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    Relationshipwith Millennia

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    International Journal of WBusiness ReseaVol. 20 No. 1, 2

    pp. 5# Emerald Group Publishing Lim

    1751-1DOI 10.1108/17511060810864

    Using winery web sites to launchrelationships with Millennials

    Linda I. Nowak and Sandra NewtonSonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, USA

    Abstract

    Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Millennial wine consumers anddetermine if positive evaluations of the winerys web site lead to increased trust in the winery andperceptions of product quality, higher levels of brand equity, and increased purchase intentions. Thetasting room experience will be evaluated for consistency with the image created by the web site andthe meeting of Millennial expectations during the web site visit.Design/methodology/approach In total, 122 young people (Millennials) with an average age of23 were asked to visit winery web sites and then evaluate the web sites for quality and perceptionsformed relating to the overall image of the winery and its products. The participants were then askedto visit the winery and evaluate their winery experience and its products.

    Findings Web site quality was a significant predictor of increased trust in the winery andperceptions of the quality of the wine. Web site evaluations of brand equity carried over to influenceevaluations of brand equity after the tasting room experience. When visiting the winery, the more thecustomers expectations were exceeded, the higher the level of customer satisfaction with the tastingroom experience.Research limitations/implications The research findings were based on a small conveniencesample of 122 undergraduate US business students from Northern California. Future research shouldstudy larger and more diverse samples of the Millennial consumer.Practical implications Wine brands attempting to attract the Millennial customer shouldconsider paying close attention to the design, development, and maintenance of a web site thatappeals to the savvy Millennial consumer.Originality/value The potential for web sites to impact young adults perceptions of the winerysimage, trust in the winery, perceptions of wine quality, and intentions to visit the winery based onthese perceptions has not previously been examined.

    Keywords Worldwide web, Wines, Young adults, User interfaces, Brand image

    Paper type Research paper

    IntroductionThe Internet has become an important marketing medium, sometimes as acomplement to a bricks and mortar store (e.g. Barnes and Noble, Eddie Bauer) andsometimes standing alone (e.g. Amazon, E-Bay). Many US wineries have developedweb sites in an effort to build its customer base and to encourage consumers to visit thetasting room or buy direct. When developing these web sites, wineries might want toconsider how best to appeal to not just Generation X and the Baby-Boomers, but alsohow to use these web sites to start building relationships with younger customers.

    These are consumers who have been using computers and cell phones all of their lives,the Millennial generation. Lancaster and Stillman (2002) describe the Millenials asbeing born between 1977 and 1999; they are also referred to as Generation Y, EchoBoomers, or the Internet Generation. Millennials have grown up with technology anduse it constantly, not just for work. . . states Sharon Jayson in her article titled TheMillennials come of age (2006). Strategist and psychologist Don Tapscott (1998), inhis book entitled Growing Up Digital, emphasizes that this is the first group ofconsumers to grow up immersed in a digital and Internet driven world. Currently, theyare the largest consumer group in the US, 76 million, with annual incomesapproximating $211 billion (Harris Interactive, 2001). This study is looking at the

    The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

    www.emeraldinsight.com/1751-1062.htm

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    Millennials in their early 1920s as an important and emerging market for the wineindustry. In fact, the increased popularity of wine in the United States has beenattributed in part to the Millennials and their interest in wine (Saad, 2005).

    How does a winery catch the attention and then win the hearts of these young

    consumers? Two important keys to building a relationship with any generation areunderstanding their shopping patterns, attitudes and beliefs, and buying behaviors,and responding to them. This research focuses on winery web site and tasting roomexperiences with the Millennial generation, in this case, those consumers between theages of 21 through 29. The authors examine the relationship between impressionsgained upon viewing the winerys web site and how those impressions carry over toperceptions about product quality and brand image for the winery. By getting to knowthe Millennial wine consumer, wineries can learn how to meet the customersexpectations for the type of web site and tasting room experience that will lead topositive word of mouth, wine club memberships, and repeat purchases. Earlier studieshave found that how consumers perceived wine quality combined with perceptions offair pricing relative to quality are two critical factors for building brand equity (Nowak

    and Washburn, 2002). Getz et al. (1999) found that wine and tourism professionals alsostressed the quality of the wine, service, and overall wine country experience as criticalsuccess factors in both the US and Australia. But what can the winery do to create loyalMillennial customers, young people who are still learning about wine and may not beable to accurately judge quality? Perhaps one way is to connect with them through amedium that they know well, the Internet.

    Previous research has found that increased levels of customer satisfaction positivelyaffect the profitability of a firm (Yeung et al., 2002). Therefore, the winery should look atthe total experience for Millennial customers from the initial web site visit throughproduct usage. Satisfied customers will more likely return to the web site to placeorders or look for the wine in wine shops and grocery stores. Often when satisfiedcustomers have house guests, they will also return to the winery with their guests, sothey inadvertently become marketers for the winery. They are also more apt to spendmore on both wine and wine accessories than typical first time visitors (Dodd, 1999).The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Millennial wine consumers anddetermine if positive evaluations of the winerys web site lead to increased levels oftrust in the winery, perceptions of product quality, and brand equity. The tasting roomexperience will be evaluated for consistency with the image created by the web site andthe meeting of millennial expectations during the actual winery site visit. The winerysweb site quality, perceptions of product quality, evaluations of fair pricing, servicequality, and overall ratings of customer satisfaction with both the web site and thetasting room experience will be examined as predictors of increased brand equity, aswell as purchase intentions.

    Perceived quality of the web site and consumer trustA winerys web site could possibly be the very first contact a potential customer mayhave with the winery. First impressions are critical at this stage and the winery shouldbe sure to develop and maintain a site that is attractive, up-to-date, user friendly, andeasy to navigate. Lynch and Horton (2002) state that a web site that is sloppily built,with poor design and quality standards, will not inspire confidence from the customersperspective. Everard and Galletta (2006) found that poor style, grammatical errors,incomplete links, and spelling errors give consumers the perception that the onlinestore is of lower quality. They found that the consumers perceived quality of an online

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    store will influence the users trust in the online store. Trust, in turn, influenced theusers intention to purchase from the online store. With thousands of wine brandsworld-wide, this is not the time to send the message that the winery is not reliable orcredible, or is sloppy, as this image may carry over to the perceptions of the quality of

    the wine (or product). This discussion leads to the first hypothesis:H1. Increased perceptions of web site quality will lead to increased levels of trust

    and increased levels of perceptions of product quality.

    DisconfirmationThe expectancy-disconfirmation model provides the basis for understanding theconcept of customer satisfaction. Consumers are thought to compare perceivedperformance with prior expectations, and if performance exceeds expectations, then astate of positive disconfirmation exists and the customer is satisfied (Oliver, 1980).Negative disconfirmation results when the product or service is worse than expectedand simple confirmation is when the product or service is as expected. Satisfaction

    increases as expectations are exceeded and as corresponding emotions become highlypositive (Mano and Oliver, 1993; Oliver, 1993).Millennials who have visited a winerys web site may carry certain expectations for

    service quality and product quality into their visit to the tasting room. In addition, aweb site that conveys an image of sophistication may create expectations ofsophistication in the winery tasting room staff and decor. Anything other than thisexpected level of sophistication may yield disappointment and may influenceperceptions about the wine. As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, expectationsthat are exceeded lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction. How does a wineryactually exceed expectations? Beautiful grounds, exceptional wines, and exemplaryservice are potential strategies. Wineries could make the experience more exciting bydoing the unexpected, such as having special guest appearances, or offering some form

    of entertainment. The bar keeps getting raised. Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) refer tothese additional psychological benefits as hedonic consumption and note that thestrategy of providing only expected experiences will prove deficient in todayscompetitive environment. This discussion leads to the development of the followinghypothesis:

    H2. The higher the difference level between positive disconfirmation with thewinery experience and the website experience, the higher the level ofcustomer satisfaction with the winery experience.

    Brand equityMost wineries understand that their image is very important and must be protected.

    Image is one of the building blocks of brand equity. Brand equity is often described asthe incremental value added to a product because of its brand name (Farquhar, 1994).This value can be reflected in the higher prices that customers are willing to pay for aparticular brand, or this value can be a commitment toward a brand that is difficult toarticulate in measurable terms. Aaker (1991, 1996) describes brand equity as amultidimensional concept that consists of brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceivedquality, brand associations, and other specific brand assets. The importance of variousfactors, such as, wine quality, trust in the winery, service quality, and fair pricing havebeen previously documented as significant contributors to a winerys brand equity(Nowak and Washburn, 2002; Nowak et al., 2006). Brand equity may increase cash flow

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    to the firm because of consumer loyalty (Simon and Sullivan, 1993) and competitiveadvantages based on non-price competition (Aaker, 1991).

    As mentioned previously, the winerys image is an important component of brandequity. For some consumers it becomes very important when the customers use of the

    product is highly visible to others (Lemon et al., 2001). Wearing, driving, or being seendrinking the right brand makes a statement to the world about the consumer. Look atme!; I am successful!; I am cool!; I know what I am doing! Web site design, label design,price, ratings, advertising, awards, product placement in movies, customer service,community service, environmental issues, which restaurants serve the wine, and whichcelebrity drinks the wine all may affect the wine brands image.

    Brand equity for any business takes time to develop. However, once the wineryhas built brand equity in the minds of consumers, because of the loyalty that isdeveloped toward the brand, consumers often choose to purchase that wine over othersthat may have similar attributes (Nowak and Washburn, 2002). Brand equity is basedon a number of factors that must be carefully monitored by the winery, for example:brand loyalty (wine club discounts and members-only parties); brand awareness(new release parties, barrel tasting week-ends, or advertising on billboards and inmagazines); perceived quality (ratings and medals); brand image (excellent service,beautiful tasting room, and excellent web site); and attitudes toward thecompany (environmentally friendly). All of these factors are difficult to manage, butstriving for top quality in all of these aspects, both on the web site and during thetasting room visit, should contribute to positive attitudes towards the brand, and thuscontribute toward building brand equity for the winery. This leads to the followinghypotheses:

    H3a. Positive evaluations of the winerys web site will lead to increased brandequity.

    H3b. Positive evaluations of the winerys tasting room combined with earlierevaluations of web site brand equity will lead to increased brand equity forthe winery.

    Purchase intentionsIt is almost impossible to evaluate the customers tasting room experiences withoutexamining their overall levels of customer satisfaction. Nowak and Newton (2006)found that after consumers visited a winery, their higher levels of customer satisfactionwith both the wine and the tasting room experience led to higher repurchase intentions.However, the authors did not investigate the impact that the winerys web site mayhave on the customers level of satisfaction and their expectations for a satisfyingexperience at the winery.

    Customer satisfaction has been proven to have a high correlation with the financialsuccess of an organization. Satisfied customers provide repeat business and spreadpositive word-of-mouth. In fact, Yeung et al. (2002), analyzed customer satisfaction dataand financial performance data from approximately 100 firms and found that withincreased satisfaction came increased profits. However, many managers believe that inorder to build strong customer loyalty and exceptional financial returns, thesatisfaction scores must be in the upper range of a rating scale (e.g. a six or seven on aseven-point scale). While often times this is difficult to achieve, especially with therising expectations of savvy consumers, researchers suggest that managers should be

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    seeking these even higher levels of customer satisfaction in order to stay competitive(Keiningham et al., 1999). How would a winery accomplish this?

    Anecdotal evidence suggests that a customer friendly web site and supporting staffwill contribute to increased customer satisfaction in wine consumers. Businesses found

    that by improving the quality of customer service in the form of toll-free telephonesupport and ordering assistance, the number of very satisfied customers increasedsignificantly (Keiningham et al., 1999). Winery web sites should be an excellentplatform for providing toll-free telephone numbers for their customers and e-mailaccess. Staff should be available to answer questions, solve order problems, andrespond promptly to e-mails. The preceding discussion regarding the development ofvery satisfied customers and the relationships with increased profits leads to thedevelopment of the next hypothesis specific to Millennial customers:

    H4a. The higher the level of customer satisfaction and experience with a winerysweb site, the higher the reported purchase intentions by the customer.

    H4b. The higher the level of customer satisfaction and experience with a winerystasting room, combined with earlier levels of customer satisfaction aftervisiting the web site, the higher the reported purchase intentions by thecustomer.

    Research has found that Millennials seek a balance between work and life and thatthey believe that life should be fun and enjoyable (Harris Interactive, 2001). A morerecent study completed by Thach and Olsen (2006), found that when advertising toyoung wine consumers between the ages of 21-28, advertisers should stress fun, social,and relaxed settings. Nowak et al. (2006) also found that positive emotions experiencedat the winery (e.g. happiness, excitement, joy) were significant predictors of a winerysbrand equity. This leads us to develop the following hypotheses:

    H5a. The higher the level of perception that the winery has a fun image (afterviewing the web site), the higher the reported purchase intentions by thecustomer.

    H5b. The higher the level of perception that the winery has a fun image (aftervisiting the winery), the higher the reported purchase intentions by thecustomer.

    MethodologyMillennials were asked to first visit the internet web site of a winery they had nevervisited before and then fill out the questionnaire evaluating the winery web site on thequality of the web site, perceived product quality, fair pricing, overall customersatisfaction with the site, brand equity, feelings of trust, service quality, purchaseintentions, and intentions to visit the winery. To ensure that the students actuallyinteracted with the web site, they were instructed to print the home page and drivingdirections to the winery, and hand-in with the completed questionnaire. Theparticipants were then asked to visit the actual winery they had visited on-line andthen fill out a second questionnaire evaluating the winery on product quality, fairpricing, overall customer satisfaction, brand equity, feelings of trust, service quality,and repurchase intentions. The participants were asked to visit the wineries on a week-end in order to control for volume of traffic as a determinant of customer satisfaction.

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    The participants were also asked their ages, their gender, and approximately howmany wineries they had visited in their lifetime.

    Individuals participating in this study were undergraduate business students froma public university in California. Students volunteering to participate were asked to

    sample wines at the tasting room; therefore, the minimum age of all participating was21. The average age of the sample of 122 was 23 years and the sample comprised 50 percent male and 50 per cent female. The number of times they had visited wineries intheir lifetimes ranged from 0 to 200, and the average number of visits was 6.82. All hadeasy access to local wineries.

    There were two measurements for this study, the winerys web site and the winerystasting room. The items measuring each construct and their reliability scores(Cronbach alpha) for both measurements are listed in Table I. Three items were used tomeasure perceptions of fair pricing, adapted from research conducted by Nowak andWashburn (2002). Product quality was measured with three items developed by theauthors for this study. Product quality was measured with the following items:Overall, I consider the quality of the wine to be excellent, I believe that the generalquality of the wine is low, and The quality of the wine is generally (verypoor. . .excellent). All items used a seven-point scale. The three customer satisfactionitems were based on a scale developed by Oliver and Swan (1989), using a seven-pointsemantic differential scale.

    The three items that measured the quality of the winerys web site were adaptedfrom Yoo and Donthu (2001). Trust was measured with three items adapted from

    Jarvenpaa and Tractinsky (1999). Service quality was measured using two of the threeitems based on questions developed by Taylor and Baker (1994). The reverse codeditem for both surveys was removed during reliability analysis. Brand equity wasmeasured with five items adapted from a scale developed by Yoo and Donthu (1997).Positive disconfirmation was measured with three items and purchase intention was

    measured with four items. Both sets of questions were based on scales developed andused by Oliver et al. (1997).

    The image of the winery and its web site were measured with seven singlestatements created by the authors. The participants were asked to rate the winerysimage on fun, sophisticated, casual, sexy, healthy, modern, and exclusiveon both the winery web site survey and the winery tasting room survey. An example ofan item is This winery has a fun image. All items used a seven-point scale, with oneanchoring strongly disagree and seven indicating strongly agree.

    ResultsRegression analysis using SPSS 14.0 was used to test the hypotheses. The items foreach variable were summed and averaged creating the variables used in the analysis.Table II outlines the descriptive statistics of the study variables. In general, the meansto all variables increased from the web site responses to the tasting room responses,except for trust. Trust, although not significant, decreased after the visit to the tastingroom. Also included in Table II are the paired differences of the correspondingvariables between the winery web site survey responses and the tasting room surveyresponses showing significant mean differences. Significant improvement in therespondents perceptions of brand equity, customer service, fair pricing, and positivedisconfirmation at the 0.05 level are noted, yet no significant improvement in theirpurchase intentions, and perceptions of product and service quality.

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    TableMeasurement items ascale reliabilities resu

    Construct with measurement itemsa Web siteTasting

    room

    Fair pricing 0.808 0.772

    These wines appear to be competitively pricedThese wines are a good value for the priceI perceive these wines to be fairly pricesProduct quality 0.653 0.778Overall, I consider the quality of the wine to be excellentI believe that the general quality of the wine is low. (R)I would expect the quality of the wine to be generally very poor . . .excellentCustomer satisfaction 0.869 0.952Overall, after visiting this web site, how do you feel about thewinery?

    Displeased . . . PleasedDissatisfied . . . SatisfiedUnhappy . . . Happy

    Web site quality 0.789 Notapplicable

    The web site is of high qualityThis web site appears to be of very poor qualityThe overall quality of this web site is excellentTrust 0.770 0.856This winery seems trustworthyThis winery wants to be known as one who keeps its wordI trust this winery to keep my best interests in mindService quality (for web site survey) 0.629 Not

    applicableBased on this web site, I expect the service in this winerys tastingroom will be excellent

    I would expect the quality of the tasting room service to begenerally very poor. . .

    excellentService quality (for winery tasting room survey) Not

    applicable0.871

    Overall, I consider the service in the tasting room to be excellentThe quality of the tasting room service is generally poor . . .excellentBrand equity 0.823 0.905I am satisfied with my decision to visit this winerys web site(winery)This winery would be my first choiceEven if another winery has the same offerings as this winery, Iwould prefer to purchase from this wineryIt makes sense to buy from this winery instead of any other winery,

    even if their wines are essentially the sameIf here is another winery as good as this one, I would still prefer tobuy from this wineryPositive disconfirmation 0.832 0.918Compared to my prior expectations, I found my experience at thisweb site (winery) to be much worse . . . much better.Compared to how satisfied I expected to be with my visit to thisweb site (winery), I found that my level of satisfaction was muchworse . . . much better

    (Continued)

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    H1 was supported, in that increased perceptions of web site quality led to increasedlevels of both trust and product quality. Web site quality (F 19.303; Sig. 0.000)explained 13 per cent of the variance (Adjusted R2) of dependent variable, trust, whileweb site quality (F 8.206; Sig. 0.005) explained 6 per cent of the variance (AdjustedR2 ) of dependent variable, product quality.

    H2posited that the higher the difference level between positive disconfirmation withthe winery experience and the web site experience, the higher the level of customersatisfaction with the winery experience. Here the positive disconfirmation variable fromthe winery experience was subtracted from the positive disconfirmation variable from theweb site experience to create the positive disconfirmation difference variable for each ofthe participants. H2was supported. The positive disconfirmation difference (F 53.076,Sig. 0.000) was a significant predictor of increased perceptions customer satisfaction,explaining 30 per cent of the variance (AdjustedR2).

    H3a and H3b were supported. H3a pertains to winery web site perceptions wherefair pricing, trust, positive disconfirmation, product quality, web site quality, customersatisfaction, and service quality were entered into the regression analysis with brand

    Table II.Descriptive statistics (inorder of significance)

    Variable

    Web site Tasting room Paired differences

    Mean SD Mean SDMean

    differenceSig.

    (two-tailed)

    Customer satisfaction 5.49 1.001 5.80 1.192 0.309 0.008Positive disconfirmation 5.20 0.840 5.48 1.135 0.276 0.009Fair pricing 5.01 0.932 5.16 0.893 0.165 0.017Brand equity 4.67 0.974 4.87 1.243 0.196 0.018Product quality 5.61 0.865 5.73 0.975 0.115 0.086Service quality 5.67 0.853 5.78 1.10 0.107 0.331Purchase intentions 5.28 1.161 5.35 1.332 0.072 0.382Trust 5.56 0.823 5.55 0.946 0.016 0.829Web site quality 5.80 0.804

    Construct with measurement itemsa Web siteTasting

    room

    Overall, when compared to my expectations, I found the entire

    experience of this web site (at the winery) to be muchworse. . .much better.Purchase intention 0.842 0.917In the future, what is the likelihood that you would purchase thiswine? Very unlikely . . . very likelyIn the future, what is the likelihood that you would purchase thiswine in a store or restaurant? Not possible . . . very possibleIn the future, how would you rate your chances of visiting thiswinery? Certain not to go . . . certain to goWould you take your friends to visit this winery? No chance . . .sure to go

    Notes: aSeven item scale: onevery strongly disagree, four neutral, sevenvery strongly agree(R) Reverse codedTable I.

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    equity as the dependent variable. The model explained 51 per cent of the variance(AdjustedR2) with anF 18.821, Sig. 0.000.

    H3b pertains to winery tasting room perceptions. The winery tasting room was thesecond phase of the requirement; therefore, it is important to also consider variables

    from the web site visit. The variables from the tasting room, fair pricing, trust, positivedisconfirmation, product quality, customer satisfaction, and service quality, as well asweb site quality and web site brand equity were entered into the regression analysiswith brand equity as the dependent variable. The model explained 77 per cent of thevariance (Adjusted R2) with an F 52.562, Sig. 000. Table III depicts the results ofthe two separate regression models for H3a and H3b showing the standardizedcoefficients (Beta) and significance for each model. The coefficients are in order ofsignificance for the winery web site perceptions.

    H4a and H4b were supported. H4a pertains to factors that may affect winery website perceptions where product quality, positive disconfirmation, brand equity, fairpricing, service quality, web site quality, trust, and customer satisfaction were enteredinto the regression analysis with purchase intentions as the dependent variable. The

    model explained 48 per cent of the variance (Adjusted R2 ) with an F 14.496,Sig. 000. Because the winery tasting room was the second phase of the requirement;again, pertinent variables from the web site visit were also considered. The variablesfrom the tasting room, product quality, positive disconfirmation, fair pricing, servicequality, trust, customer satisfaction, and brand equity, as well as web site brand equity,web site quality, and web site purchase intentions were entered into the regressionanalysis with purchase intentions as the dependent variable. The model explained 85per cent of the variance (Adjusted R2) with an F 71.608, Sig. 000. Table IV depictsthe results of the two separate regression models for H4a and H4b showing thestandardized coefficients (Beta) and significance for each model. The coefficients are inorder of significance for the winery web site perceptions.

    H5a was not supported, in that the single variable, fun image, was not asignificant predictor of purchase intentions after viewing the winery web site. H5b wassupported, however, in that the single variable, fun image, was a significant predictorof purchase intentions after visiting the winery tasting room. The model for the winerytasting room explained only 4 per cent of the variance (Adjusted R2) with an F 6.257,Sig. 014. Because of the non-support of H5a and the low R2 of H5b, the authorsexplored all seven of the image factors for both web site and tasting room experiencesusing stepwise regression in an effort to determine what images were important withthe participants. Entering the image variables, fun, sophisticated, casual, sexy,

    Table ICoefficient resultsbrand equity as tdependent variab

    Winery web siteperceptions

    Winery tasting roomperceptions

    Variable Beta Sig. Beta Sig.

    Fair pricing 0.244 0.001 0.075 0.116Trust 0.254 0.001 0.222 0.000Positive disconfirmation 0.237 0.009 0.146 0.067Product quality 0.157 0.077 0.023 0.697Web site quality 0.078 0.363 0.076 0.117Customer satisfaction 0.062 0.517 0.262 0.002Service quality 0.053 0.580 0.043 0.561Web site brand equity 0.419 0.000

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    healthy, modern, and exclusive into the equation with web site purchaseintentions as the dependent variable, exclusive image was only significant predictorwith Beta 0.333, Sig. 0.000, with the model explaining 10 per cent variance(Adjusted R2 ) and F 14.865, Sig. 0.000. Entering the image variables, fun,sophisticated, casual, sexy, healthy, modern, and exclusive into the equationwith winery tasting room purchase intentions as the dependent variable, sexy imageand healthy image were the significant predictors. The model explained 10 per cent ofthe variance (Adjusted R2) and F 7.508, Sig. 0.001. The Beta for sexy image was.209, Sig. 0.020, and the Beta for healthy image was .219, Sig. 0.015. Table Vprovides a summary of the hypotheses results.

    Discussion and managerial implications

    The results of this research support the premise that younger consumers initialimpressions formed from the winerys web site may be very important to building the

    Table V.Hypotheses results

    Hypotheses Results

    H1. Increased perceptions of web site quality will lead to increased levels of trustand increased levels of perceptions of wine quality.

    Supported

    H2. The higher the difference level between positive disconfirmation with thewinery experience and the website experience, the higher the level of customersatisfaction with the winery experience.

    Supported

    H3a. Positive evaluations of the winerys web site will lead to increased brandequity.

    Supported

    H3b. Positive evaluations of the winerys tasting room will lead to increasedbrand equity.

    Supported

    H4a. The higher the level of customer satisfaction with a winerys web site, thehigher the reported purchase intentions by the customer.

    Supported

    H4b. The higher the level of customer satisfaction with a winerys tasting room,the higher the reported purchase intentions by the customer.

    Supported

    H5a. The higher the level of perception that the winery has a fun image (afterviewing the web site), the higher the reported purchase intentions by the customer.

    Notsupported

    H5b. The higher the level of perception that the winery has a fun image (aftervisiting the winery), the higher the reported purchase intentions by the customer.

    Supported

    Table IV.Coefficient results ofpurchase intentions asthe dependent variable

    Winery web siteperceptions

    Winery tasting roomperceptions

    Variable Beta Sig. Beta Sig.

    Product quality 0.307 0.001 0.177 0.001Positive disconfirmation 0.217 0.024 0.294 0.000Web site brand equity 0.213 0.032 0.158 0.007Fair pricing 0.131 0.080 0.011 0.776Service quality 0.132 0.167 0.012 0.846Web site quality 0.078 0.359 0.043 0.279Trust 0.050 0.544 0.065 0.217Customer satisfaction 0.035 0.724 0.176 0.013Web site purchase intentions 0.496 0.000Brand equity 0.103 0.178

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    initial trust, brand equity, and purchase intentions prior to visiting the winery. If theyoung consumer has never visited the winery or tasted the wine, the web siteexperience creates important first impressions and expectations about the quality ofthe wine and the winery itself. The winerys web site is an area in which a winery can

    create that special image, which can differentiate itself from the competition, educatethe consumer, and create interest in the winery and its wine.

    The study protocol for the participants was to visit the winerys web site first, thenvisit the winery. The level of web site quality found during the initial visit to the website positively influenced the young consumers level of trust in the winery, as well astheir perceptions as to the quality of the wine. The strong initial impressions of thewinery from viewing the web site with regard to brand equity and purchase intentionsalso carried over to the winery tasting room visit.

    While factors surrounding the entire winery tasting room experience havesignificant effects on the young consumers brand equity and purchase intentions, itdoes make sense, however, that a more positive experience at the winerys website would get the consumer to the winery tasting room and into the door. And once

    inside the tasting room, it is the tasting room experience and those past impressionsfrom the winery web site visit that determines the consumers brand equity and futurepurchase intentions. This study found that once the participant visited the winery,those impressions as to the actual quality of the web site were no longer valid, butrather the impressions of brand equity and purchase intentions built from visitingthe web site were valid. Therefore, the positive perceptions shaped from visiting thewinerys web site can lead to definite positive impressions of the winery, which couldlead to the first and repeat visit.

    Exceeding the expectations of the young consumer was found to be a criticalelement in both the web site and tasting room experience, even though initialperceptions were formed from viewing the winery web site. This study used theexpectancy-disconfirmation model as a means to improve the understanding theconsumers satisfaction level recognizing the relationship between expectations andsatisfaction. While consumers are thought to compare perceived performance withprior expectations, if performance exceeds expectations, then a state of positivedisconfirmation exists and the customer is satisfied (Oliver, 1980). The correlationbetween positive disconfirmation and customer satisfaction for the winery web sitewas 0.575; whereas the correlation between positive disconfirmation and customersatisfaction for the winery tasting room was strong at 0.808. Increased levels ofpositive disconfirmation brought about increased customer satisfaction; it was also asignificant predictor in the equations when searching for ways to increase brandequity of winery web site perceptions, and purchase intentions.

    The mean of the variable, trust, decreased from the visit to the winery web site to

    the visit to the tasting room. Trust was also not a significant predictor of purchaseintentions after the visit to the winery web site or the tasting room, yet trust was asignificant predictor of brand equity after the visit to the winery web site and thetasting room. This study used cross-sectional data, which makes it difficult tounderstand why trust mean decreased after the visit to the tasting room, even thoughthe decrease was minimal and not significantly different. Trust in e-commerce sites isfound to center around the consumers willingness to transact with an on-line business,as well as their assessment of the business trustworthiness (McKnight et al., 2002).Therefore, it is possible that the trust issues of young consumers were higherwhen viewing the web sites than for the actual brick-and-mortar winery visit because

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    of the various privacy and security issues revolving around on-line transactions.Perhaps future research could address this issue by taking a closer look at the trustconstruct.

    All web site and customer relationship management systems that interface with

    the customer are critical. Successful organizations realize that every interactionwith the customer can make or break the relationship (Brown, 2003); consequently,the winerys web site can be an important extension to the winerys tasting roomwith the customer, whether prior to the visit, or for continual use for ordering wineand asking questions. Winery employees, who may also be managing the web site,need to understand that often they are the first critical key to creating lasting,positive impressions. The web site should be constantly updated with news ofwinery events and new vintages. Inquiries e-mailed to the winery staff from the website should be responded to immediately and thoughtfully. Employees should beempowered to handle customer problems, such as adjusting a customers billwithout the delay of management approval. Not enough staff to handle a surge ofcustomer inquiries from the web site or to handle customers in the tasting room can

    be the kiss of death, leaving the customer with a feeling of just being one of thecrowd and not appreciated by the winery. Customers also appreciate it when awinery learns the customers preferences and buying habits (Lemon et al., 2001), andall of this type of information should be readily accessible in well-maintainedcustomer databases.

    The results of this research empirically support the premise that exceeding theyoung wine consumers expectations during the tasting room visit contributes tohigher levels of customer satisfaction, and higher levels of customer satisfaction in thetasting room lead to increased levels of purchase intentions and intentions to revisit thewinery. Positive experiences of the winerys website and tasting room also contributedto increases in brand equity, thus providing the potential opportunity for long-term,profitable relationships. Carefully orchestrating a tasting room experience that exceedsthe customers expectations appears to be a critical component of post purchaseattitudes.

    Even though prior research, as well as this study, about Millennials, found thecharacteristic, fun, to be an important attribute for winery tasting rooms (HarrisInteractive, 2001; Nowak et al., 2006; Thach and Olsen, 2006), this study also found thatthe young consumers were more inclined to indicate an intention to purchase winewhen there was an exclusive image projected by the winery web site. A sexy imageor a healthy image associated with the winery tasting room were also significantpredictors in the young consumers intentions to purchase wine or visit the wineryagain. The seven image characteristics used in this study were developed by theauthors in an effort to validate prior research surrounding the fun image; however, the

    characteristics that were found significant perhaps define a different Millennialconsumer. Millennials may be looking for differentiation in the web sites they visit,thus more elite, more fashionable . . . exclusive. As for the winery tasting rooms theyvisit, perhaps they become more conscious of the surroundings and the wine, and lookfor sexy and healthy images. As this portion of the study was more exploratory, futureresearch could revisit the image characteristics.

    In conclusion, this research focused on winery web site and tasting roomexperiences with Millennial consumers between the ages of 21 and 29. The authorsexamined the relationship between impressions gained upon viewing the winerys website and how those impressions carried over to perceptions about product quality, trust,

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    brand equity, and intentions to purchase the wine or visit the winery. As Hall andMacionis (1998) suggested in their chapter on wine tourism, co-operative efforts on thepart of the wineries and the tourism board to target and attract Millennial consumersmay be a critical step in building this customer base. Based on the results of this study

    and earlier studies on Millennials, ad campaigns should continue to focus on the funand enjoyment of wine. While we now understand from the exploratory analysis thatUS Millennials may be more interested in web site experiences that are exclusive andtasting room experiences that are fun, as well as sexy and healthy, future researchcould focus on getting to know the Millennial consumer in other parts of the world, andtheir expectations for the type of web site and tasting room experience that will lead topositive word of mouth, more wine club memberships, and repeat purchases. It is awhole new market out there!

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    About the authorsLinda I. Nowak is a Professor of Marketing at Sonoma State University in California. Dr Nowakhas been teaching and researching in the area if wine marketing for over ten years. She iscurrently the Director of the Wine Business Center at Sonoma State University. Linda I. Nowak isthe corresponding author and can be contacted at: [email protected]

    Sandra Newton is an Assistant Professor in the Business Department of the School ofBusiness and Economics at Sonoma State University. Her research interests includeimpacts of information technology, e-commerce, and customer service related issues in thewine industry.

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