Is Mianzi the only Face of Chinese Consumers of Wine?: A Typology of Chinese Consumers of Imported Wine

Abstract

This paper describes a cluster analysis, using the K-means method, conducted on a quota sample of 1,260 Chinese consumers of imported wine interviewed via an online questionnaire. Agreement is broad that the Chinese market has great potential for many products, including wine. With its huge population of 1.37 billion and its growing middle class, China is very attractive for winemakers, particularly the European wineries hoping to compensate for the decrease in domestic wine consumption by exporting to China. However, consumers of a product category are rarely homogeneous and market segmentation is needed to adapt the product appropriately to consumer groups presenting similar needs and wants. Studies on the segmentation of the Chinese wine market are nevertheless scarce in the academic literature. This paper aims to address that lack. The analysis described identified six clusters (indifferent occasionals, wine lovers, relaxed amateurs, social networkers, stay-at-home connoisseurs and infrequent money-minded) and provides winemakers with greater detail on the various profiles of Chinese consumers of imported wine. This should help them to make their offerings more suitable to their targeted segments.