Consumption Occasions Research Articles

An Occasion-Based Segmentation Approach to the Wine Market in Denmark

This paper presents the results of a survey on wine consumption in the town of Odense in Denmark that is representative of wine consumption trends in northern Europe. The analysis was carried out using an occasion-based approach applied to six different consumption occasions during meals and outside mealtimes. The survey was carried on a representative sample of 207 families. The paper highlights the most relevant segmentation factors for each consumption occasion and defines multi-occasion consumption profiles from which three marketing strategies levels can be derived.

Alcohol-Related Injuries: Evidence for the Prevention Paradox

The risk of an injury increases exponentially with alcohol consumption on a given occasion, but the conclusion that alcohol-related injuries are attributable primarily to heavy drinking may or may not be correct. The prevention paradox states that a large number of people at small risk may contribute more cases of a particular condition than a smaller number of people who are individually at greater risk. We sought to determine the extent to which the prevention paradox applies in the relationship between alcohol consumption and injury. We conducted a population-based case-control and case-crossover study in all 3 emergency departments in Boone County, Mo. Data were collected from 2,517 patients with an acute injury and 1,856 age- and sex-matched controls selected by random digit dialing. The population attributable fraction (PAF) associated with drinking in the 6 hours before injury-the proportion of injuries that would not have occurred in the absence of drinking-was 10.6% in case-crossover analysis and 8.5% in case-control analysis. The PAF that was due to what is usually considered nonhazardous alcohol consumption (fewer than 5 drinks for men, fewer than 4 for women) was 4.5% in case-crossover analysis and 3.1% in case-control analysis. The PAF that was due to alcohol dependence was 4.0%. Injury is associated more with an occasion of alcohol consumption than with alcohol dependence. A substantial proportion of the PAF that is due to an occasion of alcohol consumption is from what are usually considered low-risk quantities.

Multiple Discreteness and Product Differentiation: Demand for Carbonated Soft Drinks

For several of the largest supermarket product categories, such as carbonated soft drinks, canned soups, ready-to-eat cereals, and cookies, consumers regularly purchase assortments of products. Within the category, consumers often purchase multiple products and multiple units of each alternative selected on a given trip. This multiple discreteness violates the single-unit purchase assumption of multinomial logit and probit models. The misspecification of such demand models in categories exhibiting multiple discreteness would produce incorrect measures of consumer response to marketing mix variables. In studying product strategy, these models would lead to misleading managerial conclusions. We use an alternative microeconomic model of demand for categories that exhibit the multiple discreteness problem. Recognizing the separation between the time of purchase and the time of consumption, we model consumers purchasing bundles of goods in anticipation of a stream of consumption occasions before the next trip. We apply the model to a panel of household purchases for carbonated soft drinks.

Fetus at risk: prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy estimated with a simple screening method in Swedish antenatal clinics.

Maternal alcohol consumption is a major health hazard for the fetus. Sweden has an extensive system of public antenatal care clinics, whose mission is to detect and prevent this type of health hazards. However, very few cases of alcohol consumption during pregnancy are detected. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption during pregnancy in a consecutive series of Swedish pregnant females. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to collect anonymous data from consecutive pregnant subjects admitted during 1 year to an antenatal clinic in Stockholm, and signing up for parental education offered routinely (n = 1327). Data were obtained from 1101 subjects, typically in pregnancy week 30. A complete AUDIT form was filled out referring to alcohol use during the year prior to pregnancy. A separate form with the consumption items from AUDIT was filled out to report behaviour during pregnancy. For the year preceding pregnancy, 17% of subjects reported AUDIT scores of 6 or higher, indicating hazardous or harmful alcohol use in women. Few individuals reported scores of 13 or higher (indicating abuse or dependence), but almost half the subjects (46%) reported binge drinking (six standard drinks on a single occasion) once/month or more often, and 6% reported binge drinking on every occasion of alcohol consumption. One-third of the subjects (30%) continued regular alcohol use during pregnancy, and 6% reported consumption two to four times/month. In a logistic regression model, AUDIT scores for the year prior to pregnancy and subject age, but not education level were significant predictors of continued alcohol use during pregnancy. Alcohol use during pregnancy is more extensive than has been presumed in Sweden. Simple, clinically useful screening methodology detects hazardous consumption during pregnancy in a manner which regular antenatal care does not. If this methodology can be shown to have similar sensitivity when administered under non-anonymous conditions, it should be made part of routine antenatal care.

Situational price sensitivity: the role of consumption occasion, social context and income

Research on consumer reaction to price has been largely confined to examining consumers’ price information search, evaluation of price alternatives, and individual purchase behaviors without regard to situational influences. At the same time, consumption has often been dichotomized in terms of its functional-hedonic nature and has been examined with regard to social influence. Surprisingly, researchers have heretofore not examined the potential effect of the consumption occasion or social context on consumers’ price sensitivity. Further, research examining the effect of household resources on price sensitivity has produced mixed results. We argue that household income effects on price sensitivity are dependent upon the situation. This research addresses two key issues. First, we examine whether individuals are equally price-sensitive when purchasing products for functional (e.g., purchasing frozen vegetables or paper towels) versus hedonic (e.g., purchasing ice cream or cookies) consumption situations and whether social context (i.e., consuming the product alone or with others) influences price sensitivity. Second, we explore the interaction effects of household income and consumption context on price sensitivity. We examine these issues across a series of three studies, finding that consumers’ price sensitivity is in fact attenuated by both hedonic and social consumption situations and that income moderates these effects. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Modeling Consumer Demand for Variety

Consumers are often observed to purchase more than one variety of a product on a given shopping trip. The simultaneous demand for varieties is observed not only for packaged goods such as yogurt or soft drinks, but in many other product categories such as movies, music compact disks, and apparel. Multinomial (MN) choice models cannot be applied to data exhibiting the simultaneous choice of more than one variety. The random utility interpretation of either the MN logit or probit model uses a linear utility specification that cannot accommodate interior solutions with more than one variety (alternative) chosen. To analyze data with multiple varieties chosen requires a nonstandard utility specification. Standard demand models in the economics literature exhibit only interior solutions. We propose a demand model based on a translated additive utility structure. The model nests the linear utility structure, while allowing for the possibility of a mixture of corner and interior solutions where more than one but not all varieties are selected. We use a random utility specification in which the unobservable portion of marginal utility follows a log-normal distribution. The distribution of quantity demanded (the basis of the likelihood function) is derived from these log-normal random utility errors. The likelihood function for this class of models with mixtures of corner and interior solutions is a mixed distribution with both a continuous density portion and probability mass points for the corners. The probability mass points must be calculated by integrals of the log-normal errors over rectangular regions. We evaluate these high-dimensional integrals using the GHK approximation. We employ a Bayesian hierarchical model, allowing household-specific utility parameters. Our utility specification related to the approach of Wales and Woodland (1983) who employ a translated quadratic utility function. Wales and Woodland were only able to study, at the most, three varieties because there was no practical way to evaluate the utility function at that time. In addition, the quadratic utility specification is not a globally valid utility function, making welfare computations and policy experiments questionable. Hendel (1999) and Dube (1999) present an alternative approach in the utility function which is constructed by summing up over unobservable consumption occasions. While only one variety is consumed on each occasion, the marginal utilities of varieties change over the consumption occasions, giving rise to a simultaneous purchase of multiple varieties. Our Bayesian inference approach allows us to obtain individual household estimates of utility parameters. Household utility estimates are used to compute the value of each variety. We compute a compensating value for the removal of each flavor; that is, we compute the monetary equivalent of the household's loss in utility from removal of a flavor. These calculations show that households highly value popular flavors and would incur substantial utility losses from removal of these flavors from the yogurt assortment. Next we consider the implications of our model for retailer assortment and pricing policies. Given limited shelf space, only a subset of the possible varieties can be displayed for purchase at any one time. If consumers value variety, then a retailer with lower variety must compensate the consumers in some way, such as a lower price level. We see this trade-off between price and variety across different retailing formats. Discount or warehouse format retailers often have both lower variety and lower prices. To measure this trade-off, we explore the utility loss from reduction in variety and find the reductions in price that will compensate for this utility loss. These price reduction calculations must be based on a valid utility structure. Heterogeneity in tastes is critical in these utility computations and policy experiments. We find that a relatively small fraction of households with extreme preferences dominate the compensating value computations. That is, some households are observed to purchase mostly or exclusively one variety. These households must be heavily compensated for the removal of this variety from the assortment. In some retailing contexts, customization of the assortment is possible at the customer level. We show that such customization virtually eliminates any utility loss from reduction in variety.

Dairy consumption, obesity, and the insulin resistance syndrome in young adults: the CARDIA Study.

Components of the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS), including obesity, glucose intolerance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, are major risk factors for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Although diet has been postulated to influence IRS, the independent effects of dairy consumption on development of this syndrome have not been investigated. To examine associations between dairy intake and incidence of IRS, adjusting for confounding lifestyle and dietary factors. The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a population-based prospective study. General community sample from 4 US metropolitan areas of 3157 black and white adults aged 18 to 30 years who were followed up from 1985-1986 to 1995-1996. Ten-year cumulative incidence of IRS and its association with dairy consumption, measured by diet history interview. Dairy consumption was inversely associated with the incidence of all IRS components among individuals who were overweight (body mass index > or =25 kg/m(2)) at baseline but not among leaner individuals (body mass index < 25 kg/m(2)). The adjusted odds of developing IRS (2 or more components) were 72% lower (odds ratio, 0.28; 95% confidence interval, 0.14-0.58) among overweight individuals in the highest (> or =35 times per week, 24/102 individuals) compared with the lowest (<10 times per week, 85/190 individuals) category of dairy consumption. Each daily occasion of dairy consumption was associated with a 21% lower odds of IRS (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-0.88). These associations were similar for blacks and whites and for men and women. Other dietary factors, including macronutrients and micronutrients, did not explain the association between dairy intake and IRS. Dietary patterns characterized by increased dairy consumption have a strong inverse association with IRS among overweight adults and may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Exploring the Links Between Wine Choice and Dining Occasions: Factors of Influence

Wine consumption in Australia has increased rapidly over the past decade with a subsequent increase in wine sales within restaurants. From a marketing perspective, however, few studies have been conducted into the links between wine consumption and the occasions on which wine is consumed. This paper investigates the nexus between the perceived importance of the consumption occasion and the choice of wine. The study employs “Means‐End Chain” methodology to gather information on the attributes, consequences and values associated with wine choice and attempts to identify how the relative weighting of these factors varies across consumption occasions. The research found that personal values can have a significant influence on the selection of wine on different dining occasions.

Brand Choice and Purchase Frequency Revisited: An Application to Recreation Behavior

AbstractThe role that total purchases play in determining the choice among brands has been considered in microeconomic theory for quite some time, but for traditional goods only. Consumption of outdoor recreation is an unusual good, most often measured using an individual's recreational trip. Adding the trips made on a number of choice occasions seems the obvious way to aggregate this good, but doing so leads to several problems in defining a meaningful price index. The Hicks‐Leontief conditions for aggregation suggest that trips to destinations may be thought of as brand choices on consumption occasions, andthe continuous analogue to total purchases may in fact be the individual's total travel. An empirical example of the model is used to estimate welfare impacts for a group of anglers.

Cross‐cultural Analysis of Wine Consumption Motivations

This paper investigates the influence of ethnologically based cultural factors on the motives and occasions for wine consumption both in Australia and overseas. As the international market for wine expands, global marketers have begun searching for new ways to define trans‐national segments. In particular, the success of Australian wines in the UK has provided a strong base for expansion into the competitive European market One key decision must involve what degree of differentiation the marketing program for each country will contain. Because many marketing theorists see ethnic or cultural background as one of the major underlying determinants of consumer behaviour this decision becomes quite critical. Others argue that consumption of wine is not culturally dependent but based on either a common set of motivations or is determined solely by the occasion in which wine will be consumed. To study this hypothesis a questionnaire was administered to approximately 500 respondents from a variety of Australian and European backgrounds. A single cross‐sectional design was employed. Respondents were primarily selected using a random sampling procedure with quotas boosted for some cultural groups by a convenience sampling process. The four chosen for analysis were Italian, Greek, German and Australian. It was found using an occasion‐based segmentation approach that there were significant differences between wine consumers of different cultural backgrounds. It is concluded that cultural factors do impact on the consumption process of wine and should be considered in any proposals for trans‐national segmentation strategies. However it is also shown that there are some motivational factors that are not culturally dependent. These factors are prime reasons for general wine consumption behaviour and could be used if an undifferentiated global! approach to wine segmentation is the most efficient for the marketer.

Flexibility in Consumer Purchasing for Uncertain Future Tastes

Consumers often simultaneously purchase multiple units in the same product category. Whether they are best off purchasing an assortment of alternatives or an equal number of one alternative is addressed in this paper. Models of an expected-utility-maximizing consumer are developed, and it is shown that an assortment may have greater expected utility than an equal number of any one alternative. The rationale is that the assortment allows the consumer to choose from inventory the alternative most appropriate for a consumption occasion using preference information not available at the purchase occasion. It is also shown that, when consuming alternatives from inventory, the consumer may forego the alternative offering the most utility in the expectation that it will yield even more utility in the future.

The Effect of Purchase Quantity and Timing on Variety-Seeking Behavior

Two consumer strategies for the purchase of multiple items from a product class are contrasted. In one strategy (simultaneous choices/sequential consumption), the consumer buys several items on one shopping trip and consumes the items over several consumption occasions. In the other strategy (sequential choices/sequential consumption), the consumer buys one item at a time, just before each consumption occasion. The first strategy is posited to yield more variety seeking than the second. The greater variety seeking is attributed to forces operating in the simultaneous choices/sequential consumption strategy, including uncertainty about future preferences and a desire to simplify the decision. Evidence from three studies, two involving real products and choices, is consistent with these conjectures. The implications and limitations of the results are discussed.

An Evaluation Cost Model of Consideration Sets

Abstract If utility (net of price) varies by consumption occasion, the consideration set of a rational consumer will represent trade-offs between decision costs and the incremental benefits of choosing from a larger set of brands. If evaluating a brand decreases biases and uncertainty in perceived utility, the decision to evaluate a brand for inclusion in a consideration set is different from the decision to consider an evaluated brand. The decision to consume is, in turn, different from the decision to consider. This article provides analytical expressions for these decision criteria and presents four aggregate implications of the model: (1 ) distributions of consideration set sizes, (2) order-of-entry penalties, (3) dynamic advertising response, and (4) competitive promotion intensity.

Alcohol problems increase while physician attention declines. 1967 to 1984

\s=b\Physician intervention holds the potential to arrest excess drinking in medical patients, but little information has been available on trends over time in medical attention to this problem. Three epidemiologic studies in which nationally representative samples of US adults were interviewed about their drinking practices and problems provide some data on this issue. Analyses of data from these three studies (conducted in 1967, 1979, and 1984) indicate that multiple alcohol problems and at least one occasion of recent heavy alcohol consumption have increased over time in the general population. At the same time, the probability of a physician recommending reduction in drinking declined for both males and females. When only male subjects with multiple alcohol problems were considered, physician recommendations to reduce drinking did not decline significantly between 1967 and 1984. However, the sharp decline over time in physician's medical advice to female subjects with multiple alcohol problems was statistically significant. Similar results were found for physician attention to drinking among the more inclusive group of subjects with at least one recent occasion of heavy drinking. Implications of these findings are discussed. (Arch Intern Med. 1990;150:397-400)

Alcohol Problems Increase While Physician Attention Declines

Physician intervention holds the potential to arrest excess drinking in medical patients, but little information has been available on trends over time in medical attention to this problem. Three epidemiologic studies in which nationally representative samples of US adults were interviewed about their drinking practices and problems provide some data on this issue. Analyses of data from these three studies (conducted in 1967, 1979, and 1984) indicate that multiple alcohol problems and at least one occasion of recent heavy alcohol consumption have increased over time in the general population. At the same time, the probability of a physician recommending reduction in drinking declined for both males and females. When only male subjects with multiple alcohol problems were considered, physician recommendations to reduce drinking did not decline significantly between 1967 and 1984. However, the sharp decline over time in physician's medical advice to female subjects with multiple alcohol problems was statistically significant. Similar results were found for physician attention to drinking among the more inclusive group of subjects with at least one recent occasion of heavy drinking. Implications of these findings are discussed.