Free Tastings Can Get Expensive, Study Shows
March 23, 2006
Written by Cory Chandler
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: March 23, 2006
CONTACT: Cory Chandler, cory.chandler@ttu.edu
(806) 742-2136
Sense of Obligation, Gratitude may Spur Sales at Small Wineries, Study Says
LUBBOCK – Motivated by a sense of obligation, winery visitors often will lavish more
money on purchases following a free wine tasting than when they are asked to pay for
their sampling, researchers in the Texas Tech University’s Texas Wine Marketing Research
Institute have found.
Analyzing data collected at six wineries located throughout Texas, institute researchers
found that visitors spent an average of $9 more purchasing products from wineries
that offer free tastings than from those that charge a tasting fee.
“People feel that it is not appropriate to walk out empty-handed,” said institute
director Dr. Tim Dodd. After paying a tasting fee, people are less likely to feel
obligated to purchase additional wine, Dodd said. This scenario is especially true
at smaller, independent wineries that constitute the bulk of Texas establishments,
he said.
Visitors, however, will not buy wine purely out of a sense of obligation. The research
found a strong link between obligation and gratitude toward winery personnel. If people
wish to convey their appreciation, they are more likely to spend money at wineries,
said research associate Natalia Kolyesnikova. If they are not fully satisfied with
their visit, they may not feel the obligation to buy.
Kolyesnikova analyzed 357 responses to questionnaires distributed at wineries in North
Texas, Central Texas, the Texas High Plains and along the Texas coast. She found that
respondents spent, on average, around $25 in the tasting rooms of wineries that charge
for a tasting and dropped close to $34 at those that offer free tastings.
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CONTACT: Dr. Tim Dodd, director, the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute, Texas
Tech University, (806) 742-3077, or tim.dodd@ttu.edu.
Natalia Kolyesnikova, research associate, the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute,
Texas Tech University, (806) 742-3077, or texaswine@ttu.edu.