Search results

The present world is crippled with the pandemic coronavirus (Covid-19). The pandemic that originated in Wuhan city of China has sent every country in the world in an unprecedented situation that has social and economic impacts. This paper aims to explore whether epidemics and pandemics have any impact on consumption patterns among rural and urban consumers in India. Taking pandemic Covid-19 as a case study, it was explored how this pandemic impacted the consumption pattern of consumers in India; what are the similarities and/or differences between rural and urban consumers that are found in their consumption habits in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

The required data was collected through questionnaires sent to respondents. Approximately 500 respondents were contacted through the mail to fill in the survey questionnaire. Despite the sincere efforts, a total of 175 complete survey questionnaires were filled in by respondents. The study used SPSS Statistics version 25 software for the analysis of data.

It was found that epidemics and pandemics have a profound impact on the pattern of consumption in India. The study reveals that consumers resort to panic buying in the initial stages of epidemics and pandemics. It was found that consumption habits of consumers went a sea change and they were spending largely on essentials only. The study also reveals that the majority of consumers would like to continue in the same consumption habits as that of during COVID-19. The consumption pattern of urban consumers witnessed more change than the consumption pattern of rural consumers. It is due to the closure of eateries and restaurants, shopping malls, movie theatres, etc., in urban areas that forced the change in the consumption pattern of urban consumers.

The research has a limitation of using a less sample size. For the generalizations, more robust studies can be conducted with more data.

The findings of the study will give marketers an insight for framing their policies in the wake of epidemics and pandemics.

The research adds to the existing body of knowledge. There are plenty of studies on the behaviour of consumers. However, there are no major studies that focus on the behaviour of consumers during the outbreak of a pandemic. So, this study fills this gap in the existing body of knowledge.

This paper focuses on patterns of film consumption within cultural consumption more broadly to assess trends in consumerism such as eclectic consumption, individualised consumption and omnivorous/univorous consumption and whether economic background and status feature in shaping cultural consumption. We focus on film because it is widely consumed, online and offline, and has many genres that vary in terms of perceived artistic and entertainment value. In broad terms, film is differentiated between mainstream commercially driven film such as Hollywood blockbusters, middlebrow “feel good” movies and independent arthouse and foreign language film. Our empirical statistical analysis shows that film consumers watch a wide range of genres. However, films deemed to hold artistic value such as arthouse and foreign language feature as part of broad and wide-ranging pattern of consumption of film that attracts its own dedicated consumers. Though we found that social and economic factors remain predictors of cultural consumption the overall picture is more complex than a simple direct correspondence and perceptions of other cultural forms also play a role. Those likely to consume arthouse and foreign language film consume other film genres and other cultural forms genres and those who “prefer” arthouse and foreign language film have slightly more constrained socio-economic characteristics. Overall, we find that economic and cultural factors such income, education, and wider consumption of culture are significant in patterns of film consumption.

This paper aims to identify distinct consumption patterns among Asian consumers and examine how these relate to cultural antecedents and key human values.

This study uses a large, representative sample of almost 7,000 Asian consumers in 10 culturally varying markets, using latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify the consumption profiles.

The findings empirically demonstrate that the two profiles are “inner-directed nationalistic frugals” (IDNF) and “outer-directed self-eekers” (ODSS). IDNF consumers spend more time and money on education and prefer ethnocentric consumption. ODSS consumers emphasize individuality, self-expression, seeking novelty and impressing others. Consumers with more collective values in Schwartz's typology tend to demonstrate the IDNF pattern; those with more individualistic values demonstrate the ODSS pattern. The distribution of IDNF and ODSS profiles is influenced by demographics, religion and geographical region: IDNF is greater than ODSS in Southeast Asia; ODSS is greater than IDNF in East Asia; IDNF is roughly equal to ODSS in Northeast Asia. IDNF tends to be found among older and more religious consumers, while ODSS is the opposite. Importantly, in the more religious Southeast Asian countries, even younger consumers are more IDNF than ODSS.

This research uses an exploratory and discovery-oriented approach; future research can use more confirmatory approaches to systematically examine the relationship between cultural dimensions (e.g. individualism-collectivism) and consumption patterns.

For their brands to grow in Asian markets, marketing practitioners are advised to use multiple brands to segment Asian consumers based on their values, demographics, geographical location and what religious/faith traditions they follow.

This is the first paper to identify consumption profiles in Asian markets using LPA without prior conceptual biases and relate them to cultural values and demographic variables.

The purpose of this study is to investigate tourist in-destination consumption patterns in the context of bundled holiday packages in different resort categories to identify demand behavior that allows implementing profit-enhancing policies through attractive bundled offers for specific tourist segments.

This study relies on data gathered in a quasi-experiment to analyze differences in consumption patterns at resort bars over a two-year period (summer 2018 and 2019) before and after the introduction of an all-inclusive soft drinks package.

The findings inform on bundling strategies according to different degrees of price consciousness and resort category. In particular, guests in upscale resorts are more likely to under-consume items included in a pre-paid bundle and significantly engage in additional spending than economy resort guests.

The quasi-experiment provides the actual in-destination consumption patterns and offering managerial insights and tools to tailor the form and content of bundles according to resort category.

本研究的目的是调查游客目的地消费模式在不同度假村类别的捆绑度假套餐的背景调查及研究。本研究旨通过深入了解市场需求, 来针对特定游客细分市场提供对其具有吸引力的捆绑优惠, 目的是让完善定价决策, 从而达到更优化利润。

本研究依赖于通过准实验收集的数据, 该准实验侧重于分析度假村客人在两年期间（2018 年和 2019 年夏季）在推出全包无酒饮料套餐前后在度假村酒吧的消费模式的变化。

研究结果为如何根据度假村类别相关的不同价格意识程度来运用捆绑策略。到达目的地后, 高档度假村的客人更有可能对预购捆绑包中包含的物品消费不足, 并且与入住经济型度假村的游客相比, 大幅增加额外支出。

我们的准实验审查了几乎没有被研究学习过的客人在目的地的实际消费模式。本研究对有用的管理工具的认识有更进一步的贡献：捆绑包的内容重点应由经济度假村的从业人员精心设计; 而在高档度假村, 应该以混合捆绑作为捆绑策略的一种形式。

El objetivo de este estudio es investigar los patrones de consumo de los turistas en destino en el contexto de los paquetes vacacionales combinados en diferentes categorías de complejos turísticos. Esta investigación persigue la adquisición de un conocimiento profundo del comportamiento de la demanda que permita la aplicación de políticas de precios que aumenten los beneficios mediante la orientación de ofertas con paquetes atractivos a segmentos específicos de turistas.

El estudio actual se basa en los datos recogidos a través de un cuasi-experimento centrado en el análisis de las diferencias en los patrones de consumo de los huéspedes del resort en los bares del mismo durante un período de dos años (temporadas de verano 2018 y 2019), antes y después de la introducción de un paquete de refrescos con todo incluido.

Los resultados del estudio informan sobre cómo aprovechar las estrategias de agrupación según los diferentes grados de conciencia de los precios asociados a la categoría del complejo turístico considerado. Una vez que llegan al destino, los huéspedes de los complejos turísticos de categoría superior son más propensos a no consumir los artículos incluidos en un paquete precomprado y a realizar un gasto adicional significativo en comparación con los turistas alojados en complejos turísticos económicos.

Nuestro cuasi-experimento examina empíricamente las pautas de consumo reales de los huéspedes en el destino, que apenas han sido examinadas. Este estudio contribuye además al reconocimiento de herramientas de gestión útiles: los profesionales de los complejos turísticos económicos deberían diseñar cuidadosamente el enfoque del paquete en términos de su contenido, mientras que el paquete mixto como forma de estrategia de agrupación debería favorecerse en los complejos turísticos de alto nivel.

This study investigates how the consumption of sugar products and non-alcoholic beverages has changed across birth cohorts. In addition, this study examines how the socio-economic gaps in the consumption of said products have evolved across birth cohorts.

The research data are drawn from the Finnish household expenditure surveys covering the period 1985–2016 (n = 44,286). An age-period-cohort methodology is utilised through the age-period-cohort-trended lag model. The model assumes that the linear long-term component of change is caused by generations replacing one-another, and that the age effect is similar across cohorts.

Sugar products and non-alcoholic beverages occupied a larger portion of more recent birth cohorts' food baskets. Cohort differences were larger in beverage consumption. Lower income was associated with a higher food expenditure share of sugar products in several cohorts. A higher education level was linked to a higher food expenditure share of sugar products in more cohorts than a lower education level. In cohorts born before the 1950s, non-alcoholic beverages occupied a larger portion of the food baskets of the high socio-economic status groups. This gap reversed over time, leading to larger food expenditure shares of non-alcoholic beverages in low socio-economic status groups.

This study assessed how the consumption of sugar products and non-alcoholic beverages has changed across birth cohorts. In addition, this study assessed how socio-economic differences in the consumption of said products have changed. The results highlight that sugar products and non-alcoholic beverages occupy larger portions of more recent birth cohorts’ food baskets. The results also highlight a reversal of socioeconomic differences in non-alcoholic beverage consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the pattern and perception of alcohol drinking among the Lahu people in northern Thailand.

A qualitative method was used to elicit information on the patterns and perceptions of alcohol drinking amongst the Lahu tribespeople. Question guidelines had been developed from literature reviews and approved by three experts in the field of public health and alcohol studies. A total of 21 participants of different ages and sexes from 3 separate Lahu villages were invited to provide information. All interviews were taped and transcribed before analysis. A content analysis was used.

Lahu people begin alcohol consumption at an average of 12 years, with males usually beginning before females of the same age. Consuming alcohol is perceived to be a sign of adulthood and is also used as a means of gaining social acceptance from others in the community. Alcohol is consumed throughout the year with young and old, male and females, describing varied reasons for drinking. Income, parental behavior, and peer pressure contributes to the onset of alcohol drinking among young Lahu people. Several factors contributed to the use of alcohol among the Lahu people such as sex, age, occupation and income, peer pressure, taste and price as well as cultural adaptations amongst the farming community that play a significant role in the frequency of alcohol consumption amongst the Lahu community.

The results should support the development of peer education on the negative impact of alcohol use among the young people, and development of a community agreement on reducing excessive alcohol use in the Lahu community should be implemented.

This study aimed to investigate the gendered nature of craft beer (CB) consumption in Italy and Germany.

Data were collected through online surveys in Italy (N = 210) and Germany (N = 211). Based on an enhanced version of the theory of planned behaviour, mean value difference tests and moderated regression analyses with gender as a moderator were performed to test gender effects on CB consumption behaviour.

The study results provide evidence that the gap in CB consumption behaviour is not very pronounced. In the German sample, gender did not moderate the effects of the model components on behavioural intent. However, the study found significant mean differences in all model variables. In the Italian sample, gender moderated the effects of several components of the theory of planned behaviour on behavioural intention. Hence, CB consumption appears to represent an opportunity for Italian women to negotiate their womanhood in a historically masculine-dominated space.

The limitations of these data are the focus on two specific countries, the use of small-sized samples and the prediction of behavioural intentions instead of actual behaviour.

The study may help marketing managers develop appropriate marketing strategies based on a better understanding of gender-specific needs in CB consumption.

This investigation provides the first comparative analysis of gender-specific behavioural patterns in CB consumption in two European countries characterised by notably different beer cultures.

This research aimed to study patterns of energy drinks (ED) consumption among university students and to identify the determinants for their preferences.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 students from various departments of Jashore University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, by convenience sampling. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect data.

About 52.3 per cent of the students were between 21 and 23 years of age, and half of them were male. More than half (53 per cent) of the students had consumed ED at least once in their lifetime. Only 22.1 per cent of these consumers had any knowledge of the ingredients in ED, and 4.3 per cent did not know the possible negative impacts. Bivariate analysis was performed to identify the variables significantly associated with ED consumption among students. The risks of ED consumption were found to be: male gender (Odds Ratio (OR) = 4.04; 95 per cent Confidence Interval (CI) = 2.36–6.92), father educated up to SSC (OR = 18.47; 95 per cent CI = 2.30–148.90) or college and above (OR = 17.01; 95 per cent CI = 2.31–135.60), smoker (OR = 3.87; 95 per cent CI = 1.61–9.35) and doing irregular physical activity (OR = 2.43; 95 per cent CI = 1.23–4.78).

ED consumption among university students is high, but their perception regarding the ingredients and potential health hazards is opaque. Therefore, it is imperative that at both community and individual levels, interventions should focus on educating and empowering individuals to make firm and positive decisions concerning their dietary habits and health.

This paper aims to investigate whether and why the base of the pyramid (BOP) actors display passive innovation resistance because of which they reject service innovations without evaluation and forfeit potential to improve their well-being. The resourceness concept, referring to the outcome of how actors appraise and integrate resources in pursuit of a purpose at hand, is used as a theoretical lens to investigate the everyday consumption behaviour of BOP households and helps to investigate how and why passive innovation resistance occurs. The outcomes of the study help address important theoretical and practical considerations for the development of successful new service concepts at the BOP.

Narrative interviews with 29 households in Zambia provide data, from which patterns in how potential resources do or do not become real are identified and related to the concept of passive innovation.

Economic, social and other factors in the BOP context clearly influence non-random patterns of resource integration which are correlated with passive innovation resistance. This can lead to service innovations being ignored and/or misunderstood prior to evaluation for adoption. This is a risk to the potential positive impact of service innovation for poverty alleviation at the BOP.

Service innovation at the BOP must begin with a deep understanding of “how” and “why” consumers typically appraise and integrate potential resources to achieve a beneficial outcome in their context. To overcome the barrier of passive innovation resistance, marketing education must stimulate an understanding of potential benefits and motivation towards the change associated with the adoption of service innovation.

The findings support more successful service innovation strategies for the BOP, which can provide vital infrastructure for the alleviation of poverty.

The application of a service-dominant logic perspective in the BOP context and the conceptual linkage between resourceness and passive innovation resistance is novel. Valuable insights are gained for service practitioners at the BOP and for further conceptual development of innovation resistance in the BOP context.

This research's main objective is to investigate the relationship between consumption expenditure and consumer confidence in the USA and to study their effects on US economic revivalism during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shock.

The authors use Michigan's monthly Consumer Sentiment Index and its five components from January 1978 to April 2020. The study is unique in quantifying the potential variations in US consumer confidence due to COVID-19 under different scenarios, by providing a projection until December 2021. It also estimates the time needed for recovery and offers guidance to policymakers on ways to contain the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the economy by restoring consumer confidence.

All scenarios show a gradual recovery of consumer confidence and consumption expenditure. This study recommends expansionary policies to encourage consumption expenditure to generate additional demand and boost economic growth and job creation.

Though this study is limited to the US consumer confidence index, it offers significant implications for marketers, customers and policymakers of other developed economies. The authors recommend expansionary economic policies to boost consumer confidence, raise economic growth and result in job creation.

The study is unique in quantifying the potential variations in US consumer confidence due to COVID-19 under different scenarios; by providing a projection until December 2021. It also estimates the time needed for recovery and guidance for policymakers on ways to contain the COVID-19 shock negative impacts on the economy by restoring consumer confidence.