What wine women want?
New York, NY, January 3, 2000--- Almost everything you think
you know about Women's wine buying and consuming patterns is
wrong, according to a new study conducted by Rossman, Graham
Associates, New York, the latest part of a major, multi-level
study on women's wine consumption. Contrary to the stereotype,
affluent women far prefer red wine to white or blush wines,
and are rarely influenced in their wine choices by advertising
and ratings, said Marlene Rossman, president of Rossman, Graham
Associates.
Surprising Survey Highlights
Some surprising highlights from the survey include:
- Nearly 57% of the women surveyed preferred red wine
- Only 30% preferred white wine, 9% selected blush wine
and 6% preferred sparkling wine
- Only 5% say their choice of wine is influenced by advertising
or by wine ratings
40% wanted to learn more about wine
- The majority get their recommendations from friends and
associates
- The women polled ranged in age from 21 to 60. The majority
of the survey group was fairly affluent--the ideal consumers
for mid-priced and premium wines. In an another surprising
finding, most of the single and many married women surveyed
buy their own wine. (This is significant in view of a pilot
study by Rossman which showed that men received far better
service than women in New York wine shops and that women
of color were often ignored or treated with hostility.)
- "The implications for the industry from our data
are clear", says Rossman. "Winemakers and sellers
must pay more attention to the women's market. Women buy
wine for themselves and their husbands, and they would buy
far more with the proper marketing and sales outreach."
What everybody knows is wrong?
The wine industry should stop relying on what "everybody
knows" and conduct new market research. Everybody knows
that women drink Chardonnay and white Zinfandel. "But,"
says Rossman, "our study shows that women are drinking
Cabernet and Pinot Noir - and why. The industry cannot
continue to ignore half of the wine drinking population.
They need to do better marketing to women, and this requires
new and better data."
Rossman, Graham Associates is a marketing research and consumer
products marketing firm which, for over 15 years, has consulted
for the Fortune 500 in marketing and selling to women and
diverse consumers. Marlene Rossman is the author of Multicultural
Marketing: Selling to a Diverse America (AMA COM Publishers).
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