Consumer Risk Perception in the UK Wine Market

With the growing urgency to reduce Europe's swelling “wine lake”, further growth in underdeveloped markets is being hampered, in part, by the risks involved in purchasing wine. Perceived risk is a factor which affects consumers' decision making when they are considering a new product choice or a choice in which the “stake” is high. The article considers the importance of various risks, for example, social, financial, functional and physical, to consumers in the UK wine market. The most important perceived risk was the taste of the wine, the least important being the risk of hangover. The group discussions elaborated several other points. Knowing the exact risks people perceive about a product, marketers can set about altering the product in an attempt to reduce those risks thus increasing the competitive differential of the product.