FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER INFANT FORMULA PURCHASING DECISION

Abstract

The study assessed factors influencing consumers’ infant formula purchasing decision. To achieve the objective, the study tried to consider about seven determinant factors of purchasing decision such as product price, quality, and promotion, sources of information, availability of product, brand popularity, and consumer level of perception. Based on this, data was collected from consumers using structured questionnaire and unstructured interview. Hence, 90 respondents were participated in the study using convincing sampling technique. Both descriptive and inferential statistics methods were applied to analyses the collected data. The result of the study reveals that purchasing decision of consumers affected by all of the identified determinant factors such as, price unfairness, quality problem, lack of product promotion, lack of sources of information, lack of available product, lack of diverse brand availability, and lack of perception and consumers awareness. Consequently, the major findings of the study implied that, in terms of income status, consumers engaged in lower average monthly income purchasing decision of high price products, brand products and frequency of product buying were more affected than consumers engaged in middle and high average monthly income. The study also showed that, consumer purchasing decision regarding availability of products more affected by distance. Accordingly, most consumers decided to purchase products where locally available than far apart from their surrounding area. The other determinant factor that the finding implied was sources of information, in this regard majority of consumers’ purchasing decision was affected by lack of available sources of information. Regarding, perception of consumer’s educated consumers’ have better product perception than less educated consumers. In general, the results of correlation analysis revealed that all of the identified determinant factors affect consumer purchasing decision which indicates at a statistical measures p < 0.05. Furthermore, multiple regressions also identify which determinant variable more affect consumer purchasing decision. Thus, Price of product highly and positively affect consumer purchasing decision followed by product quality, perception of consumer, sources of information, availability of products, brand popularity and sales promotion. Based on the findings the study recommend that product distributers should consider unfair price, quality of products, availably of products, and provide alternative brandsof infant formula.