Sensory-Based Positioning Approach to Analyze Consumers' Wine Preferences
Abstract:
Consumer expectations and efforts to reduce perceived risk play a central role in wine purchasing behavior. Brand ing and product positioning are widely applied strategies to cultivate positive perceptions of wine quality and ori gin. Nevertheless, perceived risk remains a critical determinant of consumer choice. As wine represents a credence good, tasting serves as one of the most effective means of reducing uncertainty regarding product quality. Although consumers cannot feasibly taste all wines prior to purchase, integrating tasting opportunities with branding strate gies may offer a more comprehensive approach to stimulating demand. This study focuses on the tasting component of this approach to identify preferred combinations of wine characteristics based exclusively on sensory evaluation. The application of positioning maps, together with the identification of ideal combinations of wine attributes, en ables the detection of potential modifications in wine characteristics that could better align products with consum er preferences. A series of experiments was conducted in which participants tasted and rated the sensory attributes of generic red wines. The results indicate considerable heterogeneity in consumers’ perceptions across five different wines. However, there is a marked degree of homogeneity in their ideal combinations of wine characteristics, as re f lected in the consistent orientation of the ideal vector within the positioning maps. These findings provide valuable managerial insights for identifying unoccupied or “open” spaces in competitive markets, thereby supporting strat egies for product differentiation, improved market positioning, and enhanced customer attraction and retention. Beyond managerial implications, the study contributes to a broader understanding of consumer-driven product development in the agri-food sector, emphasizing the role of sensory evaluation and market alignment in fostering sustainable competitiveness and rural economic resilience.
