WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 1 Just accepted 1 2 3 4 What do women like? A quantitative study of the female behavior of sparkling 5 wines consumers 6 Miriam de Oliveira Dornelles1, Cláudio Vinícius Silva Farias2, Shana Sabbado Flores3 7 8 9 1 IFRS – Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. E-mail: 10 miriamdornelles23@gmail.com, 11 2 IFRS – Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. E-mail: 12 claudio.farias@poa.ifrs.edu.br 13 3 IFRS – Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul, Bento Gonçalves, Brazil. E-mail: 14 shana.flores@bento.ifrs.edu.br 15 16 17 18 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Shana Sabbado Flores IFRS – Federal 19 Institute of Rio Grande do Sul, Bento Gonçalves, Brazil. E-mail: shana.flores@bento.ifrs.edu.br 20 21 22 This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through 23 the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences 24 between this version and the Version of Record. 25 26 Please cite this article as: 27 28 De Oliveira Dornelles M., Silva Farias C.V., Flores S.S. (2022), What do women like? A quantitative 29 study of the female behavior of sparkling wines consumers, Wine Economics and Policy, Just 30 Accepted. 31 DOI: 10.36253/wep-10416 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 mailto:miriamdornelles23@gmail.com mailto:claudio.farias@poa.ifrs.edu.br mailto:shana.flores@bento.ifrs.edu.br mailto:shana.flores@bento.ifrs.edu.br WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 2 39 Abstract 40 The purpose of this paper is to investigate the purchase process of the sparkling wines female 41 consumers, in order to understand the variables that influence the purchase process of this 42 product. The consumer behavior in the purchase decision process is one important topic of the 43 marketing studies, to the extent that it helps to explain how decisions are made and what 44 elements determine them, it can support strategic marketing decisions. The importance of 45 gender segmentation has been highlighted in several studies; in addition, women have made 46 most purchases and their influence in purchase decision has been highlighted. This study uses 47 data from a survey carried out on a representative sample of 1,003 female consumers from 48 Brazil. It was used a five levels Likert scale; Independent tests and correspondence analyses 49 were performed. The study could identify the five main factors influencing the choice. Also, 50 the results contribute to elucidate points such as confidence to choose and consumption 51 occasions and contexts. 52 53 Keywords: Brazil. Consumer behavior. Purchasing decision. Gender. 54 55 1. Introduction 56 The consumer behavior in the purchase decision process is one of the main topics of the marketing 57 studies. The consumer behavior can be defined as a set of physical and mental activities, carried out 58 by goods consumers that result in decisions and actions, such as how to search, choose, purchase and 59 use products and services in order to satisfy a latent need [1, 2]. According to Solomon, consumer 60 behavior is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, buy, use or discard 61 products, services or ideals to satisfy their needs and desires [3]. 62 When an organization proposes to study consumer behavior, it seeks the purchase’s motives, how 63 decisions are made and what elements (internal and external) determine such decisions [4, 5]. Thus, 64 several factors, such as individual differences, environmental influences and psychological processes, 65 can affect purchasing and consumption behavior [6]. This topic is one of the most complexes of 66 marketing and the work for understanding it stimulates an increasing number of researches in this 67 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 3 field. 68 The importance of gender segmentation has been highlighted in several studies, including online 69 shopping and services [7, 8]. Women are responsible for most of the purchase and an important part 70 in purchasing decisions, which indicate that this segment can be better considered in terms of 71 advertisements, products, marketing strategies and studies. 72 The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sparkling wines, in order to understand what are the 73 variables that influence this product’s purchase process. The Brazilian female sparkling wines 74 consumers represented the study group. 75 The wine production in Brazil was introduced by Portuguese and Spanish in XVI century and was 76 consolidated starting with XIX century due to Italian immigrants’ direct participation. The Brazilian 77 vineyards occupy an area of 86 thousand ha, in 6 main regions. [9]. The wine production is 78 concentrated in the south, the State of Rio Grande do Sul gives almost 90% of national production of 79 wines and grape juices, an annual harvest between 600 and 700 million tons. The country has 1100 80 wineries, mostly small properties, with an average of 2ha [10]. 81 In the international context of wine consumption decline, the official data indicated a 50% increase 82 in the marketing of Brazilian sparkling wines between 2010 and 2018 [10]. The situation was different 83 for the still wine, which fell by 28% in the same period [11]. Another element of interest, in Brazil, 84 is represented by the relation between imported and local wines: official data indicates that 75% of 85 the sparkling wines consumed in the country have national origin, despite only 12% of still wines 86 [12]. This data reinforce the importance of studying the sparkling wines’ consumer behavior, 87 providing a better understanding of this rising market, as well as data that can support more effective 88 marketing actions. 89 This research aims to help marketers, as well as sparkling wine producers, to consolidate the possible 90 guidance of female consumers. It also aims to add knowledge about the behavior and preferences of 91 women in terms of most relevant factors of their decision making at the time of this purchase. A better 92 understanding of female behavior allows the use of market segmentation techniques to highlight 93 specific groups of consumers and the monitoring of purchases [8, 13, 14]. In this sense, the work 94 intends to comprehend different profiles and preferences, contributing to a more effective 95 segmentation of the studied group. 96 97 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 4 2. Background 98 2.1 Woman’s consumer behavior 99 The transformations experienced in the technological, economic and social environment in recent 100 decades have changed the manner how consumers, in particular females, have been buying. Experts 101 like Peters [15] have advised companies to focus their strategies towards women, as this market 102 segment is an excellent business opportunity for any organization [15]. Women are still a depreciated 103 segment in terms of advertisements and in various commercial groups, even though they represent 104 more than half of the world’s population and are responsible for an important part in purchasing 105 decisions [16, 17]. 106 Historically, women have made most purchases. They buy for the family, including products for 107 husband and children, but the last decades have witnessed important changes in the woman’s social 108 and professional life [14, 18]. The first changes of the female’s role took place in the family, when 109 millions of women were launched into the labor market and left their homes, to spend more time 110 outside [19]. The social change brought by the inclusion of woman into the labor market has a 111 significant role in spending on food, as well as on alcoholic beverages [20]. 112 In terms of buying and consuming behavior, women have been dealing with products considered 113 “masculine”. For example, researches prove the influence of the female market in the purchase of 114 vehicles and alcoholic beverages [21]. In the case of wine, researches have highlighted the role of 115 women and the importance of segmentation by gender. In the “Old World” countries, wine 116 consumption has been associated to the men, but to the “New World” women have been increasing 117 the consumption, becoming even more representative than men [22, 23]. Thus, researches indicate 118 that women buy 80% of the wine sold in the USA [24]. 119 The influence of gender on wine buying and consumption behavior has been examined in some prior 120 research. Forbes highlight that even if several studies propose relation between wine attributes and 121 gender, there is lack of consistency in terms of results and practical implications of gender 122 segmentation [21]. For instance, this exploratory and cross-country study about the influence of 123 gender on wine buying and consumption indicates that gender has no significant impact in terms of 124 number and importance of attributes, and little impact on the frequency. On the other hand, the results 125 pointed that women are more sensible by price discounts while men pay attention to region of origin 126 [21]. Otherwise, study based on sociodemographic profiles of wine consumers indicate that gender 127 is a determinant factor to the frequency of wine consumption [22]. 128 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 5 Among the factors considered no buying behavior are: factor of time, economic situation, long term 129 consideration, influence of advertisements, post purchase experience and past regrets related to the 130 purchase [13]. In terms of practical imprecations to marketing, women like a collaborative, 131 conversational style dialogue. In this sense, advertisements are often more detailed, considering 132 women tend to ask more questions and they have a longer decision process. Also women appreciate 133 very fine distinctions as consequence of being more sensitive, registering higher level of sight, sound 134 and touch [13, 17]. 135 In terms of wine buying and consumption behaviour, women are more to associate wine to the context 136 of consumption while men associate it with convivial and sensorial pleasure. In the moment of choice, 137 women seems to carry more about brandy and previous experience and they are more willing to 138 dialog, seeking information from store personal, sommelier or a server [24, 25]. Labels and shelf tags 139 are also significantly more important for women than man, according to Atkin et al. [24]. These are 140 some findings and indications from previous studies and literature that can provide some orientations 141 to marketing professionals. Overall, it is also important to understand that there are differences inside 142 this large group of “women” and that marketing strategies should consider it into the segmentation’s 143 decisions. 144 145 2.2 Women and the preference for sparkling wine 146 In the sparkling wines market, 60% of Brazilian sparkling wines’ consumers are females [26]. In 147 addition to Brazil, in Australia women are the biggest wines consumer, according to the Australian 148 Bureau of Statistics; more women than men bought wine [27]. In the United States, study that 149 retrieved data from 2010 to 2016 indicates that 50% of Americans women who consume alcoholic 150 beverages prefer wine, comparing to 18% of men [28]. 151 It is necessary to understand a little more about the female universe, in order to understand these 152 statistics. For example, women can have better tastes and smells than men. Their capacity to 153 distinguish different odors is up to 20% higher than that of men; so, women taste wines more subtlety. 154 They have a better olfactory sensitivity than men and can better understand the complexities of wine 155 [29]. They also feel the subtleties of white wine more often than men [30]. 156 Therefore, the significant differences in wines types are explained by the physical and sensory 157 differences of the different genres. This fact defines preferences, as white wines tend to have more 158 subtle acidity and lower tannins, while red wines, in most cases, have a lot of tannins. Women's 159 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 6 palates tend to be more sensitive. This may explain why many women prefer white wines, which 160 have more subtle acidity and lower tannins content. On the other hand, within red wines, they find 161 higher tannins content, astringency and bitterness. 162 Therefore, women prefer less potent wines, because they are easier to consume and to enjoy; 163 consequently, they are more likely to consume white and sparkling wines than men [24, 29, 31, 32]. 164 Men tend to look for red wine and women for delicate wines [30, 33]. A study of Australian wine 165 consumers found that women are more likely to drink sparkling and white wines [32]. Similar results 166 were found in a Canadian study [34]. Also, women consume significantly more white wine than men 167 [29]. 168 There are several academic studies on wine consumer behaviour in countries such as the United 169 States, Portugal, England, France, New Zealand, Peru, Australia [29, 35–40], however, there are few 170 studies that focus their aim on women who consume sparkling wines. Unfortunately, the role of 171 women as wine buyers is often poorly understood and underestimated; gender-specific segmentation 172 is therefore an important issue in wine marketing [41]. 173 174 3. Materials and Methods 175 3.1 Research design 176 This study is based on quantitative approach, collected quantitative data from individual respondents 177 using on-line survey. The questionnaire was developed and refined during a two-phased pre-testing 178 approach. In the first phase, the construct validity was checked by 3 expert participants. The 179 identification of participants’ names and characteristics are reserved in order to preserve 180 confidentiality commitments. The experts were two women and one men, age between 30-40, with 181 research in customer behavior, wine management and wine marketing. In the second phase the 182 questionnaire was pilot tested, being possible to correct some problems arising from the consumer’s 183 interpretation, as well as technological problems. 184 A non-probabilistic sampling research was carried out for convenience, with female consumers of 185 sparkling wine in Brazil (state of Rio Grande do Sul, RS), using survey online. Data collection 186 included 1,003 women who consume sparkling wine and live in Brazil (RS). The final sample had 187 1000 answers, 3 questionnaires were discarded due to inconsistency. The data collection covered the 188 period from March 26 to April 26, 2018. 189 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 7 The questionnaire had 31 questions, seeking to find the variables that influence the decision making 190 at the time of purchase. The variables were divided in 3 blocks: socioeconomic characteristics, 191 consumption characteristics and behavioral aspects. The information on socioeconomic and 192 consumption characteristics was collected using mainly categorical questions. 193 Behavioral aspects were measured in this study using five-point Likert scales. The main observed 194 aspects were: the recommendation, the consumption on special dates, the daily consumption, the 195 preference for organic and the difficulty in sparkling wine selection. The choice of the five-point 196 scale was based on the fact that it is metric accurate and, at the same time, easier and faster to use 197 than other types of scales (shorter or longer, as is the case of the three and seven points scales). 198 Different studies have been carried out to support such a decision [42]. 199 The collected data were organized and analyzed using Excel. The analysis initially used descriptive 200 statistics, including the frequency distribution, the mean and the standard deviation. Cross-analysis 201 was performed for better understanding the consumption and purchasing behavior, using the χ2 202 independence test, with significance being tested at the 0.01 and 0.05 levels. This test shows whether 203 there is a relationship between sociodemographic aspects or consumption frequency and other 204 variables that indicate habits and consumption preferences. The evaluated aspects were found to be 205 reliable when tested, with a Cronbach’s a of 0.780. 206 3.2 Data analysis 207 The sociodemographic characteristics of all respondents are shown in Table 1. 208 Table 1. Socioeconomic profile of sample group 209 Variable % Age (years) 18-25 14.1 26-33 26.6 34-40 26.1 41-50 20.9 51-64 11.6 65+ 0.7 Education Post-graduation (Specialization, Master or PhD) 39.6 Complete Higher Education 25.4 Incomplete Higher Education 22.9 High school 11.2 Elementary School 0.9 Occupation Employee in the private sector 29.0 Public functionary 26.6 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 8 Freelancer or independent professional 22.8 Businesswomen 7.4 Trainee 5.0 Unemployed 9.2 Revenue (US$) Under 850 27.0 850-1700 32.1 1700-2850 14.1 Over 2850 8.6 No information 18.2 Marital status Single 29.7 Stable Union/Married 46.0 In a relationship 16.8 Separated or divorced 5.8 Widow 1.7 Children Yes 52.8 No 47.2 Regarding the age group, it can be noticed a concentration, well distributed among the segments, 210 between 26 and 50 years old, summing just over 73% of the studied group. This finding corroborates 211 with the previous consulted data, which indicated that sparkling wines represent an attraction for all 212 ages, concentrating a large part of their consumption among the population between 25 to 64 years 213 old, but are common in all groups [10]. 214 215 4. Results and Discussion 216 4.1 Consumption characteristics 217 Table 2 summarizes Consumption characteristics from the sample analysis. 218 Table 2. Consumption characteristics 219 Characteristic % Type Brut 22.8 Brut Rosé 18.0 Demi sec 14.2 Muscatel 39.2 Pro Secco 2.9 Nature 2.4 Season Summer 84.1 Spring 32.5 Autumn 24.9 Winter 21.9 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 9 Frequency (glasses/month) 1-2 33.6 3-4 22.7 4-6 19.4 7-10 11.4 10+ 12.9 Place of purchase Border and free shops 27.3 Cellar and specialized stores 20.1 Directly from producer/wine maker 11.9 Pubs and bars 10.8 Restaurants 6.0 Internet and online purchases 4.6 Place of consumption Residence 80.6 Family events 36.4 Social events 33.2 Pubs and bars 15.7 Restaurants 5.2 Trips 4.3 On terms of sparkling wine type, the Muscatel is the most consumed, with 39,2%. Such preference 220 corroborates with the literature: women prefer delicate and less potent wines, since muscatel has a 221 higher sugar content comparing to other sparkling wines [24, 30, 33] [24, 30, 33, 43]. However, it is 222 interesting to note that brut and brut rosé are the segments with the highest consumption after 223 muscatel, summing 22.8% and 18%, respectively, while demi sec is only in fourth place with 14.2%. 224 This data indicates that the relationship between women and sugar content is not linear, which means 225 that women would prefer sweeter sparkling wines. If added the brut category (white and rosé), it is 226 obtained a higher value than muscatel. In addition, both brut have values higher than demi sec, the 227 second category in sugar content. 228 Regarding the season, the women consume sparkling wines particularly during summer, summing 229 84% of the total. Therefore, the higher the temperatures are, the greater the consumption of sparkling 230 wine by women is. It is important to add that although Brazil is known for being a tropical country, 231 the research was carried out in the southernmost state of the country, which has a humid subtropical 232 climate, with well-defined seasons. Another aspect to note is that summer is also the period of the 233 Christmas and New Year celebrations, which are moments identified with the consumption of 234 sparkling wines in general. 235 In terms of frequency, the average was calculated for all year long and not for the months or for the 236 period of consumption. The concentration in the lower segments (just over 56% consume up to 4 237 glasses per month) reflects the national trend, with an average annual wine consumption of 1.9 l/per 238 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 10 capita [44]. The relation between frequency and other variables regarding consumption factors is 239 presented below. 240 In terms of place of consumption, the participant’s or her partner’s residence was indicated by more 241 than 80% of the studied group, which is quite representative. Family and social events are in the 242 second place. They represent together almost 70% of the participants, reinforcing the idea of a relation 243 between sparkling wine and festive moments. The lack of representativeness of commercial 244 establishments, such as pubs and bars (15.7%) or restaurants (5.2%) drew attention and it can be 245 explained by values, availability or package. Such hypotheses can be tested in future works. 246 247 4.2 Purchase factors 248 Women were asked about the factors that most influence the sparkling wine choice, having the 249 possibility to choose up to 3 alternatives. Table 3 summarizes the results. 250 Table 3. Factors that most influence the choice 251 Factors % Flavor 49 Having tasted the sparkling wine before 41 Brand 39 Someone’s recommendation 35 Price 33 Sparkling wine’s origin (region or country) 19 Promotional highlight in shops 17 Medals and awards 8 Have read posts / comments on the Internet / Social Networks 5 Information on the back label 3 Packages and Accessories (glasses, boxes) 3 Having read about the sparkling wine in a guide 3 Alcoholic Content 2 Attractive front label 1 The sparkling wine being organic 1 Information on the shelf 1 The main factors that influence consumption are taste, having tasted sparkling wine before, brand and 252 someone's recommendation, which corroborate with results found in literature. For example, the 253 results of a research carried out in Portugal showed that the most valued factors at the time of purchase 254 are the price, the origin region and the friends’ and family’s recommendation [40]. A cross-country 255 study in four countries already showed that the main factors influencing female consumption were 256 the price, the type, have/having tasted the wine, applied discounts, the variety and the brand [21]. 257 However, the price is the first attribute in both studies, but does not apply in present research, where 258 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 11 price is ranked on 5th place. 259 For women, having tasted the wine before has more weight at the time of decision [45]. In addition, 260 women use the friends’ and family’s recommendation and their own knowledge as their main 261 strategies to reduce the risk when buying [40]. Thus, the research showed the women's priority in 262 appealing to their prior knowledge to support the purchase decision, this factor being even more 263 important than the price. 264 Sparkling wine’s origin (region or country) was the 6th factor in purchase decision. Previous studies 265 pointed out that men were more concerned with origin than women, which can’t be confirmed in this 266 study [46–48]. Even if research findings have not always been so conclusive, this point is a lack to 267 be explored in further studies. 268 4.3 Behavior aspects 269 The influence of age on the sparkling wine consumption frequency was the first behavioral aspect 270 analyzed. The relationship was validated through a Χ2 independent tests. Table 4 presents the results. 271 Table 4. Influence of the age group on the frequency of consumption (% of consumers) 272 Frequency (glasses/month) 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-10 Over 10 Χ 2 18-25 y 40.7 15.0 27.1 10.0 7.1 47.96 26-33 y 40.8 19.5 23.2 7.1 9.4 34-40 y 29.0 15.6 24.4 13.7 17.2 41-50 y 26.2 21.9 21.0 14.3 16.7 51-64 y 31.6 29.8 15.8 11.4 11.4 Over 65 y 28.6 14.3 28.6 28.6 0.0 Note: n=1000; Significant at 1 per cent level 273 Regarding age, the choice of different products and services is linked to this characteristic, as there 274 is a change in habits and new expectations arising from maturity [49]. A premise found in the 275 literature of this study area is that the frequency of consumption increases with the woman's age [29, 276 50, 51]. Analyzing the data, it can be noticed that the quantity of 1 to 2 glasses drops, while the 277 consumption of 7 to 10 glasses per month increases, as the age advances. 278 In a qualitative research carried out in Portugal, based on an in-depth interview with 15 women aged 279 between 23 and 35 years old, it was revealed that the majority of the interviewees increase the 280 frequency of consumption with age. Women said they felt more comfortable drinking wine and 281 wanting to try new wines. Other women revealed that consumption remained constant and increased 282 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 12 in quality and not necessarily in quantity [40]. The hypothesis of increased quality was tested, 283 considering quality as a synonym for willingness to pay higher prices, and validated through a Χ2 284 independent test. There is evidence of a relationship at 5% significance between age and quality 285 (higher prices). 286 Another aspect analyzed was the consumption on special occasions or daily. The instrument proposed 287 that consumers position themselves in two antagonistic statements - the first showing the sparkling 288 wine consumption more daily and the second relating the sparkling wine consumption only to special 289 occasions. As it can be seen in table 5, both statements had a high degree of disagreement, which 290 means that the sparkling wine consumption does not occur only on special occasions, but also that it 291 does not happen more daily. 292 Table 5. Special occasions or daily consumption (% of consumers) 293 Likert scale (“strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”) 1 2 3 4 5 Mean Consumption just on special dates 48.9 23.4 12.9 8.4 6.4 2.0 Daily consumption 40.6 26.9 15.0 7.7 9.8 2.2 Note: n=1000 294 The association between sparkling wine and celebration moment can be seen in this research, since 295 more than 67% of women disagree that they consume more on a daily basis. On the other hand, the 296 research also identified a new behavior - the sparkling wine consumption also on a daily basis - 297 indicated when more than 72% disagree that they only consume on special dates. Thus, it can be 298 observed that the relationship between sparkling wines and special dates occurs again, but that the 299 sparkling wine is also part of other moments. 300 301 4.4 Sparkling wine choice 302 One of the results that surprised the most in the research was in relation to the decision to buy or to 303 choose the sparkling wine. Women were asked about the level of knowledge of sparkling wines and 304 who made the decision to buy or to choose the sparkling wine. Tables 6 and 7 present the results. 305 Table 6. Level of knowledge of sparkling wines (% of consumers) 306 Characteristic % WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 13 Expert 1.0 Very Good 4.2 Good 16.1 Week 39.2 Medium 34.7 Null 4.8 Previous studies indicated that choosing a wine is a difficult and uncomfortable activity and that self-307 confidence would be an aspect to consider supporting the decision-making process [50, 52]. The 308 results of this research do not indicate any evidence that the task of choosing sparkling wine is 309 difficult to be accomplished for women. Even though more than 78% consider themselves to have 310 little knowledge about sparkling wines, more than 65% disagree with the statement that choosing a 311 sparkling wine is a difficult task. 312 Table 7. Confidence in the sparkling wine purchase decision (% of consumers) 313 Likert scale (“strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”) 1 2 3 4 5 Mean I consider choosing a sparkling wine a difficult task 37.1 28.3 17.0 11.7 5.9 2.2 Note: n=1000 314 On the other hand, the studies also show that younger women are more likely than men to be 315 influenced in their purchasing decisions by family, friends and other third parties [29]. This trend can 316 also be seen in the present study. The influence of the age group on the purchase decision is significant 317 and validated through a Χ2 independent test, significant at 1 per cent level (table 8). 318 Table 8. Who chooses sparkling wine by age group (% of consumers) 319 18-25 y (14%) 26-33 y (26.7%) 34-40y (26.3%) 41-50 y (21%) 51-64 y (11.3%) Over 65 y (7%) Χ2 Me 55.7 76.0 77.6 74.8 74.3 57.1 61.19 Friends 5.7 6.7 6.5 10.0 7.1 14.3 Partner 17.1 10.1 11.4 11.4 9.7 0.0 Family 18.6 5.6 4.2 3.3 8.8 28.6 Waiter or Salesmen 2.1 0.7 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 Others 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 Note: n=1000; Significant at 1 per cent level 320 A greater influence of third parties on younger women can be seen, although in all age groups the 321 majority of women claim to make the purchase decision. The partners and the family are the main 322 influencers for the youngest. The influence of the family decreases and the participation of friends 323 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 14 increases between 26 and 50 years old. 324 In an overview, when it comes to make the decision of which sparkling wine to buy, about 73% of 325 women make this choice. This result contradicts previous studies which find that women deliberately 326 give up responsibility for the purchase of wine in several situations of public purchase and 327 consumption [29, 36]. In this regard, the present research shows a group of consumers who make the 328 purchase decisions, not transferring this choice to partner or family members. 329 330 5. Conclusions, implications, limitations and future research 331 When an organization proposes to study the behavior of women in relation to a specific product, it is 332 necessary to understand that they have gone through and continue to go through several social 333 changes. The insertion of women on the labor market influenced the most the beverages market and 334 provided greater financial independence and increased social participation at events, clubs and 335 restaurants. Thus, it transformed the lifestyle of modern women and stimulated the consumption of 336 drinks, especially sparkling wine. 337 This study was based on a convenience sample and limited to a wine producing area. Further studies 338 can expand the sample and test the findings in other contexts. Also, this study had an exploratory 339 approach and future research can use established consumption scales. In addition, this study was 340 based on a female sample; further studies can include a comparison between women and men in the 341 same analytical basis. 342 It is important to highlight that data collection was carried out in 2018, before pandemic scenario. In 343 our analysis the pandemic does not change the main conclusions, to the extent that it contributes to 344 increases consumption and not the factors of choice, according to local marketing research. 345 This research showed that women have no difficulty with choosing the product and do not find it a 346 complicated task. They do prefer to choose the product, not leaving this decision to a partner, 347 boyfriend, friend or family member. Women choose and they are not influenced by them either; 348 simply, they choose for them. Major influencers in consumption were not observed, excepting their 349 own will. Also, it was a surprise that the price was not the most important influence on this product’s 350 consumption, as imagined. 351 The most interesting information for sparkling wine producers is that there is a market potential that 352 WEP – Wine Economics and Policy Just Accepted Manuscript 15 differentiates daily consumption and consumption on special dates. Women assume that they not only 353 consume on special dates, but also, that they do not consume more on a daily basis than on special 354 occasions. This is very important, as sparkling wine has always had the stigma of being a seasonal 355 product. 356 Further studies are needed. 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