Repeat Purchase Percentage

[Deactivated Member]

What percentage of the bottles you buy are of specific expressions you have bought before? It's quite low for me--I'm always looking for something different.

[parvus]

I'd have to say 0-20% - I try to avoid doubling up on an expression unless it is really, really exceptional (Laphroaig QC for example) for the same reasons you don't, Heid.

[Paul A Jellis]

About 40% of my bottles are repeats, my store cupboard 'must-haves'.

[Wave]

40-60%

I've got quite a few repeats or at least a 2nd bottle to have for later dramming except when it's virtually impossible like with some of the Port Ellen Annuals, Bruichladdich Valinch's, and D&M club bottlings (unless I jump on them quickly!).


Cheers!

[Deactivated Member]

Probably up to 20% of the bottles in my collection are regular fixtures. The rest are a mixture of potential regulars - when I get to them, or nice-to-try-but-once-is-enough

[les taylor]

Probably about 20% restocks but as I go thru the more unusual items they might become regular fixtures.

[TheLaddie]

Also very low for me. There are a few distilleries I don't like to have absent from my shelf but I try to have a different expression each time.

[vitara7]

very low for me too, as most of the bottles i buy end up in my collection, an with them im only ever going to buy one o them

[Lee]

I've only doubled up on two bottles so far. As I work my way through those bottles I have not yet tasted I'm hoping that I will like some of them enough to buy a second bottle.
I know there are lots of new ones to try but there is something comforting in reaching for a bottle that you KNOW you are going to like

[si_peacock]

Hmmm... def towards the high end of the 20-40% band, and growing! It's so easy to find a bottle to add to the must-haves!

General favourites are Laphroig 10YO, Laphroiag QC, Highland Park, Glen Garioch, 'Farclas, Edradour, Caol Ila, Ardbeg, Bowmore...

Si

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I said 20-40%

Out of the 20 bottles I usually have open ......

I will always have Greenspot, Redbreast 12yo, Redbreast 15yo and Jameson 12yo available.

Also Talisker 10yo and Laphroaig QC have been replenished every time and I always try to have a glenrothes but that is harder as they are all vintages and not exactly the same bottling but I'm on my 3rd '89 in 3 years so that's not bad consistency.

[Ardbeg311]

About 30%. This figure was higher, but I am now beginning to seek different whisky experiences. I don't know how much lower that percentage will go, however, as I always want particular whiskies to be within arm's reach and I also need to buy food.

[peergynt323]

It's a tough question to answer. For example, I have an Airigh Nam Beist that takes the place of my Ardbeg TEN. Sometimes this even goes across distillery lines, like when I have a Glenmorangie craving, my signatory Rosebank hits the spot.

Would it count if I felt like I needed to stock up on Highland Park and bought an indie instead of an OB?

[Deactivated Member]

Nope--the question is specific expressions. I'd count different batches of a'bunadh or Balvenie 15 as the same, but Airigh Nam Beist is a different, uh, beast from the ten. And it's a repeat of anything previously purchased ever.

[Choochoo]

20% or under is about how often I'd get a repeat expression. I'd re-buy a Laphroiag (10,15,c/s, or quarter cask), HP (18 or 12), Ardbeg, Glenfarclas 12, or maybe a very good IB (if I can find a 2nd bottle).

But the majority of the time I'd buy something new. Aside from keeping a few old reliables in stock, it's more fun to try (and buy) something new.

[lbacha]

I went with 0-20% I have bought some repeats (Ardbeg 10, A'Bunadh, Lagavulin 16) but I havn't opened them. I ussually try something different when I open bottles but I still get some spares of the ones I like because I've realized how hard it is to get replacements later even of the common and lower priced malts.

Len

[Mustardhead]

My malt buying has gone in phases. In the early years I drank mostly blends with an occasional malt, usually a different one every time.

Then for a while I guess I bought repeats probably 50% of the time.

Perhaps for the 1990s I bought repeats 80% of the time, only adding something new when I found a supermarket special offer.

Then around about 2000 I started to explore again. Now I suppose about 40% of my purchases are repeats. I expect that to take a plunge this year as I try a few more distilleries and especially start to sample more expressions from the distilleries I really like.

[Admiral]

If you're inclined to drinking more IB's than OB's, it follows that you'll have a pretty low repeat rate.

I don't many "standard" OB's as often as IB's, so I churn through the standards quite slowly. (i.e. Bowmore 12, Lagavulin 16, Ardbeg 10, Macallan 12, etc, etc).

However, I'm increasingly buying more and more single cask bottlings, which by their very nature, at non-repeat items.

Cheers,
AD

[lexvo]

A little over 20%, as I feel Ardbeg 10, Laphroaig 15 and Lagavulin 16 should always be at home.

[Deactivated Member]

So far, half of us make at least 80% of our purchases bottles we've never bought before, and 86% of us make at least 60% of them so. And that leads me to what I was thinking when I started this poll. If you want to appeal to the adventurous feinschmeckers such as we, for the most part, consider ourselves, does it not make sense to do what Bruichladdich does--continually release small-edition bottlings? The same with Arran and its multitude of small-batch finishes. The great challenge in marketing is to build brand loyalty, to get the consumer to make repeat purchases, over and over again. In the whisky-drinking public at large, you can probably achieve this with image-building alone; the average drinker finds something he likes, the image appeals to him, and he sticks with it. By doing what they do, the aforementioned distilleries have turned a neat trick, building fierce brand loyalty in a notoriously fickle niche in the market. Yes? No? What do you think?

[parvus]

...does it not make sense to do what Bruichladdich does--continually release small-edition bottlings? The same with Arran and its multitude of small-batch finishes.

On one hand, I would agree that a distillery that is able to come up with 'fresh' ideas is certainly going to appeal to those with more transient tastes, I think it is an inherently flawed and short sighted approach.

Repeat purchases within a brand are certainly good for business, but at what point do the releases stop being interesting, unique and above all, good product, and start to become offensive / tacky in the way they go about taking your money. What is going to compel me to buy release #9 in a series of finishes from Bruichladdich if #1 was fairly standard? Not much, I tell you now.

As much as I dislike the trend towards finishes and younger and younger whiskies, distilleries should look at the success of A'bunadh and the Quarter Cask as examples of how to ignite, or re-ignite brand loyalty without the fatigue of small batch limited summer nocturnal release this, and wine de jour finish that.

You mention building fierce brand loyalty, but at what cost? I'd say for every fierce loyalist you get on board with the releases that you mention, you get the equal but opposite reaction of irritating or alienating other consumers.

What a load of waffle, I make little to no sense.

[Deactivated Member]

I don't understand your point at all, parvus. Of course, if you think release #1 is bog standard, you aren't going to bother with releases 2-9. That's no different from any other distillery. If 'Laddie is simply not your cuppa, why does it irritate you so what they do? You're not going to buy it. The same goes for Arran--if you think all the finishes are crazy, you simply aren't going to bother with it. No one's going to please everyone, anyway.

But if you do like these whiskies, and aren't obsessed with having the same exact thing over and over ("Where can I get more Ardbeg 17?" "What can I get that's just like Macallan?" etc), then you are very happy to get the variations on a theme. From a marketing standpoint, for this kind of distillery, this is the jackpot. They really couldn't care less if you are irritated, because you aren't going to buy it anyway. "Offensive" is a value judgment; it's hard for me to see how you can be offended, since they compel you to do nothing. Certainly they don't "take your money"--the people who buy the stuff do so willingly. As for short-sighted, I would argue just the opposite. Put it this way--I can probably name ten or twenty standard ob's that I think are really good whisky, but which I haven't purchased in three, four, five years and may not purchase any time soon or ever again. Those producers don't care, because a) 90% of their product goes to the blenders, and b) they have other loyal customers and don't need me. Distillers like Bruichladdich and Arran of necessity must take a different approach, and their success speaks for itself, your irritation notwithstanding. The question is not whether you like it or not; it's whether the approach works (it plainly does) and why. Of course, not everyone who answered the poll 0-20% is going to be a dedicated Bruichladdich consumer, but this is, I think, the target market for this kind of distillery, and I think this explains, in part, why they do what they do, to get repeat business from a customer base that is normally very promiscuous. Don't you?

[parvus]

I don't understand your point at all, parvus. Of course, if you think release #1 is bog standard, you aren't going to bother with releases 2-9.

Why bother with 2-9 if you can't get 1 right? Quantity (of releases) seems more important than quality these days.

Of course, not everyone who answered the poll 0-20% is going to be a dedicated Bruichladdich consumer, but this is, I think, the target market for this kind of distillery, and I think this explains, in part, why they do what they do, to get repeat business from a customer base that is normally very promiscuous. Don't you?

I agree that Bruichladdich need to do something to keep their revenue up, seeing as they don't (from what I have read) sell to blenders, and having repeat business is certainly the way to go about it. Yes, the whisky consumer base is a promiscuous one, but isn't that true for most products?

I liken them to a musical artist who keeps trying to churn out hits many years after their last success, but always seems to fall short of the mark - they still manage to sell a tonne of albums, and make a heap of money, but overall their output isn't what it once was.

This isn't a beef I have with Bruichladdich in particular, although they are a good example of it, it's a trend now days amongst almost most manufacturers to somehow cut corners and break traditions in favour of quicker, faster, better - the latter often being lost long the way.

I hope that comes across a bit more succinctly, Tattie - I find it hard to get my thoughts down in a coherent manor at times.

[TheLaddie]

This isn't a beef I have with Bruichladdich in particular, although they are a good example of it, it's a trend now days amongst almost most manufacturers to somehow cut corners and break traditions in favour of quicker, faster, better - the latter often being lost long the way.

I have to disagree vehemently. Bruichladdich are using more traditional methods than many of their counterparts yet innovating with their product. Good for them. What's more important is that they are making good whiskies. It will be years before we know for sure how the new distillates will stand up against the pre closure spirit but if PC5 is anything to go by the potential is huge. Their whisky making is traditional even if their business approach isn't.

On the other hand if you look at probably the most traditional of all distilleries, Springbank, their output has disappointed many forum members of late.

Tradition only counts up to a certain point. I can't smell it. I can't taste it. Other things are important to me when I open a bottle.

[si_peacock]

Are we starting to veer towards the 'bigger' question of how to market malts to a new and younger market dynamic?

I agree that heritage and distinction is important to me in that I take delight in tracking down distilleries that still use floor maltings, bottle on site, have had only 4 managers in their 200 year history, have the smallest 'railway' in the world etc.

However, I also represent someone who loves the malt heritage, enjoys holidays to Scotland at least twice a year and is a relatively loyal customer.

The more dynamic marketplace demands innovation. This is I guess where wood finishes, younger expressions, miniatures etc take over.

I enjoyed reading the discussions lately that actually are all about market forces... Macallan positioning itself as a 'luxury', Whisky Live and the token debate, loyalty to particular distilleries etc.

In reality there will always be distilleries that are fighting for share of the marketplace. I don't think that innovative necessarily means lower quality (although there are many examples where this IS the case), but it does mean that I've got to be more flexible in my habits to accomodate some of the great new things that are out there.

The only problem is to find the time and money - i'll manage somehow!

[Muskrat Portage]

To creep back on topic, I maintain between 20-40% of my stock as replacement bottles. When I come close to be finished one of my standard collection I generally pick up a replacement. Examples being Glenlivet 12, Glenfiddich 12, Oban 14, Laphroaig 10, Balvenie FR etc. I wish that I could say 100% is replenishments but I'm not 1) independantly wealthy or 2) within easy access to any(whisky)thing I want. Considering the part of the globe I inhabit, though, I don't do too shabbily.
Muskrat

[dram_time]

I'm in the 0-20%. There is just so much to taste!!!. But i do like to have some old favourites in the cupboard.

Dt.

[badgerbrown]

I'm curious as to whether the so called "credit crunch" has affected how we all intend to but whisky during these tough times. When the last reply was posted just over a year ago the results were:

0 to 20% - 17 votes (48%)
20 to 40% - 14 votes (40%)
40 to 60% - 3 votes (8%)
60 to 80% 1 vote (2%)
80 to 100% No votes

Would you now stick with tried and trusted whiskies until you have a bit more spare cash, or will you still try different brands/expressions?
Personally, I have just voted 0 to 20% as I intend to keep trying different whiskies, although I will not spend on the more expensive ones but rather go for the standard expressions.

[anationonfire]

Voted 0-20%
Always trying to bring home something new.

Although I think I went through more bottles of Dalmore this past year then any thing else

[The Third Dram]

I'm guessing I fall in the 20-40% repeat range. This percentage was, at one time, likely even higher. However, given the sheer proliferation of single malt offerings (even official distillery releases) over the last decade or more, the challenge of resisting the temptation to try something new has become practically impossible.

It really IS wonderful to be blessed with such myriad choices. But does anyone else here share my nostalgia for the 'good old days' when distilleries actually put their whole hearts and souls into one or a mere few bottlings?

[pkt77242]

I voted 0-20%. So far I have bought 55ish bottles and only 4 are the same (lagavulin 16, Lagavulin DE, Ardbeg 10, and 2 batches of Abundah. Though I do have the George T Stagg 07 and 08 so does that count?). There are a couple of other bottles that i want to rebuy (Tali 10 and 18, Caol Ila 12, Macallan 12), but I mostly try to buy different malts as part of the joy is trying new things.


Sean

[Iain]

Must be close to 50 pc for me. I like to replace the Ardbeg 10 and a couple of other old favourites when they run dry, but I'm always being tempted by something new.

Credit crunch hasn't affected me (yet? fingers crossed) - I still have my job, and whisky prices in Scotland for "standard" bottlings don't appear to be rising any more, if you're willing to shop around (in fact, there have been some excellent deals on offer over the Xmas/New Year holiday period).

[randall fairbrook]

for me, i always like to have an extra closed bottle (or two) of the following:

ardbeg 10
laphroaig 10
lagavulin16

sazerac rye
elijah craig 12
buffalo trace

teachers

[Hereward]

I said 40 to 60%. I love to try new whiskies, but I get very twitchy if I haven't got an a'bunadh, Ardbeg 10, Lagavulin 16, Laphroaig QC, a Caol Ila 12 and a Talisker 10 at all times. I also repeatedly go back to whiskies I've not been back to for a while and didn't quite get, to see if my opinions have changed, e.g. Oban and Bunnahabhain recently, which are both now in my Top 10. I still buy three of four bottle a month that I've never had before. Sometimes I even open them.

[Ganga]

At the start of this poll, I would say it was next to nil unless you count getting the next year's vintage or the new batch of CS. This past year was approximately 50% duplicates and replacements. In part, I found a single cask that is at one location. I love it and it hasn't been disappearing as fast as most single cask releases. Going forward, it will likely still involve mostly new stuff but also backup whiskies of certain desireable single casks.