A segmentation proposal to the consumers’ brazilian beer sector / Proposta de segmentação do mercado brasileiro de cerveja

Abstract

The objective of this research was to identify the different segments of beer consumers based on the behavior presented during the purchase decision process. A field survey was carried out with a convenience sample of 422 respondents, using questionnaires, available in the authors' relationship networks. In the data analysis, the statistical technique cluster analysis was applied, which allowed the identification of four consumer segments: high involvement consumers, medium consumption consumers, occasion buyers, and low consumption consumers. Results obtained from the investigation show that consumers with high levels of involvement (Group 1) seek a lot of information before consumption. For consumers of average consumption (Group 2), the search for knowledge and references on beers is limited to previous experiences they had and to friends, and they choose beers mainly by the taste and by the country of origin. Occasional consumers (Group 3) usually buy the same brands of beer, but use flavor and brand as a selection criterion. Finally, low-consumption consumers (Group 4) had a consumption of beer for special occasions. They often do not seek information about the product, and they do not do any kind of word-of-mouth marketing. The Main theoretical contribution is the new segmentation proposal method originated from the research. The relevance of this study is related to the new segmentation framework proposed segments that could be used to future studies in other competitive markets.