The frequency of buying cured meat products in the context of consumers’ store choices

University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, Department for trade, marketing and logistics, 24000 Subotica, Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Research background: In the sector of cured meat production and sale, companies are struggling to attract as many consumers as possible. Because of this, special attention should be dedicated to the examination of consumer behavior towards cured meat products. In relation to this, there are studies, including different types of factors, such as geographic, economic and socio-demographic. In this paper, consumer behavior regarding cured meat products was investigated from the aspect of consumers’ store choices.

Purpose of the article: The paper examines the frequency of buying cured meat products on a monthly basis, taking into account factors that influence consumers store choices. Based on the buying frequency, all respondents have been divided into low, medium and high frequency segments, which were compared in relation to store choosing factors.

Methods: The research was conducted on a sample that included 449 respondents from the city of Novi Sad. They were interviewed in 2019, by the use of a specially designed questionnaire. For processing the data, one way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test were implemented.

Findings & Value added: The obtained results have shown that the largest percent of respondents – nearly 60% - belong to medium frequency segment, followed by high frequency segment (about one third of respondents) and low frequency segment (less than 10%). The closeness to place of living, appropriate working hours, wide assortment, quality of products and favorable prices belong to the top 5 most influential factors in each of the segments. These findings can be used by manufacturers and retailers when making decisions regarding production and marketing activities.