A Study On Buying Behaviour of Youngsters Towards Fast Food Restaurants
A Study On Buying Behaviour of Youngsters Towards Fast Food Restaurants
A Study On Buying Behaviour of Youngsters Towards Fast Food Restaurants
Abstract—
T
he Indian economy was a traditional economy with majority of the consumers having a preference
towards home cooked foods. This posed a major challenge to the major global fast food giants such
as McDonalds and KFC to establish their business in India. In recent years the Indian fast food
industry is undergoing rapid changes, reflecting a number of underlying developments. The most significant
has been the quality and variety of services which have accelerated and broadened the scope of fast food
restaurants in India. The global retailers have to compete with the Indian fast food retailers who offer
traditional foods according to their tastes at affordable prices. Today, the fast food industry is adapting to
Indian food requirements and is growing rapidly in India. It is gaining acceptance primarily from the Indian
youth and younger generations and is becoming part of daily life. Keeping in mind the Indian habits and
changing preferences towards food consumption, this study has as its focus tried to understand the factors
affecting the perception of Indian youth, in the age group of 18-25 years, towards consumption of fast food
as well as towards making choices of which fast food outlets to patronize. The findings of the study would
help the fast food retailers to shore up their strengths and remedy their shortcomings.
Keywords— Buying Behaviour, Customer Perception, Customer Satisfaction, Fast Food Restaurants, Growth
Drivers.
I. INTRODUCTION
Economic growth is typically accompanied by improvements in a country’s food supply, both quantitative and
qualitative, and a gradual reduction in nutritional deficiencies. It also brings about changes in the production,
processing, distribution and marketing of food. Diets evolve over time and are influenced by factors such as
income, prices, individual preferences and beliefs, cultural traditions, as well as geographical, environmental,
social and economic factors. India’s impressive economic growth over the past two decades and a more
inclusive growth in recent years have resulted in per capita income steadily increasing in real terms as well as at
market prices both in urban and rural areas. The change is occurring both among rural and urban households.
Other factors contributing to the change in the consumption pattern is the increasing urbanization.
During the most recent decade globalisation has also played an important role in the transformation of
food consumption patterns of Indian households. India has long had a reputation as being unfriendly to foreign
businesses, but when it comes to fast foods, international chains are being warmly welcomed by a young,
upwardly mobile population. Indians' increased exposure to international cuisine through the media and travel
makes the country a desirable destination for international food chains looking to expand globally. In India
today, people are acquiring new tastes rather than changing their tastes, because it takes a whole generation to
actually change tastes. As more and more people acquire money, there are a lot of new consumers who are
experimental in nature. The upsurge in malls in every major Indian city has further triggered the growth as they
essentially host all international fast food brands looking to expand in India.
Fast food culture is not new to India as Indians traditionally consume foods cooked in the same manner
in dhabhas which offer foods according to the Indian flavours. These foods are healthy and easily accessible at
lower costs. But the increased spurt of global fast food retailers opening their outlets in India indicated the
Hypothesis
H1: There is no significant relationship between extent of change in food habits and customer’s buying
behaviour towards fast foods.
H2: There is significant relationship between extent of change in food habits and customer’s buying behaviour
towards fast foods.
90%
80%
70%
60% Everyday
Several Times a week
50% Once in week
Once in Fortnight
40%
Once in month
Once in a year
30%
Never
20%
10%
0%
Dominos Subway McDonalds KFC Pizza Hut
Pizza
Table 4.1 Preference of consumers towards these fast food restaurants using Descriptive Statistics
N Mean
For spending time 350 6.58
For social status 350 5.05
For get-togethers or parties 350 7.23
For enjoying the taste of the foods 350 7.09
To avail exciting offers 350 5.11
Influenced by advertisements 350 4.67
Influenced by peers 350 5.93
As per the above table the preference towards these fast food restaurants is high for consumption
during get-togethers and parties having a mean value of 7.23 followed by consumption for enjoying the taste of
the foods 7.09. The least mean value (4.67) for influence by advertisements shows that advertisements have a
less impact on the consumption of fast foods.
Table 4.2 Satisfaction derived towards these fast food restaurants using Descriptive Statistics
N Mean
Price 350 5.83
Ambience 350 6.75
Product variety 350 6.77
Taste 350 7.39
Product quality 350 6.26
Cleanliness and hygiene 350 6.52
Offers 350 6.13
Quick services 350 6.19
Home deliveries 350 6.77
As per the above table the customer satisfaction derived from the services of fast food restaurants is
high for Taste of the fast food products offered having a mean value of 7.39. The least mean value of 5.83
shows that the consumers are slightly dissatisfied with the price of the fast foods.
Table 4.3 Growth drivers for the fast food retailers using Descriptive Statistics
N Mean
Attractive promotions 150 7.60
Branding 150 7.46
The above table shows that the growth drivers for the success of these fast food retailers in India is due
to the Fascination of western culture among Indians having the highest mean value of 8.25 and the least
favoured opinion on the growth drivers was Loyalty programs/CRM practices followed by the fast food
restaurants having the least mean value of 6.27.
Relationship between between extent of change in food habits and customer’s buying behaviour towards
fast foods
The following table shows the significant relationship between extent of change in food habits and customer’s
preference for fast food restaurants.
Table 4.4Association between extent of change in food habits and customer’s preference for fast food
restaurants using Correlation
EXTENT OF CHANGE IN
FACTORS FOOD HABITS
R VALUE P VALUE
For spending time .233 .004
For social status .309 .000
For get-togethers or parties .057 .488
For enjoying the taste of the foods .272 .001
To avail exciting offers .311 .000
Influenced by advertisements .195 .017
Influences by peers .295 .000
Looking at the above table the P value for get-togethers and parties at 0.05 level of significance is .488
which is >0.05. Hence the hypothesis ―There is no significant relationship between extent of change in food
habits and customer’s preference for fast food restaurants‖ is accepted. Therefore there is no significant
relationship between extent of change in food habits and customer’s preference to visit fast food restaurants for
get-togethers and parties.
The P value at 0.05 level of significance is <0.05 for all the other factors. Hence the hypothesis ―There
is no significant relationship between extent of change in food habits and customer’s preference for fast food
restaurants‖ is rejected. The extent of change in food habits has a significant association for the preference of
fast foods. Factors such as spending time, social status, taste, offers, advertisements and influence of peers has
an association on the extent of change in food habits.
The correlation values for all the factors are <0.4 which indicates that there is low correlation between
extend of change in food habits and preference for fast food restaurants.
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