CC BY
38
https://doi.org/10.29013/EJEMS-20-3-18-23
Rusina Ekaterina,, PhD student Marketing and Trade Department Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic E-mail: ekaterinarusina74@gmail.com
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES MARKET OF RUSSIA
Abstract. This paper is devoted to the analysis of consumption behavior in the alcohol market. Alcohol misuse is considered an important problem for Russia and the world overall.
Knowing the factors affecting the alcoholic beverages consumption, the frequency and volume of alcohol consumption contributes to effective communication with consumers of alcoholic beverages, which should lead to a decrease in the level of consumption. It is necessary to identify which factors have the greatest impact on decision making when purchasing and consuming alcoholic beverages. In this regard, the analysis of consumer behavior in the alcohol market is necessary for the creation of marketing campaigns in the development of anti-alcohol policy.
Keywords: consumer behavior, market of alcoholic drinks, beer, wine, spirits, motives of consumption, alcohol consumption, drinking habits.
Introduction
Alcohol has accompanied humanity throughout its history, being an integral part of the way of life and culture of the population in many countries of the world. Today, alcohol is perceived as a socially acceptable phenomenon, accompanying cultural or family events, holidays and meetings in everyday life. Besides, alcohol consumption is a means of satisfying certain human needs. For instance, it performs certain psychological tasks, helping to increase positive feelings or reduce negative ones. Alcohol helps other people to remove barriers, such as, disquiet, conflict, future-phobia, frustration, escaping from reality, etc. Motivation plays an important role in the alcohol consumption, for example, following a role model (alcoholism is not a disease programmed by genetics), availability, and advertizing.Most ofpeople drink alcohol seldom, because they like the taste of alcoholic beverage, and drinking such beverage is related to the gastronomic impressions and facilitates the social communications and sociability, and also it is used for commemorating the important events and achievements.
However, excessive alcohol consumption is also one of the most serious problems around the world, causing addiction and being one of the greatest risks to the quality of life of the population. The severity of this issue is one of the main causes of poor health and premature death among people. Health is perceived by society as an integral part of the quality of life, plays an important role especially in the economic development of the state, ensuring the reproduction and quality of human resources, and creates the basis for socio-economic growth.
In recent years a positive trend of a gradual reduction in alcohol consumption has been observed in Russia, accompanied by changes in consumption patterns and the establishment of new relationships between market participants. This also means that simultaneously changing behavior and reducing the consumption of alcoholic beverages is preceded by a change in lifestyle and living conditions. Various measures are being taken to limit the consumption of alcoholic beverages in order to reduce the negative effects of alcohol abuse. To implement effective
measures reducing consumption, it is necessary to determine the factors affecting the decision-making process when purchasing alcoholic beverages.
Methods
The aim of this study is to identify factors that influence consumer decision-making leading to the purchase in the Russian alcoholic beverages market. The main source of primary data were the results of a questionnaire survey obtained using an online survey. The questionnaire was created using Google Forms and 2,200 respondents participated in it. The questionnaire survey included questions about consumption of alcoholic beverages, type of alcoholic beverages, places and frequency of consumption, motives of consumption and factors influencing consumer buying behavior.
The subject of the survey was the identification of consumer behavior in the alcoholic beverages market in Russia. During the survey, respondents were divided into two groups using a filter question. One of the groups was represented by respondents who do not drink alcohol. Descriptive statistics methods were used for processing primary data.
Table 1.- The Struct
The data was processed using MS Excel and SPSS Statistics software.
The structure of the respondents
The survey involved 2,200 respondents, ofwhom 80% said they were consumers of alcoholic beverages. Of the total number of respondents, 52% were women and 48% were men. Almost half of the respondents (45%) are people in the age category from 25 to 39 years. Next are consumers (26%) aged 1824 years, 12% of respondents - the age category from 40 to 54 years, 11% - young people under 18 years, 6% - 55 years and older.
As for employment, the majority of respondents (55%) are employed, 24% are students, 6% are businessmen, and 5% are retired, unemployed, and the same number (5%) of respondents are in the household or on maternity leave.
The majority of consumers were people with higher education, the proportion of which is 56%. A significant proportion (20%) were respondents with incomplete secondary education. This may be related to the fact that almost a third of all respondents are in the under-24 age group, many of whom are students.
! of the Respondents
The identity of the respondents Absolute frequency Relative frequency (%)
1 2 3
Sex
Men 1156 53%
Women 1044 47%
Age
Under 18 years 232 11%
18-24 years old 576 26%
25-39 years old 988 45%
40-54 years old 267 12%
55 years old and over 137 6%
Education
Incomplete secondary 108 5%
General secondary 431 20%
Primary professional 153 7%
Secondary specialized 273 12%
Higher 1235 56%
Current economic activity
Student 522 24%
1 2 3
Employed 1204 55%
Businessman 134 6%
Household, maternity leave 108 5%
Retired 109 5%
Unemployed 123 5%
In accordance with the purpose of the work, first of all, the respondents , behavior in relation to the preference of certain types of alcoholic beverages was considered. The following graph shows the percentage of respondents by type of alcoholic beverages, as well as those who do not drink alcohol at all.
According to the results of the study, beer (30%) and wine (30%) are the most preferable alcoholic beverages, while spirits are the least (19%), 21% of respondents do not drink alcoholic beverages.
Among beer consumers, most of the respondents noted that they have incomplete secondary, secondary and secondary specialized education. For people with higher education, beer is also a popular drink,
but the second most popular compared to wine (22% and 24%, respectively). Respondents with a higher level of education are less likely to consume strong alcohol, with only 13% indicating spirits as
their preferred beverage.Thus, the relationship was determined and a positive influence of high education level on the type of preferred drink was found.
Results
Patterns of consumption of various alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, spirits) differ significantly from each other, so it would be wrong to consider the factors of alcohol consumption in general. For this reason, the consumption of certain types of alcoholic beverages is influenced by the factors below.
As part of the study, to identify the factors, respondents were offered twelve answers. Such factors as price, favorable offer, taste characteristics, quality, manufacturer, brand, label, volume of products, recommendations of friends, advertising, availability of alcohol were considered.
The following figure shows the results of respondents' responses when purchasing beer.
19%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Figure 1. Factors when choosing beer
Taste characteristics have the greatest influence on the decision to buy beer (35%). This may be due to the fact that consumers who prefer beer primarily want to enjoy the drink. The next significant factor when buying beer is the quality, which was noted by15% ofRus-sian respondents. Also 9% marked the price. The favorable offer was rated as a less significant factor (7%).
Consumers are least affected by availability, advertising, product volume, and label. Only 1-2% of respondents mentioned these factors. According to the responses, 19% of respondents mentioned that they do not drink beer.
The following diagram shows in detail the responses of respondents when choosing wine.
16%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% Figure 2. Factors when choosing wine
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Figure 3. Factors when choosing spirits
As in the case of buying beer, wine consumers are most influenced by the taste and quality of the drink. 40% of them are most affected by taste characteristics, 20% of respondents noted the quality factor.
Also 6% noted the recommendation of friends. This factor was significant for the respondents when purchasing wine, compared to the selection of other beverages. Perhaps, when buying wine, due to low awareness regarding this drink, consumers rely not only on their experience.
Less important factors were price, manufacturer and favorable offer, which was 5% for each factor. Consumers are least affected by availability (1%), label (1%), product volume (1%), and brand (1%). According to the study, consumers are not affected by advertising at all. The percentage of respondents who said they did not drink wine was 16%.
The following figure shows the responses of respondents regarding spirits.
The main factor when choosing spirits is the quality. In comparison with low-alcohol beverages, just when buying strong alcoholic beverages quality is most important. The second factor is the taste of strong alcohol. Although for consumers of spirits this factor is much less important than for consumers of beer and wine. We obtained only 14% (spirits) of responses compared to 35% (beer) and 40% (wine).
Fewer quantity of responses is related to the price (6%) and the best offer (6%). Consumers are completely unaffected by advertising (0%) and labels (0%). A third of respondents (32%) marked that they do not drink spirits.
Conclusion
The study found that the factors that influence consumer choice differ depending on the category
of a drink. In case of choosing low-alcohol beverages, such as beer and wine, the vast majority of respondents indicated taste. Thus, the taste properties are crucial when choosing low-alcohol beverages. Compared to beer and wine, the taste of the drink when choosing spirits is not as important. When choosing spirits, respondents pay more attention to the quality of the drink and this factor is the most significant. Although it is important to mention that consumers more often make decisions based on their perception, rather than on the basis of an objective situation. In case of choosing spirits, the quality of the alcoholic beverage is perceived differently by each respondent. Respondents might have formed their ideas about quality based on various facts: their own feelings, income level, knowledge or recommendations from outside. The perception of quality is subjective and its level may change depending on a number of reasons that cannot be predicted.
A preference for low-alcohol beverages is typical for people with the highest level of education. They are adherents of low-alcohol beverages and most of them prefer wine to other alcoholic beverages. It is worth mentioning that the interrelation between lower education and greater alcoholism indicates that increasing the level of education should be one of the goals of programs for the prevention of alcoholism. This factor can serve as an important recommendation for the development ofpreventive measures to reduce alcohol consumption.
Based on this research, recommendations for reducing alcohol consumption can be prepared in the future.
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