International Journal of Informative & Futuristic Research

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1 Volume 3 Issue 2 October 2015 ISSN: International Journal of Informative & Futuristic Research Fast Food Restaurants Perception and Consumer s Behavior: A Case study of Fast Food Restaurants of Patiala Paper ID IJIFR/ V3/ E2/ 003 Page No Subject Area Tourism, Hospitality & Hotel Management Key Words Customer s Behavior, Visitors Frequency, Fast food Restaurants, Patiala Parminder Singh Dhillon Assistant Professor, Dept. of Tourism, Hospitality & Hotel Management, Punjabi University, Patiala (Punjab) Abstract Fast food may be defined as a food which could be easily processed and served in snack bars and restaurants as a quick meal or to be taken away Fast food restaurant means restaurants that offers quickly prepared snacks or foods which are served promptly at reasonable prices in the form of takeaways or dining. Patiala is a city in Punjab with a total population of almost 5 lakhs and this study was undertaken in Patiala an erstwhile princely town of Punjab where fast food concept has emerged very recently about ten years ago. Patiala has almost all MNC Brands of fast foods like Mc Donald s, Pizza Hut, Domino s, KFC, Subway, Yo China, Café Coffee Day and many local brands of Fast foods in the form of quick service and takeaway meals. Patiala is having four Universities and more than 25 degree colleges with large number of youth population in the city there is immense scope for fast food restaurants to flourish. Keeping in view the food habits of the locals and changing preferences towards food consumption, the purpose of this study is to identify fast food restaurants in Patiala and examine the factors that can affect frequency of customer s visit to Fast food restaurants. The study is based on data collection through questionnaire an analysis has been done by using SPSS tool. The study conducted will certainly aid in the process of increasing sales and enhance customer loyalty. 1. Introduction The term Fast food pertains to the food which is easily and quickly processed for delivery to the customer. Fast food restaurants also known as Quick service restaurants offers limited menu and at very reasonable price, they cater to the needs of varied customers like people who are in a hurry and want to have a quick meal or who want a takeaway food with a prompt and efficient delivery Available online through - Accepted After Review On: October 08, 2015 Published Online On: October 12,

2 system. There was a time when Indian market was dependent only on tiffin lunch or street food vendors but today the entire scenario has changed after Mc Donald s ventured into Indian market in the year 1996 Changing trends in demographics may change the Indian fast food market in to a hub for mega fast food players of the world. Indians today have developed a great appetite for Pizzas, Burgers, Sandwiches, Subs and Fries. According to a paper entitled Indian fast food market new destination: Tier-II & III cities by (ASSOCHAM) Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India the reasons for fast food growth include growing need of consumer for convenience, increased appetite and insatiable hunger for international food and exposure to global media and cuisine, the annual spending of each middle class household in India s tier-ii & III cities have increased by Rs.2,500 to Rs.5,200, a growth of 108% on fast food restaurants in the last two years, as revealed in the ASSOCHAM latest study. The fast food industry is still a large and diverse industry with ocean full of opportunities. But the challenge is to innovate, respond with new offerings, changed pricing and strategies to lure customers to achieve maximum profitability. Fast food industry is growing at a very fast pace in India due to many reasons like increase in nuclear families and working women, corporate culture, growth in income, changing lifestyle and eating patterns which has forced the fast food chains to open up their outlets in smaller cities of India. 2. Literature Review Van Zyl, Steyn & Marias, 2010, there has been a significant increase in global expenditure on fast food products and this has resulted in the phenomenal growth of the fast food industry. Clark, M. A., & Wood, R. C. (1998). Consumer loyalty in the restaurant industry-a preliminary exploration of the issues. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,10 (4), Thakkar & Thatte (2014) Consumers attach great importance to various factors such as quality of food, facility layout, service quality, speed and cleanliness. (Li, 2005)The Modern fast food industry originated in the United States in the 1920s, and developed rapidly and became epidemic all over the world from 1950s. Huda and Hossain (2009) stated that consumer prefer fast food more than regular food because of food quality, atmosphere, proximity to work place, reasonable pricing and variety in food menu and stated that corporate sector consumer highly prefer fast food restaurant than regular food restaurant due to short span of time. Gupta (2003) found that customer perception, taste & satisfaction develop more favorable consumer behavior towards particular brand than any other factor Ali et al. (2010) found that improving customer relationship could provide an edge for fast food retailers in India provided they are able to manage and formulate new marketing tools and practice to facilitate greater customer satisfaction and better overall experience. 3. Objectives Of The Study I. To explore preferences of consumers among major players in the Fast food restaurant industry of Patiala. II. To determine how often consumers prefer to visit at Fast food restaurants. III. To study influence of demographic variables such as marital status, Income and Occupation of consumers on frequency of customers visit to Fast food restaurants. IV. To suggest competitive marketing strategies for fast food restaurants in Patiala 337

3 4. Hypothesis Of Study I. There is a significant relation between income variable and fast food consumption pattern. II. There is a significant relation between marital status variable of respondents and frequency to visit a Fast food restaurant. III. There is a significant relation between occupation of respondents and frequency of visit to a Fast food restaurant. 5. Research Methodology This is a descriptive and exploratory research. Primary data for the research has been collected through a structured questionnaire with open and closed ended questions. Secondary data was collected by documentary sources- magazines, journals and internet. 6. Sampling Technique and Size Non-probability sampling technique was chosen for the sample. A sample size of 150 respondents 99 males(20 married 79 unmarried) and 51 females(15 married and 36 unmarried) between the age group of years has been taken considering all the customers present in fast food restaurants at a time, as population. The data was analyzed by using SPSS 19 version and the test applied was Chi square and Cramer's V is a way of calculating correlation in tables which have more than 2x2 rows and columns. It is used as post-test to determine strengths of association after chi-square has determined significance. Table 1(a): Demographic profile of the sample Gender No.Of Respondents Married Unmarried Males 99 66% % % Females 51 34% 15 10% 36 24% Total 150 Table 1(b): Frequency Of Visit Frequency Of Visit No.Of Respondents Once In A Week % Twice In A Week % Thrice A Week % Once In 15 Days % Once In A Month 3 2% 7. Data Analysis and Interpretation Descriptive statistics are used to explain the demographic variables such as occupation, marital status and income level by mean, frequency distribution and percentage. The questionnaire was given to 150 respondents and the information collected can be depicted by the following graphs and tables. 7.1: Most Preferred Fast Food Restaurant in Patiala Numbers in the pie chart indicates the percentage no. of people visit a particular outlet in Patiala city and the text in bars shows the percentage of consumers who visit these outlets 338

4 Figure 1: The percentage no. of people visit a particular outlet in Patiala city Table 2 : Shows Preferences Of Respondents To Dine Out For Consuming Fast Food Items Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative Preferred outlet Percent Percent Valid MC DONALDS DOMINOS PIZZA HUT SUBWAY KFC Total Missing System 1.7 Total Table No 2 shows that most preferred Fast food outlet is Mc Donald s with 48% following and Pizza Hut at the second stage with a following of 16.7%, Subway third with following of 13.3% Domino s at fourth with a following of 12% consumers and KFC stands fifth with a following of 10% consumers. Further demographic variables like marital status, income and occupation against the frequency of visit to Fast food restaurants was analyzed. 339

5 7.2 Income level of a household vs. frequency of visiting Fast food restaurants Table 3: Data Analysis for Income level vs. Frequency of visit to a Fast food restaurant Twice Thrice Once Once In Visit of Frequency Once In In A In A In 15 A A Week Week Week Days Month up to Count ,000 % of Total 3.3% 6.7% 6.0% 3.3%.7% 20.0% more than Count ,000 % of Total 14.0% 26.0% 6.7% 13.3%.0% 60.0% INCOME student Count with no % of Total 4.0% 8.0%.0% 6.7% 1.3% 20.0% income Count % of Total 21.3% 40.7% 12.7% 23.3% 2.0% 100.0% Total Null Hypotheses: There exists no association between income level of a household or a person and the frequency of visiting Fast food restaurants Alternate Hypotheses: There exists an association between income level of a household or a person and the frequency of visiting Fast food restaurants P (Level of significance) = 0.05 Table 4: Chi-Square Tests for Income level and Frequency of visit Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 60. We can analyze from the above table that Pearson Chi Square , Degrees of freedom 8, Sig value 0.05 and Cumulative probability: P (Χ2 < CV =The P-Value is The result is significant at p < 0.05.We know that the sig value (.013) is less than p value (0.05), the null hypotheses can be rejected. The above table depicts only the presence of association between the two variables. However, does not tell the strength of the same. This can be obtained from Cramer s V. Table 5: Symmetric Measures Cramer s V Value Approx. Sig. Nominal by Nominal Phi Cramer's V Contingency Coefficient The Cramer s V value is.254 which is significant. Therefore we are able to say that there is strength of association between income level of a household or a person and the frequency of visiting Fast food restaurant. 340

6 7.3 Analysis of Income and visit of frequency to a fast food restaurant Null Hypotheses: There exists no association between marital status of a person and the frequency of visiting Fast food restaurants Alternate Hypotheses: There exists an association between marital status of a person and the frequency of visiting Fast food restaurants P (Level of significance) = Marital status vs. Frequency of visiting Fast food restaurants Table 6 : Data Analysis for Marital Status vs. Visit of frequency to a Fast food restaurant ONCE IN A TWICE IN A THRICE IN A WEEK WEEK WEEK MSTAT MARRIED Count % within 27.8% 30.6% 5.6% MSTAT % within 31.3% 18.0% 10.5% % of Total 6.7% 7.3% 1.3% UNMARRIED Count % within 19.3% 43.9% 14.9% MSTAT % within 68.8% 82.0% 89.5% % of Total 14.7% 33.3% 11.3% Total Count % within 21.3% 40.7% 12.7% MSTAT % within 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% % of Total 21.3% 40.7% 12.7% 341

7 Table 7: Chi-Square Tests for Marital status and Frequency of visit Asymp. Sig. Value df (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association a. 3 cells (30.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is.72. The result shows the Degrees of freedom = 4 Chi-square critical value (CV) = , Cumulative probability: P (Χ2 < C = The P-Value is The result is significant at p < We know that the sig value (.008) is less than p value (0.05), the null hypotheses can be rejected. The above table depicts only the presence of association between the two variables. However, does not tell the strength of the same this can be obtained from Cramer s V Table 8: Symmetric Measures Cramer s V Value Approx. Sig. Nominal by Nominal Phi Cramer's V The Cramer s V value is.304 which is significant and we are able to say that there is a significant strength of association between marital status a person and the frequency of visiting Fast food restaurant 7.5 Occupation vs. Frequency of visiting Fast foods restaurants Null Hypotheses: There exists no association between occupation of a person and the frequency of visiting Fast foods restaurants Alternate Hypotheses: There exists an association between occupation of a person and the frequency of visiting Fast foods restaurants P (Level of significance) = 0.05 Analysis Table 9: OCCUPATION * Cross tabulation ONCE IN A WEEK TWICE IN A WEEK OCCUPATION SERVICE Count HOLDER % within 25.5% 55.3% OCCUPATION % within 37.5% 42.6% % of Total 8.0% 17.3% HOUSEWIFE Count 2 1 % within 33.3% 16.7% OCCUPATION % within 6.3% 1.6% 342

8 % of Total 1.3%.7% student Count % within 18.6% 35.1% OCCUPATION % within 56.3% 55.7% % of Total 12.0% 22.7% Total Count % within 21.3% 40.7% OCCUPATION % within 100.0% 100.0% % of Total 21.3% 40.7% Table 10 : Chi-Square Tests for Occupation and Frequency of visit Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association a. 4 cells (26.7%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is.60. Degrees of freedom = 8, Chi-square critical value (CV) = , Cumulative probability: P (Χ2 < CV) = , The P-Value is The result is significant at p < The above table depicts only the presence of association between the two variables. However, does not tell the strength of the same this can be obtained from Cramer s V. Table 11 Symmetric Measures Cramer s V Value Approx. Sig. Nominal by Nominal Phi Cramer's V Cramer s V Value=.270 which is significant and shows that there is significant strength of association between Occupation of consumers and their Frequency of visiting Fast foods restaurants 8. Suggestions I. Fast food restaurants can come up with innovative menu offerings for the customers II. Patiala is a city which is inhibited by employees and they have a predefined budget and considering the same Fast food restaurants can develop their pricing strategies for the city residents III. The city is also home to many educational institutions and student population can act as a good target market for fast food restaurants to increase their market share. 343

9 9. Findings and Conclusion Findings have revealed the perception of consumer and their behavior in fast foods restaurants of Patiala city and we can say that there are factors like marital status, income and occupation which affect the frequency of consumers visit to these outlets. Fast food restaurants must consider these factors in terms of behavior and perceptions of the consumers to target their potential customers and draw the promotional strategies accordingly in the years to come. With the implementation of Smart cities project by the Govt. of India the competition is set to grow and fast food restaurants must gear up with innovations in their promotional aspect. 10. Limitations of the Study I. The study is confined to Patiala city only and provides opportunities for further investigations II. The study is confined to only three factors which are Income, Marital status and Occupation but this can be further supplemented with other factors like taste preferences, pricing factors and overall quality satisfaction by the consumers of Fast foods. III. Bias if any by the respondents during survey cannot be ruled out 11. References [1] Thakkar, K. and Thatte, M. (2014). Consumer perceptions of food franchise: A study of McDonalds and KFC. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications,4 (3):1-5 [2] Goyal, A. and Singh, N.P. (2007), Consumer perception about fast food in India: An exploratory study. British Food Journal 109 (2): [3] Wilcock, A, Pun, M, Khanona, J, & Aung, M 2004, Consumer Attitudes, Knowledge and Behavior: A Review of Food Safety Issues, Trends in Food Science. & Technology, Vol.15, pp [4] Priyadharsini, S.Annie.(2014). Consumer Behavior and the Marketing Strategies of Fast Food Restaurants in India. Indian Journal of Applied Research [5] Singh Chib, Sandeep. (2012). Relationship matrix between customer satisfaction and service quality in fast food industry - A comparative study of KFC and McDonalds. International Journal of Retailing & Rural Business Perspectives [6] Bender, A.E. and Bender, D.A. (1995), A Dictionary of food and nutrition, Oxford University Press, Oxford. [7] Thakkar, K. and Thatte, M. (2014). Consumer perceptions of food franchise: A study of McDonalds and KFC. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications,4 (3):1-5 [8] Hamansu, S. M Consumer behavior [cit ] Available at Author s Biography Parminder Singh Dhillon --- Presently working as Asst. Professor, Dept. of Tourism, Hospitality & Hotel Management, Punjabi University, Patiala. Loaded with 22 years of practical experience in glamorous Hospitality industry including 10 years of teaching. Presently working as assistant professor in the Dept. of Tourism, Hospitality & Hotel Management, Punjabi University, Patiala as a founder faculty member of the dept. Life member of Indian Culinary Forum ( IFCA) Authored two books entitled I. Food & Beverage Production Management for Hospitality Industry published by Abhijeet Publications New Delhi II. Punjabi Hospitality(delicious recipes) published by Abhijeet Publications New Delhi. Core teaching area is Food and Beverage Production and Tourism Marketing 344