Content analysis della comunicazione dei vini best-seller e sentiment analysis delle recensioni dei consumatori sull'e-commerce: un confronto cross-country

Objective: Wine e-commerce has experienced a significant surge in popularity in the last decade, making effective communication by wine producers increasingly vital within this domain. By comprehending the online feedback provided by consumers, producers can remain updated to evolving consumer preferences. This study aimed to investigate the communication strategies employed by wine producers on e-commerce platforms and analyse the sentiments expressed by wine consumers through their online reviews. The focus was on three prominent markets: China, the UK, and the US. By identifying both similarities and differences across these markets, the study aimed to provide valuable insights to wine producers, enabling them to develop tailored marketing strategies for each unique market. Methods: The analysis was conducted on the product descriptions and consumer reviews of the top 20 best-selling wines from the most popular wine e-commerce platforms in each country. Content analysis was conducted on the product descriptions using MAXQDA 2022 software to identify the dimensions of wine producers’ communication. Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to identify any differences in communication strategies across the different markets. Hierarchical clustering analysis and multidimensional scaling (MDS) were applied to the online consumer reviews in order to identify the dimensions of wine consumption experience. To discern the sentiment conveyed in these reviews, sentiment classification analysis was employed, enabling the classification of reviews as expressing either a positive or negative opinion. For each country, Rapid Automatic Keyword Extraction (RAKE) and Word Co-occurrence Analysis (WCA) were carried out on the positive and negative reviews separately. These analyses aimed to extract the main characteristic elements of the wine consumption experience that were perceived positively or negatively by consumers in each specific market. Findings: The study examined communication on wine e-commerce among China, the UK, and the US, focusing on 11 dimensions: region description, intrinsic product attribute, production, certification, brand/company, product value, award/professional rate, consuming instruction, supply chain, packaging, and sustainability. Intrinsic product attribute emerged as the most communicated dimension across all countries, with the US placing significant emphasis on it. Significant differences were observed in seven dimensions, indicating distinct communication patterns. China stood out in intrinsic product attribute, certification, packaging, and supply chain communication. The UK had higher communication percentages in several dimensions, except for intrinsic product attribute, which was emphasised more by the US. Hierarchical clustering analysis and MDS uncovered five distinct clusters in the consumer reviews of each country, capturing various dimensions of the wine experience. In China, the clusters represented general impressions, gustatory attributes, wine packaging, merchant service, and economic value perception. The UK clusters focused on general impressions, wine flavour comparison, product value perception, gustatory attributes, and taste-occasion compatibility. In the US, the clusters highlighted consumer engagement, wine-food pairing, intra-wine type comparisons, gustatory attributes, and consumer sentiments based on guided wine selection. The sentiment classification analysis showed that China had a wide range of ...