Identifying consumer buying preferences of beef in South Africa

Abstract

This study investigated the factors which influence consumers’ buying behaviour with regard to beef. A tried and tested questionnaire was adapted to determine which factors influence consumers when they purchase beef products. The study collected data by means of a questionnaire to evaluate consumer behaviour when purchasing beef. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to analyse the data while Cronbach alpha was used to calculate the reliability coefficients. High levels of reliability were recorded. The analysis identified eight factors that influence the buying behaviour of consumers when they purchase beef products. These factors were Quality of the meat, Buying preference, Farming practices, Intention to buy, Health, Convenience, Eating situation and Future purchase. In addition, correlational analysis indicates that additional important attributes to buying behaviour are Supplier characteristics and Packaging. The study culminates in a Beef Purchasing Framework that was developed as a frame of reference for beef (and possibly other meat products) buying behaviour analysis whilst it also provides a frame of reference for marketers to better understand their customers’ behaviour when they are selling beef products. As a result it is recommended that retailers focus their actions on the more important beef purchasing factors and that the study be repeated on a larger scale so that the results of the present study can either be confirmed or further refined.