Research shows British Web users’ love of French wine and reveals how our fellow European online shoppers can help us make expert choices

Paris, 7th September 2009 – As this year’s wine is being harvested, consumers are starting to stock up their wine supplies in readiness for the upcoming winter and Christmas season. Latest research released today by Twenga reveals that British online users are the most avid wine enthusiasts in Europe, with wine accounting for 31% of all online searches across food and drink products.

The research (see chart 1 below) highlights the most popular wines searched by online consumers in the UK in comparison with France, Italy, Spain and Germany. It shows that French wine, with 64% of the UK searches, is the most popular wine among British users. In their love of French wine, Britons are second only to the French (86%) and ahead of the Germans (40%). Italian and Spanish users rank French wine a close second behind wines from their own countries. The overall dominance of French wine on the web can be explained by the fact that France has some of the most expensive wines and therefore justify the cost of shipping.

Twenga’s research also reveals which local wines are most popular among the local populations of Europe.

“Local people are still the best experts on their country’s wine,” says Twenga’s Head of Content, Thérèse Torris. “British online users can take a leaf from the choices of local wines made by French, Italian, Spanish and German users. They are a great source of inspiration about new wines to explore.”

Indeed comparing the wines of each region chosen by British online shoppers with those preferred by local French, Italian, Spanish and German users brings new exceptional wines to light.

“Among Italian and Spanish wines, it’s definitely worth looking beyond the Chiantis and the Riojas”, says wine blogger and international expert Britt Karlsson of BKWine. “Wines like the Italian Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino, or the Spanish Ribera del Duero and the top-quality dry sherry wines from Jerez, are very well-known locally, but less so outside their country of origin. Likewise, I follow German users in their preference for the delicate German Rieslings and their Spätburgunder (German for Pinot Noir!). French users’ preferences point to the great French classics but also to two regions worth discovering: the Languedoc-Roussillon and the Jura.”

Searches for wine in the Food & Drink sections of Twenga’s sites, detailed by country of origin of the wine

In preparation for the back-to-school season, Twenga, the new-generation search engine, studied the price of 98,939 school supplies used by students in the UK, France and Germany.

The results reveal that the “regular price” (median price figure) of a shopping basket containing 16 standard school supplies including pencils, pens, erasers, notebooks, etc (full list of products below) dramatically decreased by 10% from 2008 to 2009, whereas “bargain price” (first quartile price figure) of the same supplies dropped by 5% from 2008 to 2009.

Most importantly, at an average of £62, the UK’s bargain shopping basket was  10% less expensive than the same basket in Germany where it cost €81 (£69), but 7% more expensive than in France where it costs €68 (£58). This not only shows that deflation is strong in the UK and France, but also demonstrates that the combination of price-falls in the UK with the decline of the British Pound against the Euro have made the British prices more competitive internationally.

Germany is the only country where both the regular and the bargain prices of the shopping basket increased, by 22% and 10% respectively. This rise comes from school bags for which German parents are often ready to pay more than €100 (£85) to get a robust backpack with wheels. Schoolbags cost on average three times more in Germany than in the UK.

“Our observations confirm that price deflation is heavily at work in the UK day-to-day shopping.” commented Therese Torris, VP of Content at Twenga.

Comparing prices is more important than ever
Although prices in the UK have dropped since 2008, the cost for a regular shopping basket of school supplies still adds up to £130, which still is 15% more expensive than in France. This is the price that some British parents will pay this back-to-school season if they don’t hunt for bargains properly.

“Parents should be careful to not be blinded by deflation and price reductions in the UK,” said Therese Torris, VP of Content at Twenga. “Although a slight discount is tempting, they can still save more than 50% by going for the better deals, staying informed, and comparing prices online.”

For example, British parents can find a school bag from a well-known brand for around £15 instead of paying the £40 or more asked for by most online shops. In the same vein, by taking just a few minutes to compare prices online, they can easily save up to 50% on a scientific calculator.

Whether they do their shopping for school supplies on the high street or online, we advise parents to check prices with Twenga before they shop”, says Therese Torris. “It’s the heart of the services we provide, a simple way to search and compare. By typing the product’s name or the model number of a product on Twenga.co.uk, anyone can get all the product offers available online and their prices”.