Price most important for South Korean wine drinkers
Discount supermarkets are the fastest growing wine purchasing channel in South Korea, as consumers become more price conscious according to a new report by UK market analysts Wine Intelligence.
Almost a third of South Korean wine drinkers now buy wine from discount supermarkets, a significant increase on 2016. Bargain hunting consumers are increasingly likely to choose lower alcoholic drinks such as Moscato or beer, both of which enjoy lower tax rates than standard still lght wine.
And increasingly price sensitive consumers are becoming less adventurous, claims the report. Only 30% say they try new and different styles of wine, down from 41% last year, while the majority – 55% - agree that they don’t mind what grape based wine they buy as long as the price is right.
“Wine is still viewed as a luxury product in South Korea, thanks to relatively high tax rates compared with other becerages, and wine lovers are finding their household budgets squeezed,” said Wine Intelligence CEO Lulie Halstead.
“In other markets we see that when price becomes a sticking point mainstream consumers become more risk averse and look for ways to contniue their wine drinking at a lower cost.”
Supply is beginning to outstrip demand in South Korea, she added, which will likley lead to a consoodliation of ditributors who had, until recently, benefited from strong growth in the wine market.
“This could be good news for the South Korean consumer. Over-supply could lead to price cuts and promotional offers to stimulate purchase, while the savings from economies of scale in a consolidated market could also be passed on to the end consumer.”