Influences of consumer attitudes and involvement on purchase behavior in an industrial tourism context

In many regions of the United States and countries around the world, wineries have become an important tourist destination. Visits to wineries provide an opportunity for people to learn about the wine industry, try wines that are made at the winery, and purchase wine and other products sold in the tasting room. For newly developing wine industries in particular, where wines have not been fully accepted by consumers, this is particularly critical. The opportunity to try the product before purchasing can help to reduce the risk for consumers who were previously unaware of the winery's products.

Little is known about what influences consumers to purchase or not purchase wine at a winery. Overall attitudes concerning the winery and beliefs about the wine, winery environment, and service provided by the winery personnel along with demographic variables were examined In addition, purchase involvement concerning their winery visit and product involvement towards wine in general were examined to determine whether they influenced the decision to purchase wine and souvenirs available in the tasting room.

Six hundred eighty-four consumers who visited six Texas wineries during the summer of 1994 responded to a questionnaire concerning the above variables. A total of 636 usable questionnaires were retained for further analysis.

Findings from the logit regression analysis suggest that purchase involvement, income, overall attitude, two wine attributes (taste, label), two environmental attributes (cleanliness, smells), and four service attributes (friendliness, entertainment, believability, professionalism) are associated with the decision to purchase or not purchase wine. No relationship was found concerning any of the involvement, attitudinal, belief, or demographic, variables and purchases of souvenir items.

Several implications for wineries interested in improving tasting room sales are noted, including the importance of focusing on all of the components that constitute a winery visit. Future research should concentrate on verifying these findings in other regions and broadening the components that are examined, such as the influence of consumer mood and emotional components attached to the visit