Who Is Buying Wine Produced in the Mid-Atlantic Region?

In this installment of our survey analysis, we take a closer look at how many of our survey participants purchased wine made by a winery located in the mid-Atlantic region (identified as 'regional' wine drinkers) and what differentiated them from those who had not (identified as 'general' wine drinkers). Previous articles in this series focused on overall research objectives, consumer perceptions of COVID-19 precautions in winery tasting rooms, changes in wine consumption and purchasing, and winery tasting room visitor profiles. Of our participants, 64% (n=536) bought mid-Atlantic wine between mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021, while 36% (n=310) indicated that they had not. 

"Who" purchased mid-Atlantic wine?

Generation. The differences in the percentage of each generation that indicated they purchased mid-Atlantic wine were minimal among the four groups. Sixty-five percent of Gen X participants responded that they had purchased the wine between mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021, which was not statistically significantly different from the other three generations, ranging from 61 to 64%. 

Consumption frequency. Based on segmenting data by the frequency with which our participants consumed wine, the percentage of our participants who purchased mid-Atlantic wine between mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021 and those who responded that they had not was similar (55 and 51%, respectively). However, these percentages were higher than those who were unsure/don't know (39%). 

With the number of industry and national reports indicating that consumers were increasing their consumption of alcohol due to the pandemic, we asked our 2021 survey participants to indicate if they had changed their wine consumption frequency. Compared to the period before the COVID-19 shelter-in-place, instituted in mid-March 2020, we asked our respondents to indicate if their wine consumption behaviors had changed during the pandemic. Half of our participants responded that their wine consumption had increased, 12% responded that their consumption had decreased, and 38% replied that their consumption stayed the same.  

Data that describes changes in frequency segmented by mid-Atlantic wine purchasing behavior shows that while the responses for consumption staying the same were similar, more of those who did not purchase mid-Atlantic wine between mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021 indicated that their consumption had decreased (21%) compared to their counterparts.

Purchasing behavior. The majority of survey participants (58%) indicated that they visited a winery tasting room in the mid-Atlantic at some point between 2018 to mid-March 2021. Of these participants, 51% (n=253) responded that they last visited a winery in the region between mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021. The remaining 49% visited before mid-March 2020. As shown below, the percentage of those who purchased mid-Atlantic wine between mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021 was the highest for those who visited a mid-Atlantic winery.   This would be expected as it is highly likely that someone visiting a winery tasting room would purchase wine during the visit.

Though fewer of those who last visited a mid-Atlantic winery tasting room before mid-March 2020 (62%) or before 2018 (45%) purchased mid-Atlantic wine between mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021, these data show that our participants are acquiring these beverages through other sources. While we did not ask our 2021 survey participants if they purchased mid-Atlantic wine at locations other than at the tasting room where it was produced, we did ask the question in our 2022 survey, and we will share the results in future releases.   With wine being available for purchase through various outlets, it is essential to learn about purchasing behaviors and what factors drive consumers to tasting rooms where they spend money on activities, events, wine, and other products that increase the winery's revenue. 

We did, however, ask our participants to indicate if they purchased wine from one or more of the following outlets: a restaurant or bar (either by the glass or bottle), a physical store, or an online retailer during the period of mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021. As shown below, most participants indicated they purchased wine from a physical store (90 to 94%). Pertaining to online purchasing, 31% of the regional wine drinkers indicated that they purchased wine from online sources, and 44% responded that they purchased wine from restaurants or bars.

*Participants were asked to select all locations that applied.

We also asked respondents if the average price they paid per 750 ml bottle had increased, stayed the same, or decreased. For respondents that purchased mid-Atlantic wines, 40% spent on average more per bottle, for 55%, it stayed the same, and only 4% paid less per bottle. In contrast, for respondents who did not purchase mid-Atlantic wines, 27%  indicated to have paid more per bottle, for 64% it stayed the same, and  10% spent less. Interestingly, in a US-wide survey of over 1,700 wine consumers survey by Velikova et al. (2021), about 79 percent of respondents indicated that they paid "about the same price" as before, and only 15% paid more per bottle during the lockdown.

Here are the takeaways on the differences between self-identified 'regional' (mid-Atlantic) and general wine drinkers:

• Our survey did not find a generational difference in regional (mid-Atlantic) wine purchasing behavior.
• General wine drinkers reported a higher decrease in consumption than their regional wine-drinking counterparts.
• The percentage of regional wine drinkers between mid-March 2020 and mid-March 2021 was the highest for those who visited a mid-Atlantic winery.
• 31% of regional wine drinkers indicated that they purchased wine from online sources, and 44% responded that they bought wine from restaurants or bars.
• More regional than general wine drinkers stated that they paid more for a bottle of wine.

References:

Velikova, N., Hanchukova, O., Olevskyi, B., & D'Camp, H. (2021). The effect of COVID-19 on US wine consumption: Six months after the original lockdown. Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute.