Working Paper No. 276
Published: 2023
Category:
Economics
The extent of “deceptive” advertising by wine retailers: Caveat venditor
Omer Gokcekus
Abstract
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, online wine sales, and the volume of associated email advertising from wine retailers, have increased significantly. In this observational study, I analyzed 258 emails received between April and November of 2022, for $10,016 worth of wines from two major wine retailers in New Jersey, USA. Specifically, I determined the accuracy of two major claims that were made in these emails: (1) that all wines have 90+ scores; and (2) that these wines are offered at a deeply discounted price. Both claims were accurate in only 3.9% of cases; at least one of the claims (either price discount or score) was accurate in 31.4%; and both claims were inaccurate 64.7% of the time. Additionally, for 49.3% of the wines advertised there was at least one concealed critic’s score under 90 points. Most strikingly, based on what the emails claimed, recipients of these emails would save 37.2% if they purchased from the advertising retailer. However, recipients could have purchased these wines by spending 12.7% less than the advertised “discounted” price, by purchasing elsewhere.
Keywords: Online wine sales, deceptive advertising, observational study
Keywords: Online wine sales, deceptive advertising, observational study