Jaunųjų vartotojų pirkimo elgsena ir požiūris į inovatyvius maisto produktus

LTŠiuolaikinė maisto produktų ir gėrimų rinka tampa vis konkurencingesnė bei imlesnė verslo inovacijoms. Vartotojams pasiūloma vis daugiau inovatyvių maisto produktų (IMP). Todėl maisto pramonės verslams auga poreikis geriau pažinti IMP vartotojus. Tam kryptingai analizuojama nemažai įvairių vartotojų segmentų, bet vis dar stokojama jaunųjų IMP vartotojų taikomųjų tyrimų. Taikant tarptautinių išteklių analizės, anketinės apklausos ir statistinės duomenų analizės metodus, straipsnyje išnagrinėta darbingo amžiaus jaunųjų Lietuvos maisto produktų vartotojų inovatyvumas, pirkimo elgsena ir požiūris į IMP. Reikšminiai žodžiai: jaunieji vartotojai, vartotojų inovatyvumas, pirkimo elgsena, inovatyvūs maisto produktai. [Iš leidinio]

ENIn order to succeed in the innovation-oriented globalising food and drink market, the Lithuanian food businesses need to become able to provide innovative food products (hereafter – IFP) among other innovations. Thus, food industry businesses are growing in need of better acknowledging of IFP consumers. A number of different consumers’ segments are purposefully analysing for this. However, both in foreign countries and in Lithuania there is still a shortage of notably important for development of IFP supply and consumption applied studies of the working-age young food consumers. Using methods of analysis of scientific literature and other international resources, survey, statistical data analysis, comparison and aggregation, this research examined young working-age Lithuanian food consumers’ buying behaviour and attitude towards IFP as well as their own innovativeness. Scholars working in the field of consumer behaviour science by providing slightly different definitions of consumer behaviour conception exploit two implications of the consumer behaviour notion: narrow and broad. In virtue of the broad implication, consumer behaviour is a science of when, why, how and where consumers buy or not. Thus, it is therefore important to carry out applied studies on both buying and non-buying food consumers and their behaviour and attitudes.The results of a questionnaire survey of 122 respondents aged between 18 and 29 showed that regardless of the amount of overall income per month surveyed women were 1.9 times more inclined to buy IFP than men. However, 53.3% of all respondents identified themselves as non-buying IFP. Nevertheless, considering 8.87% confidence interval it cannot be asserted that most working-age young Lithuanian food consumers yet are not inclined to buy IFP. Non-buying respondents as the main reasons not to buy and consume IFP noted IFP expensiveness and lack of sufficient knowledge. As non-buying women so men indicated reduction of IFP prices as the prime reason that would motivate them to buy and consume IFP. Both IFP buying women and men unanimously denoted supermarkets as the main IFP acquisition sites. In addition, respondents as the preferable places to buy IFP have identified supermarkets, specialised stores, and e-shops & other online resources. As most buying women, so men purchase IFP at least once a week, and spend between €5 and €20 per month. The amount of monthly income of respondents must be earmarked one of the main reasons for these.For purposes of its measuring, consumer innovativeness practically is tied with willingness to adopt or reject product innovation. In order to measure certain aspects of consumer innovativeness, scientists have developed various expedient scales, including the Domain Specific Innovativeness Scale (hereafter – DSIS) and the Food Neophobia Scale (hereafter – FNS). Both DSIS and FNS so far have been effectively employed in a sufficiently large number of studies related to the field of food consumption. Based on the modified DSIS data, only 5.7% of respondents in this research can be referred innovators of IFP consumption. Based on the modified FNS data, 7.4% of respondents in this research may be denominated IFP neophobes. Thus, even considering 8.87% confidence interval, it can be argued that in overall young working-age Lithuanian food consumers are not hostile concerning IFP and not IFP neophobic. Further extended applied research is prospective for this topical issue due to the various sampling, sociodemographic and personal respondents’ limitations asserted in this research. [From the publication]