled the identification of five market segments.
Findings
Five distinct segments were identified within the wine market and designated as follows: wine official consumption type enthusiastic fancier; enjoyment consumption; fashionable consumption; and new, young wine drinkers.
Research limitations/implications
The research data were derived from Yesmywine, one of the largest online wine sale platforms. However, the impact of yesmywine is much smaller compared with Tmall and Taobao and Jingdong. In this paper, we can see that WRL is increasingly becoming a part of Chinese people’s daily lives, especially for the enthusiastic and fancier wine consumers, which is the official type of wine consumer. Next, an analysis of time series under the data of the near future years should be conducted to find the online wine segmentation market variation trend. Moreover, it is important to conduct cross-culture comparison between the Chinese and Australians. Brand positioning can be improved by better understanding China’s online wine market segmentation.
Practical implications
WRL segmentation is valuable for the wine importers and producers in west France, Italian, Germany and so on, as they want to develop China’s wine market and understand the mindset of Chinese wine consumers. The wine importers in China should focus more on consumers that enjoy wine along with newer and younger wine drinkers.
Originality/value
This paper analyzes a large sample (3,369) and therefore is useful for understanding online wine market segmentation and wine consumption behavior in China owing to China’s limited wine market segmentation literature. This paper is the first to use WRL tool to segment China’s online wine market. Moreover, the research data have reference value for those who want to learn more about China’s online wine market, as yesmywine is one of the largest online wine-sale platforms. It also gives some managerial implications for wineries and wine marketers that will be helpful to wine companies in understanding the emerging Chinese wine market and in enacting wine marketing strategies more effectively.
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Yabin Yang, Xitong Guo, Tianshi Wu and Doug Vogel
Social media facilitates the communication and the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients. However, limited research has examined the role of social media in a…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media facilitates the communication and the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients. However, limited research has examined the role of social media in a physicians' online return. This study, therefore, investigates physicians' online economic and social capital return in relation to physicians' use of social media and consumer engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with fixed effects (FE) and panel data collected from Sina Weibo and Sina Health, this study analyzes the impact of physicians' social media use and consumer engagement on physicians' online return and the moderation effect of professional seniority.
Findings
The results reveal that physicians' use of social media and consumer sharing behavior positively affect physicians' online economic return. In contrast, consumer engagement positively impacts physicians' online social capital return. While professional seniority enhances the effect of physicians' social media use on online economic return, professional seniority only enhances the relationship between consumers' sharing behavior to the posts and physicians' online social capital return when professional seniority comes to consumer engagement.
Originality/value
This study reveals the different roles of social media use and consumer engagement in physicians' online return. The results also extend and examine the social media affordances theory in online healthcare communities and social media platforms.
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Dong Tian, Shuo Hao, Weisong Mu, Jia Shi and Jianying Feng
The selection of purchasing channels by wine consumers indirectly affects buying experience and satisfaction, therefore, it is of great practical significance to study consumers'…
Abstract
Purpose
The selection of purchasing channels by wine consumers indirectly affects buying experience and satisfaction, therefore, it is of great practical significance to study consumers' preference on channel selection. The purpose of this study is to investigate the current state of consumer selection for purchasing channel and the corresponding influencing factors.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 2,976 valid questionnaires were collected by convenience sampling from 34 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China in 2020 via the Internet, yielding a response rate of 82.2%. A categorical statistical approach was used to understand consumer's selection for each channel. Besides, binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting consumers' channel selection.
Findings
The results show that Chinese wine consumers' main purchasing channels are as follows: supermarket/mall, wine specialty stores, comprehensive e-business flagship stores, comprehensive e-business individual stores, restaurants and short video and live streaming platforms. Estimation results showed that among the 12 influencing factors in 4 categories, consumers' education and some other factors significantly influenced consumers' decision on wine purchasing channels.
Research limitations/implications
Limited by time and experimental conditions, this study did not analyze the trend of wine consumers' purchasing channel selection. Future work would concentrate on multi-year data and conduct longitudinal comparative analysis.
Originality/value
This study innovatively subdivides the currently popular wine sales channels in Chinese market and conducts research related to consumer channel selection. The results of the study can provide reference for wine producers and distributors to update their strategic layout and also help various channels to understand the characteristics of their customer groups for targeted marketing.
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Vageesh Neelavar Kelkar, Kartikeya Bolar, Valsaraj Payini and Jyothi Mallya
This study aims to identify and validate the different clusters of wine consumers in India based on the wine-related lifestyle (WRL) instrument. It also investigates how the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify and validate the different clusters of wine consumers in India based on the wine-related lifestyle (WRL) instrument. It also investigates how the identified clusters differ in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, income, education, employment and marital status.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a survey using a structured questionnaire to collect data from wine consumers in India. The number of participants totalled to 432. The authors first identified the clusters using latent profile analysis. The authors then used the decision tree analysis based on a recursive partitioning algorithm to validate the clusters. Finally, the authors analysed the relationship between the identified clusters and socio-demographic characteristics using correspondence analysis.
Findings
Three distinct segments emerged after data were subjected to latent profile analysis, namely, curious, ritualistic and casual. The authors found that the curious cluster had a high mean score for situational and social consumption while the ritualistic cluster had a high mean for ritualistic consumption. The findings also suggest that the casual cluster had more female wine consumers.
Originality/value
This study makes methodological contributions to the wine consumer segmentation approach. First, it adopts a latent profile analysis to profile Indian wine consumers. Second, it validates the obtained clusters using the decision tree analysis method. Third, it analyses the relationship between the identified clusters and socio-demographic variables using correspondence analysis, a technique far superior to the Chi-square methods.
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Lala Hu, Marta Galli and Roberta Sebastiani
The Chinese market represents an increasingly popular destination for wine firms and recent opportunities derive from the growth of e-commerce. The aim of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The Chinese market represents an increasingly popular destination for wine firms and recent opportunities derive from the growth of e-commerce. The aim of this paper is to understand the impact of digital platforms on wine firms' internationalisation in China by adopting the service ecosystems approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors carried out a case study of Italian premium wine firms from the Valpolicella area by collecting 27 semi-structured interviews with key informants that operate at the micro-, meso- and macro-levels of the internationalisation ecosystem. Italian wine firms were selected as the focus of the analysis, given the recent sales growth of their products in the Chinese market.
Findings
Results show that digital platforms hold a key role in the wine firms' internationalisation in China, intervening with resource integration mechanisms, alignment to the cultural context and mediating firms' digital presence in the market. The platformisation dynamics also reveal the existence of enablers and constraints in the firm internationalisation through digital platforms.
Research limitations/implications
The authors aim to contribute to the marketing literature by analysing how digital platforms influence the wine firms' internationalisation in China through an original perspective, i.e. the service ecosystems lens.
Originality/value
The study adopts the service ecosystems approach to understand the internationalisation of wine firms in the Chinese market through digital platforms.
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Raúl Compés, Samuel Faria, Tânia Gonçalves, João Rebelo, Vicente Pinilla and Katrin Simon Elorz
This study aims to provide a better understanding of the behaviour of wine consumers in a completely new and unexpected setting, that is, a forced lockdown due to the COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a better understanding of the behaviour of wine consumers in a completely new and unexpected setting, that is, a forced lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It seeks to explain consumer decisions and the probability of changes occurring in wine expenditure compared to a normal situation.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis, conducted on a representative sample of Iberian consumers and based on the random utility theory, consists in the application of a multinomial logit model, setting the “usual” pattern of expenditure as a baseline category.
Findings
The results show that the coronavirus pandemic could have changed alcohol drinking habits. Consumers generally spent less on wine during the lockdown, maybe due to the uncertainty regarding their future income and professional situation. Those people more likely to spend more on wine were those who increased their wine consumption during the lockdown, those who drank for romantic purposes, those who purchased less wine in supermarkets but more online, those who used a wine app and those living in urban areas. The increased consumption of other alcoholic beverages also increases the probability of spending less than usual on wine. Additionally, the absence of certain reasons for drinking wine other than social purposes, such as wine and food pairing, its taste and relaxing effects, together with the previous consumption pattern leads to a decrease in the probability of spending less per bottle.
Originality/value
This paper makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the determinants of wine consumption in a very abnormal setting, an imposed lockdown and provides important policy implications. The findings show that managers and policymakers should pay attention to the different influence of variables related to behaviour and consumption patterns that may contribute to an increase in the demand for less expensive wines. Specifically, they should focus on new consumption patterns that may arise, adapting the supply chain and defining appropriate marketing strategies to fill new market segments.
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Lucía Melián Alzola and Víctor Padrón Robaina
This work seeks to contribute a series of reflections and conclusions in response to the following questions: what variables determine satisfaction in the pre‐sale phase and…
Abstract
Purpose
This work seeks to contribute a series of reflections and conclusions in response to the following questions: what variables determine satisfaction in the pre‐sale phase and post‐sale phase of B2C electronic commerce? How are the variables of the pre‐sale phase related to those of the post‐sale phase of B2C electronic commerce?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop a theoretical scale that includes the important variables of quality in the pre‐sale and post‐sale phases of B2C electronic commerce. After the empirical validation of the theoretical scale, we measure the impact of the pre‐sale dimensions on the post‐sale dimensions.
Findings
The results confirm the principal hypotheses of the study, that is to say, the dimensions of the pre‐sale phase have a significant impact on the dimensions of the post‐sale phase of B2C electronic commerce.
Research limitations/implications
This research shows that, in B2C electronic commerce, the organisation's actions in the pre‐sale phase will, to a great extent, condition its actions in the post‐sale phase.
Practical implications
This paper highlights the importance of high‐performance in the pre‐sale phase in order to achieve success.
Originality/value
This paper bridges a gap in the empirical works in the field of quality in electronic commerce by studying the importance and implications of the different phases in the electronic purchase.