UK Wine Research Articles

Decoy Effects in a Massive Real-World Shopping Dataset

Introduction & BackgroundA key premise of rational choice prescribes that decision-makers ought to ignore irrelevant, inferior alternative options. Consider for example the choice between two wines, where the value of an option is computed across two dimensions: quality and price. When deliberating about which wine to choose, one’s propensity to choose between two otherwise equally preferred wines should be not influenced by the introduction of a third clearly inferior option (being both of lower quality and more expensive than one of the original alternatives). Yet, a large body of work suggests that both people and animals routinely violate this premise in their decisions—in laboratory experiments, the introduction of irrelevant “decoys” into a choice set biases decision-making. However, these decoy effects are less understood in large-scale contexts of real-world decision-making, where choice sets can be large, and preference informed by consumers’ histories of experience.
 Objectives & ApproachWe explored whether the presence of irrelevant, “decoy” alternative options influenced wine purchases in a large real-world dataset of UK wine purchases. From shopping transaction records, we extracted all red and white wine purchases over a one month period. Our analyses examined 3.6M wine purchases made by 755,158 unique customers.
 Relevance to Digital FootprintsWe deployed shopping history data which is a popular example for digital footprints allowing us to track people’s choices and decisions over long periods of time.
 ResultsWe find that among pairs of wines that appear across many different contexts (i.e., stores with different product assortments) and trade off on quality and price, the presence of decoy options— similar options that were dominated by the focal option—made consumers more likely to purchase the focal option (a hallmark of the “attraction effect”). Furthermore, we find that sensitivity to this effect depended on consumers’ history of experience with the product, such that frequent shoppers were less likely to be sensitive to decoy effects in their purchase behaviour.
 Conclusions & ImplicationsWe examined whether real-world consumer decisions, evidenced in a large dataset of wine purchases in the United Kingdom, were subject to a canonical bias in multiattribute choice: the attraction effect. We found that wine purchases were systematically biased in favour of wines that dominated choice sets—a bias which was not observed when choice sets were not dominated. Together, these results extend laboratory-based accounts of decoy effects to real-world choices, and demonstrate how digital footprints data analysis can be linked to health, especially in terms of decision making which is associated with negative health outcomes.

Adaptation to climate change in the UK wine sector

This research contributes to literature on private sector adaptation, examining business-level adaptation to climate change in the UK wine sector. The research adopts a temporal and relational view of adaptation, through a sector-wide, value chain lens and through considering adaptation to both climate variability and longer-term change. Using the lens of ‘a good year’ and ‘a bad year’ in the sector, we consider the role of extreme events in adaptation decision-making and learning. We focus, unusually, on both opportunities and risks of climate change. Results show businesses increasingly see climate change as an opportunity for the UK wine sector. Yet climate risks remain and propagate along value chains, through supply and demand. This produces winners and losers in ‘good years’ and ‘bad years’, as well as over longer timescales. We find businesses along the value chain take steps to engage in extensive proactive adaptation behaviour, often right from business design and development. Business relationships condition climate risk exposure and adaptive capacity and adaptation decisions within one business can influence risks and opportunities throughout the value chain. Our results also reflect and develop organisational adaptation theories. We find businesses continually refine their adaptation strategies in response to climate variability and extreme events. They enhance adaptation learning by experimenting with new technologies and strategies. Irregular and extreme events can become important focal or tipping points in creative iteration and innovation of adaptation strategies, including for longer-term climate change. Our results stand in contrast to earlier literatures which suggest that businesses consider climate change to be too uncertain, or long-term, to engage in adaptation. Instead, climate change has become a master-narrative within the wine industry, through which sector actors often interpret their experiences and orient their business design and activities. Results indicate a strong dependence on own experience in adaptation decision making, that risks creating adaptation lock-in. We propose a typology of proactive private sector adaptation responses.

Proposed alcohol tax reform in the United Kingdom: Implications for wine-exporting countries

AbstractA proposal to reform the United Kingdom's excise duty on alcohol is under consideration during 2022. The proposal would change the tax base from volume of product to volume of alcohol, which would see a fall in the tax on sparkling wine (by about one-fifth), a rise in the tax on fortified wines of 18% alcohol by volume (ABV) (by about one-sixth), and table wines with more (less) than 11.5% ABV would become dearer (cheaper). With taxes on most beers unchanged and taxes on spirits lowered slightly, the pattern of UK wine consumption and imports would alter considerably. This article draws on a global model of national alcoholic beverage markets to estimate the likely bilateral trade effects of this proposed reform to UK excise duties. It compares them with the trade effects of the United Kingdom's first two bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), following the post-Brexit EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which allows Australian and New Zealand vignerons tariff-free access to the UK wine market. Those two FTAs are estimated to cause the United Kingdom to import far more wine than is lost by the proposed changes in UK excise duties.

Collective action and UK wine investment fraud

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the measures taken by legitimate wine investment companies and enforcement agencies to counter alternative investment scams.Design/methodology/approachThe authors interviewed wine industry and law enforcement specialists to understand the nature of wine investment fraud and the characteristics of the victims. They also drew on secondary data in the form of government agency research and media sources.FindingsThe majority of wine investment frauds are boiler room operations, using social engineering techniques to draw victims into the fraud. The authors conclude that countering wine investment fraud requires public education by government, the wine industry and the police.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a small-scale study that uses interviews with experts in the industry and in law enforcement and secondary data as evidence. Despite the limitations in the number of interviews, the authors are able to comment on the social impacts of alternative investment scams and suggest a theoretical basis for future work in the field.Practical implicationsThe authors make a case for regulators and investors to be part of collective action through education and public awareness campaigns to combat alternative investment fraud.Originality/valueThe authors outline how collective action theory might be extended to investigate fraud prevention measures in other financial and commodity markets.

The Evolution of the UK Wine Market: From Niche to Mass-Market Appeal

This article is an historic narrative account of the emergence of the mass-market wine category in the UK in the post-World War II era. The role of the former vertically-integrated brewing industry in the early stages of development is described from the perspective of both their distributional effects and their new product development initiatives. Significant in the narrative is the story of Babycham, the UK’s answer to Champagne that was targeted to the new consumers of the 1950s; women. Then a specially-developed French wine, Le Piat D’Or, with its catchy advertising campaign, took the baton. These early brands were instrumental in extending the wine category, as beer continued its precipitous decline. That the UK is now one of the largest wine markets globally owes much to the success of these early brands and those that arrived later in the 1990s, with Australia displacing France as the source for mass-market appeal.

First report of Grapevine fanleaf virus infecting grapevine in the United Kingdom

The UK wine industry is a fast-growing sector and in 2015 an area of c. 2,000 hectares had been planted with vines from which over five million bottles of wine were produced (Wine and Spirit Trade Association Market Overview, 2016). It is important to monitor the phytosanitary status of vines to ensure the sustainability of the industry in the UK.

The impact of alternative routeing and packaging scenarios on carbon and sulphate emissions in international wine distribution

There is a large body of research related to carbon footprint reduction in supply chains and logistics from a wide range of sectors; however the decarbonisation of freight transport is mostly explored from a single mode perspective and at a domestic/regional level. This paper takes into account a range of alternative transport modes, routes and methods with particular reference to UK wine imports from two regions: northern Italy and Southeast Australia. The research examines supply chain structures, costs and the environmental impact of international wine distribution to the UK. A number of options are evaluated to calculate the carbon footprint and sulphate emissions of alternative route, mode, method of carriage, and packaging combinations. The estimation of CO2e emissions incorporates three main elements - cargo mass, distance and method of carriage; sulphate emissions are derived from actual ship routes, engine power and operational speeds. The bottling of wine either at source or close to destination is also taken into consideration. The key findings are: there are major differences between the environmental footprint of different routeing and packaging scenarios; the international shipping leg almost always has a much larger footprint than inland transport within the UK except in the hypothetical case of the rail shipments from Italy using flexitanks. With reference to sulphate, the lowest cost scenario among the sea maximizing options is also the sulphate minimising solution.

‘Competition is useless’: how Gilbey's retail and marketing innovation dominated the British wine and spirits market, 1857–1922

In 1860, William Gladstone set about creating a light wine revolution in the UK. In a determined attempt to end the threat to the nation's well-being that he felt was posed by the widely distributed, highly alcoholised and often adulterated port and sherry that dominated the UK wine market, he cut the duties on unfortified, light wine. Such was the ensuing public demand for cheaper wine that, according to the wine trade journal, ‘all sorts and conditions of shopkeepers rushed into the Trade almost as impetuously as, ten years before, inexperienced youths had flocked to the goldfields of Ballarat’. Most of these new entrants failed in short order but one came to dominate the British market through their thousands of local agents. This article examines how the now largely forgotten firm of W. & A. Gilbey revolutionised the nineteenth-century wine trade. Using a pioneering retailer brand strategy and effective database marketing, they drove sales through a franchise-based business system that they managed through analytical sales data. At the end of his life Gladstone compared them favourably to Thomas Cook, asserting that ‘you stand outside and above the rank of ordinary commercial Houses’. Another member of the wine trade put it more succinctly: ‘competition is useless’.

Lower alcohol wines in the UK market: some baseline consumer behaviour metrics

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to provide clearer insights into and identify the key consumer behaviour metrics of the lower alcohol category (<11 per cent ABV) in the UK wine market.Design/methodology/approach– Data were collected via an online survey from a sample size of 598 regular UK wine drinkers. To operationalise the study, five research questions were formulated. A highly structured quantitatively directed questionnaire was designed to find the answers to the research questions.Findings– Barriers to a larger uptake of the product category included non-availability of the products, lower quality perceptions, taste issues, lack of awareness, lack of alcohol's “feel effect” and absence of a lower alcohol drinking occasion. Many UK consumers are not yet convinced how/if lower alcohol wine fits into their wine drinking occasions. The lower ABV wine buyer's main profile characteristics are weighted towards females, Millennial and Baby Boomer age generations, mostly mid to low income, who drink mainly white and rosé wines. Lower alcohol on its own is not seen as a big benefit, thus lower ABV wines should be more creatively communicated to sell the benefits.Originality/value– This study contributes to the knowledge base in that it is the first to investigate consumer behaviour metrics as regards lower ABV wine in one of the world's leading markets, in the process providing some important baseline research information on this category. As such it is of value to academic researchers and practitioners alike.

The Influence of Holidays on Wine Purchasing Behaviour: Marketing and Tourism Insights Based on a Holiday Experience in Greece

AbstractThis study explores the influence of holiday experience in a wine producing country on consumers' future wine purchasing intentions. Findings from eight focus groups with UK wine consumers who have holidayed in Greece suggest that the effect is greater on highly involved wine consumers and depends on their knowledge of wines from the country, specifically grape varieties, wine producing areas and territorial certifications. This post‐holiday effect facilitates regeneration of memories from holidays when back in the home country, which can also generate interest for wine from the holiday destination and facilitate development of alternative tourism activities such as wine tourism. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Misleading UK alcohol industry criticism of Canadian research on minimum pricing

We would like to respond to criticism of our research by the UK Wine and Spirit Trade Association 1, a UK alcohol industry trade magazine 2 and the Scotch Whisky Association 3. Our study, published recently in Addiction 4, reported a significant negative association between minimum alcohol prices and rates of wholly alcohol-caused deaths. We are accused of misleading the public by reporting false estimates of the effects of minimum price changes on rates of death estimated ‘hypothetically’ to be caused by alcohol and not ‘real deaths’ such as those we report on our own website 5-7. We are also charged with publishing results which contradict official trends in alcohol-related deaths in British Columbia (BC), the Canadian province on which our research has focused. Finally, it is claimed that minimum pricing in Canada bears no relation to what is being proposed for the United Kingdom. Our critics highlight small increases in the numbers of alcohol-related deaths for BC between 2002 and 2009 (from 1073 to 1169) reported on our website 5, 7, which they describe as ‘real’ deaths 2. In fact, these numbers of deaths are estimated using the attributable fraction method, a method our detractors describe as ‘hypothetical’. The population of BC has been rising fairly fast, so that age- and sex-standardized rates of these estimated deaths actually fell during this period, from 25 to 24 per 100 000 residents 5, 6. Furthermore, the main results highlighted in our Addiction paper did not require the use of attributable fractions because they concern causes of death that are wholly alcohol-attributable, e.g. alcohol poisoning, alcoholic gastritis, alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Figure 1 below reports trends for the two main variables used in our analyses. One line shows age- and sex-standardized rates of death that, according to the BC Statistics Agency, were caused wholly by alcohol. The second line shows changes in the inflation-adjusted average minimum price for all alcohol sold in BC calculated as dollars per Canadian standard drink (=13.45 g of ethanol, somewhat larger than a UK ‘unit’ of 8 g). It can be seen that in the first 4 years rates of death were increasing, while average minimum prices were decreasing relative to inflation. In 2006 there was a marked increase in minimum price which was associated with a marked drop in the rate of wholly alcohol-caused deaths. A significant negative association was found between these two variables in our original analysis 4, from which we estimated that a 10% increase in the average minimum price of alcohol would be associated with a 32% decrease in wholly alcohol-caused deaths. We could equally well have said that a 10% decrease in minimum price would be associated with a 32% increase in wholly alcohol-related deaths. The Pearson coefficient of correlation between the minimum price and wholly alcohol-caused deaths was −0.504, (P < 0.010). Details of the methods involved in estimating rates of death and average minimum prices can be found in our original paper 4. Rates of 100% alcohol-attributable deaths and Consumer Price Index (CPI)-adjusted minimum alcohol prices in British Columbia, 2002–2009 Canada is one of a handful of countries to have already implemented minimum alcohol prices. In several provinces, including BC where our study was conducted, much of the alcohol is sold in some form of private liquor store. In BC there are also a small number of government-owned liquor stores which are different only in that they are usually larger and are open for slightly shorter hours. It is likely that the consumer's experience of purchasing alcohol for off-premise consumption is very similar in Canada and the United Kingdom, and they are similarly responsive to changes in retail prices. In summary, the criticisms of our research from these alcohol industry sources have no foundation. Minimum alcohol prices and rates of wholly alcohol-caused (‘real’) deaths were associated significantly and strongly negatively in BC during the time-period of our study. When the value of minimum prices fell with inflation, deaths tended to increase. When minimum price rates were increased by the government, there was an associated decrease in these deaths. We also report delayed effects 2–3 years after minimum price changes on rates of serious diseases attributable to alcohol. We believe that these findings have wide relevance to other jurisdictions, where consideration is being given to using minimum pricing as a strategy to reduce alcohol-related deaths, injuries and illnesses. They are a small part of a much wider literature connecting alcohol prices and availability to public health outcomes 8. None to declare. We are grateful to Paul Gruenewald and Thomas Babor for comments on an earlier draft of this letter. Funding was provided by Canadian Institutes for Health Research Operating Grant #102627 ‘Does minimum pricing reduce the burden of injury and illness attributable to alcohol?’ (Principle Investigator: Tim Stockwell).

The lost scent of Eastern European wines in Western Europe

PurposeEastern European countries have an important history of quality and tradition in winemaking. The radical economic modification that the wine sector had to face during communism exposed these countries to various problems during transition, when their market share in Western European markets shrunk. This paper aims to argue that an important cause of the decline is the inability of price to convey information about the quality level of the wine, as from the theory of asymmetric information.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the econometric theory of hedonic pricing to explore the research question, relating price to the characteristics of the wine, including a quality rating from a respected British wine expert for the year 2006. Results are presented for a sample of 134 wines coming from different Eastern European countries (EEC) sold in the UK. The analysis also tackles the issue of understanding which parameters contributed to the quality level of Eastern European wines, modelling the qualitative description in order to identify the keywords that explains the change in quality level.FindingsThe results show evidence of no correlation between ratings and price in the considered segment of the UK wine market, suggesting an imperfect communication of quality via the price information. Moreover, Romania, which is a very important producing country, has a weak brand value, suggesting the need for restructuring the industry and improving quality management schemes to compete in their newly enlarged destination market. The quality model shows that fruity flavours are those playing a most important role in defining the quality level; hence a more targeted product supply should be encouraged.Originality/valueNo previous research has used hedonic modelling to the case of Eastern European wines. Furthermore, the context used here is to understand the weaknesses of the specific segment, and the tool is used to investigate the loss of competitive advantage of Eastern European products in the UK markets, focusing on the quality/price relation.

Young adult interaction with wine in the UK

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how the 18‐ to 30‐age group currently interacts with wine in a variety of settings. It seeks to establish how young adults in the UK currently perceive, use, purchase and consume wine. This is the next generation of UK wine consumers.Design/methodology/approachA total of seven focus groups were held throughout England and Wales. Participants were between the ages of 18‐30 and consumed wine. A gender balance reflecting UK wine consumption patterns was maintained. One focus group was run to incorporate atypical young wine consumers.FindingsWine is for sharing but a bottle is too big for one person. This key result influences behaviours; younger adults may not buy wine, especially in the on‐trade, but with age this inclusivity increased consumption with partners and friends. Paradoxically, whilst the public image of wine remains as a civilised cultured beverage, it is often consumed during heavy drinking sessions in private situations. In addition, young adult consumers may not actually know how much they spend on wine, but use media to suggest suitable prices in public forums.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample population used was small and may not be representative quantitatively. However, the use of focus groups enabled the gathering of significant qualitative data.Practical implicationsThe 18‐ to 30‐age cohort is smaller than the 45 to 64s, who currently consume the most wine. Understanding how this population interacts with wine, identifying potential new markets, may enable the wine and hospitality industries to react effectively to their needs.Originality/valueUnderstanding how young adults interact with wine rather than their parents will increase understanding of changing behaviours in relation to the social usage of wine.

The culture of wine buying in the UK off‐trade

PurposeThe UK wine market is one of the largest in the world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate current social and cultural influences affecting the buying behaviour of UK wine consumers within off‐trade environments.Design/methodology/approachThree stakeholder groups involved in the provision and sale of wine in the UK are identified. Data gathered from these stakeholders, via semi‐structured interviews, are used to classify groups of UK wine consumers and to develop a question schedule for a series of six wine consumer focus groups.FindingsThe results show that intended usage and or consumption situation have significant influence upon purchasing behaviour. The purchase decision is further influenced by whether intended usage is to be private or public. Significant gender differences are identified; wine buying is often perceived as a predominantly male role although more women actually buy more wine. Differences in low involvement and novice behaviours are identified.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample population used was small and may not be representative quantitatively. However the use of focus groups enabled the gathering of significant qualitative data.Practical implicationsAs a mature, sophisticated wine market, wine purchasing and consumption in the UK has become so incorporated into lifestyle that the consumption context drives purchasing behaviour whether overtly or covertly. Understanding the context of presumed use enables better understanding of consumer behaviour to be developed.Originality/valueThis study suggests that whilst high and low involvement market segments can be, and have previously been, identified these are artificial and fluid constructs since most wine consumers utilise a range of behaviours.

Trends in the British wine market and consumer confusion

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: to give a descriptive outlook of the competitive environment in the UK wine market, and then to show the presence of “consumer confusion” elements in it.Design/methodology/approach – The consumer confusion concept has been considered as a framework in order to test the existence of the principal elements of consumer misunderstanding in the buying process. Data have been collected from secondary sources and through in‐depth semi‐structured interviews among a sample of 40 stakeholders of the wine supply chain in the UK.Findings – The main findings prove the existence of the essential characteristics that can generate a certain degree of consumer confusion, and the relative consciousness of key informants that some strategies need to be adopted to reduce it, although only a few have already been performed.Originality/value – This paper is probably the first work that tests the consumer confusion conditions through a qualitative analysis following the expectatio...

Developing wine tourism: A case study of the attitude of English wine producers to wine tourism

The development of wine tourism has been shown to have a possible positive effect for growers in wine producing areas. Examples of areas where studies have demonstrated this effect include Texas and Rioja. It is believed that the English wine producers, for the most part, are not organized to derive the maximum benefit from wine tourism. At present English vineyards are suffering from the general depression in British agriculture and vineyard owners would benefit from any additional income such as that which could be generated by tourist expenditure. A qualitative study conducted by the authors in 2001 and 2002 shows vineyard proprietors' attitudes to wine tourism and identify ways in which they think wine tourism in the UK can be encouraged and organized to the benefit of the wine producers. This paper will present findings of the study and, using secondary data, notably from the Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute, wine tourism practices in the UK will be compared with those in other wine producing regions. Preliminary findings show growing polarization in the UK wine production world between a small number of large producers, selling wine to major supermarkets, airlines and for export, and small life-style proprietors, becoming heavily dependent on cellar door sales. Findings also show a continuing lack of joint vineyard promotional activity whether organized by the producer, by central government, local government or by tourist authorities.

Beyond drinking: the role of wine in the life of the UK consumer

AbstractSince the development of wine sales via supermarkets in the UK in the 1970s wine consumption has more than doubled so now the UK is the largest wine import market (by value) in the world. Wine is now consumed by approximately 61% of the UK adult population on a regular basis. For many social wine consumption has become part of their lifestyle. Given the international importance of the UK wine market, plus the increasing incorporation of wine into regular consumption behaviour, it is remarkable how few academic studies have been undertaken into the consumption behaviour of moderate, social UK wine consumers. This paper aims to start developing that knowledge, thus adding to our understanding of consumer behaviour in general. The results show that consumers use wine in very sophisticated ways via purchasing, gifting and consumption. The findings also show that social interaction with wine varies significantly, dependant upon occasion and environment. Behaviour also varies if the purchase, as gift and/or for consumption, is perceived as a private or public activity. This paper places UK wine consumer behaviour within a social context, and is able to show that all consumers display a range of behaviours in relation to wine which are situation and occasion dependant.

Consumer confusion in the UK wine industry

This paper examines the prevalence, and effects, of consumer confusion within the UK wine market. Confusion reduction strategies are proposed as a means to enhance marketing efforts within this sector. The drivers of consumer confusion (e.g. product proliferation, product imitation and information overload) are apparent within the UK wine market. Confusion effects have negative consequences for both wine marketers and consumers. Marketing initiatives aimed at broadening consumer choice may inadvertently aggravate the problem. Wine marketers need to learn the lessons of other market sectors and actively consider confusion reduction strategies as a basis for future marketing activity. The analysis suggests marketers frame marketing activity in terms of factors relevant to the consumers' preferred confusion reduction strategy.

UK vineyards sector case study

There has been considerable research into wine marketing worldwide, but little has been published concerning the marketing of UK wines. This paper outlines the background to the retail marketing activities of UK vineyards. Strategies are analysed using three exemplar frameworks: the Ansoff matrix, generic strategies, and the marketing mix. The analysis also makes reference to marketing segmentation. The most active vineyards are pursuing strategies in all four of Ansoff’s growth vectors, with the largest players involved in diversification, for example into tourism. The marketing mixes for most UK wine producers are hybrids between the parameters expected for the “fine” and “beverage” wine segments. For the tiny UK wine industry to exist and prosper, we contend that it is necessary to target niche segments using Porter’s “focused differentiation” approach. Larger vineyards attempt a broader target with tourism activities. UK wines from vineyards of all sizes are differentiated primarily by prestige pricing and by what is effectively “place marketing”.

Organic Wines — The UK Market: A Shift from ‘niche market’ to ‘mainstream’ Position?

This paper examines the development of a small, yet highly significant section of the UK wine market with the arrival of a limited range of organically produced wines on to our mainstream supermarket shelves and highstreet restaurant wine lists. Until recently, UK demand for all organic produce was relatively small, the total size of the UK retail organic market during 1993/1994 being only £105 million (Soil Association Certification Ltd., 2000). The last five years has seen a period of rapid growth, with the same report predicting that the 1999/2000 total sales figure will have increased to £546 million (Soil Association Certification Ltd., 2000). Organic wine still features as a small category within the complete organic picture but experts indicate that the UK market is in a period of significant growth with estimated sales of approximately £7–8 million per annum (Gardener, 2000). The nature of consumers and suppliers involved with the organic food market also appears to be changing. Multinationals have entered the market alongside whole‐food independents, (Blythman, 2000) and the market is seemingly no longer limited to the ‘select few’ of the population willing to seek out and pay the price for a premium product. A recent report suggested that as many as one third of the UK population now buy organic produce of one category or another (Soil Association, 1999). The organic market has apparently ‘come of age’ and as the debate of ‘natural is better’ takes hold, fuelled by continual media coverage, in both the broad‐sheet (Slater, 1998; Dimbleby, 1999) and popular press (Organic Living, 2000). It will be interesting to observe the hospitality industry's response in attempting to keep pace with this developing market.