Drinking Covid-19 away: wine consumption during the first lockdown in Italy

Abstract

In Italy, wine is an integral part of most people’s habits and lifestyles. The advent of a traumatic event like the Covid pandemic brought profound changes to people’s lives: economic instability and normality disruption led consumers to revise their priorities and modify their consumption and purchase behavior. This study analyses the impact of socio-demographic, psychological, and context-related modifications induced by the pandemic on wine consumption and purchase patterns. Participants completed an online, structured survey, and the sample is constituted by Italian wine consumers. Logistic regression and descriptive techniques are applied to analyze data. Results highlight that wine consumption is a deeply rooted habit among Italian consumers, which resisted the great context modifications that occurred with the pandemic. Moreover, changes in wine consumption are connected to that of other alcoholic beverages. Significant short-term and potential long-term effects are discussed. Information collected is paramount to understanding wine consumers’ reactions and behavioral changes induced by the pandemic and effectively plan marketing strategies during new infection peaks.