A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Wine Consumption and Purchasing Behaviour in Germany and Hungary

From Firenze University Press Journal: Wine Economics and Policy

Gergely Szolnoki, Geisenheim University, Von-Lade-Str. 1, 65366 Geisenheim, Germany

Gedeon Totth, Budapesti Gazdasagi Egyetem, Buzogány u. 10–12, 1149, Budapest, Hungary

While most wine growing countries in Europe are considered part of the “old world” winemaking heritage, the differences between those countries can be substantial. With singular political and economic circumstances as well as unique cultural backgrounds that influenced the development of their wine markets, Germany and Hungary are excellent examples of how the wine markets in two “old world” heritage countries differ significantly. These two countries, both with a long wine tradition and similar per capita consumption, will be compared within the framework of this study in terms of consumers’ preferences and sales channel usage.Germany’s winemaking tradition has a 1,000-year history.

More recently, Germany has become one of the most important marketplaces of the European wine business; it is the world ́s largest wine import market by volume, with annual per capita consumption of 24.2 litres of still and sparkling wines. Trade structures that include very effective discount stores have encouraged this volume growth as they promote additional sales and thus contribute to what has been a rapid change in demand volume.

Hungary also has a more than 1,000-year wine tradition. Unlike Germany, however, wines by domestic Hungarian producers dominate the market and this pattern is expected to continue. The average annual wine consumption has been decreasing since 2010 and is currently around 24.0 litres per capita. The sales channel structure also differs from the German model; in Hungary, super- and hypermarkets are the leaders in selling wine.

Two representative surveys have been conducted in order to describe the current situation of consumer preferences, to analyse the differences between these two markets, and to model the total wine market in Germany and Hungary.The paper begins with a general description of the German and Hungarian wine markets, followed by the materials and methods of the representative survey. Then, in the “Results” chapter, data analyses using various statistical methods show the differences between German and Hungarian wine consumers. At the end of the paper, the “Discussion” chapter summarises the results, gives some managerial implications, and provides some information on the limitations of the research.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14601/web-8053

Read Full Text: https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/wep/article/view/8053