Submitted to: Prof.

Kriti
Bardhan Gupta
Group 8:
Lavanya Sinha [ABM15024]
Raghav Nuwal [ABM027]
Pranjal S Rajawat [ABM15026]
Himanki Shahu [PGP34216]
Girish Bhangale [PGP34209]
Jigar Patel [PGP34228]
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR FOR
RESTAURANT SERVICES Consumer Behaviour for
Food Products & Services
Contents
Objective .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 2
Data Collection: ............................................................................................................................ 2
Data Analysis Procedure: .............................................................................................................. 2
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 2
1) Problem Recognition: ............................................................................................................ 3
2) Information Search:............................................................................................................... 3
3) Evaluation of Alternatives: .................................................................................................... 3
4) Purchase Decision: ................................................................................................................ 3
5) Post Purchase Behaviour: ...................................................................................................... 3
Who was the decision-making unit? .................................................................................................. 3
Who bought the product or service? ............................................................................................. 3
Identify all those who played a role in the decision process. What role did they play? ................... 4
What motivated the purchase? ......................................................................................................... 5
What problems did the product/service solve? What functions would it facilitate?........................ 5
What attributes seemed important? ............................................................................................. 7
Characterize the type of decision ...................................................................................................... 8
Was it a first-time decision / review of the previous decision? ....................................................... 8
Careful/Casual Decision? ............................................................................................................... 8
Was the amount of deliberation apt for the decision? ................................................................. 10
Characterize the decision-making process. ..................................................................................... 10
What triggered the process? ....................................................................................................... 10
Was there an information search? ................................................................................................ 11
What was the source of information? .......................................................................................... 12
When in the process was info gathered? ..................................................................................... 14
How many alternatives were evaluated? ......................................................................................15
How was the final choice determined? ........................................................................................ 16
Where did consumer buy? ............................................................................................................... 16
Which came first: where to eat or what to eat? ........................................................................... 16
Social CONSIDERATION ................................................................................................................. 18
Type of Decision ............................................................................................................................. 19
Information Search ......................................................................................................................... 19
Alternative Evaluation .................................................................................................................... 19

1
Objective
The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between restaurant attributes and
consumers’ willingness to avail these services. Current research shows that the most common
factors affecting restaurant guests while making this decision are: food quality, service quality,
offers, information search and overall restaurant environment. This study has the following
specific objectives
(a) deep understanding of the purchase decision process in availing restaurant services;
(b) factors, that determined why the customer acted the way s/he did during the decision
process
(c) Marketing implications to increase customer satisfaction through targeting right set of
customers and increase profitability

Methodology
The study is broadly classified into two parts
1) Data Collection with a questionnaire
2) Data Analysis Procedure

Data Collection:
The study aimed at different sets of people ranging from diverse backgrounds and geographic
locations. For the data collection 14 consumers were selected randomly from major Tier 1
cities (Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore) and Tier 2 cities (Faridabad, Nagpur,
Coimbatore) through random sampling. The sample set includes diverse set of people ranging
from different genders, educational qualification, Marital Status, Profession, Geographic
Location. A questionnaire was prepared with 20 Questions with a set of questions to
understand factors that could influence consumer decision process. Information was finally
gathered through questionnaire and telephonic interviews were also held in order to
substantiate the data gathered

Data Analysis Procedure:

The collected data is analysed and behavioural aspects of several individuals are correlated to
find a specific pattern among individuals. Observations were made and conclusions drawn
with the sample set about factors that different genders consider while availing restaurant
services.

Introduction
Consumer buying process consists of a set sequential steps the consumer follows to arrive at the
final buying decisions. Mostly, consumers follow a typical buying process. Marketer must know how
consumers reach the final decision to buy the product. There are five stages consumers go through
to make the final decision.

Problem Information Evaluation of Purchase Post

Recognitio Search Alternatives Decision Purchase
n Behaviour
2
 1) Problem Recognition: First step is also known as recognizing of unmet need.
Buying problem arises only when there is unmet need or problem
2) Information Search: Interested consumer will try to seek information. consumer
can try one or more of following sources of information: Personal Sources (Family, Friends),
Commercial Sources (Advertising, Salesman, Zomato, Internet), Public Sources (Mass
Media), Experimental Sources
3) Evaluation of Alternatives: The consumer has collected information about
certain restaurants. Now, he undergoes evaluation of restaurants considering all the factors
such as Quality of Food, Quality of Service, Ambience etc.
4) Purchase Decision: Consumer makes up his mind to purchase the most preferred
restaurant. This stage also includes the key decision makers or influencers who were part of
the process.
5) Post Purchase Behaviour: Level of the consumer’s satisfaction with the service
affects his subsequent behaviour/action. If he is satisfied reasonably, he avails the service
again, and talks favourably to family members, friends, relatives, and co-workers

Who was the decision-making unit?

Who bought the product or service?

Who paid for the restaurant (who

bought the service)?

42%
58%

Self Family/Friend

5/12 reported that they paid for the restaurant services.

All 5/5 mentioned that their family and/or friends played an important role in
making the decision of choosing the service
7/12 whose family/friend paid for the service
All 7/7 mentioned they and their family and/or friends jointly decided to make the
purchase

GENDER CATEGORIZATION

3
 WHO PAID FOR THE WHO PAID FOR THE
RESTAURANT? | RESTAURANT? |
FEMALES MALES

Self Self
Family/ Family/
40% 43%
Friend Friend
60% 57%

2/5 Females paid for the service | 3/7 Males paid for the service themselves
FINDINGS: The payment for the restaurant services was done majorly by friends and
family for both the genders with almost equal proportions being paid by self and
family/friends

Identify all those who played a role in the decision process. What
role did they play?
A) MARITAL STATUS

Who influenced the decision?

75%
Friends
0%

25%
Other Family members
50%

0%
Spouse
50%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Single Married

2/4 married people mentioned that their spouse played a major role in decision
making
6/8 single people mentioned that their friends were the major influencers in their
decision
1/3 people who had children mentioned that they considered children-friendliness
of the restaurant to be important aspect for choosing the service

FINDINGS: For married people, spouse and other family members have played a
more important role in making the choice than friends. For singles, on the other
hand, friends have played a far more important role than family in determination
of choice.

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 B) GENDER

Who influenced the decision?

57%
Friends
80%

43%
Family
20%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Male Female

4/5 Females said their friends influenced their decision

4/7 males mentioned that their friends influenced their decision

FINDINGS: For both the genders, friends have played a more important role than
family overall. But for females, friends have played a more important role than
family as compared to the male population interviewed.

What motivated the purchase?

What problems did the product/service solve? What functions would
it facilitate?
What functions would it facilitate?

9%

25%
66%

Spending quality time Low wait time Quality of food

5
8/12 : Wanted to spend quality time

3/12 : Quality & variety of Food

1/12 : Low wait time & good service

a) MARITAL STATUS

What functions would it facilitate?

50%
Quality of food
0%

0%
Low wait time
25%

50%
Spending quality time
75%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Single Married

Married 3/4: Wanted to spend quality time

1/4: Low wait time & good service

Single
4/8: Wanted to spend quality time
4/8: Quality & variety of Food

FINDINGS: For married people, spending quality time was the most important need
being fulfilled by availing the restaurant service than the culinary needs. For singles,
on the other hand, they gave equal importance to spending quality time and their
culinary preferences.

b) GENDER

What functions would it facilitate?

43%
Quality of food
20%

14%
Low wait time
0%

43%
Spending quality time
80%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Male Female

6
 Female
4/5: Wanted to spend quality time
1/5: Quality & variety of Food

Male
3/7: Wanted to spend quality time
1/7: Good service & low wait time
3/7: Quality & variety of Food

FINDINGS: For females, spending quality time emerged as the most important need
fulfilled. For their male counterparts, equal importance was given to satiation needs
and spending quality time. Males also mentioned the quick service of food as one of
the needs being fulfilled.

What attributes were considered?

What attributes were considered?
Extras (Live music, theme-based etc.) 33%
Service 25%
Type of food (Veg/Non-veg) 25%
Reviews 25%
Location/Distance 33%
Discounts (Zomato Gold etc.) 17%
Ambience 58%
Variety of food 17%
Quality of food 50%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Quality of food: 6/12

Variety of food: 2/12
Ambience: 7/12
Discounts (Zomato Gold etc.): 2/12
Location/Distance: 4/12
Reviews: 3/12
Type of food (Veg/Non-veg): 3/12
Service: 3/12
Extras (Live music, theme-based etc.): 4/12

FINDINGS: A number of attributes emerged in the study. The ambience came out as
the most important attribute motivating the decision to purchase the service. The
quality of food was also an important attribute followed by the location and distance
of the restaurant. Other aspects like the restaurant being pure vegetarian restaurant

7
 or not, availability of Zomato Gold discount, variety of options in food and reviews of
other people emerged as the motivators of purchase.

Characterize the type of decision

Was it a first-time decision / review of the previous decision?

Was it a first-time decision / review of the

previous decision?

33%

67%

First Time decision Review of previous decision

4/12: First Time decision

8/12: Review of previous decision

Careful/Casual Decision?

Careful or Casual decision?

42%

58%

Careful decision Casual decision

7/12: Careful
5/12: Casual

8
a) MARITAL STATUS:

Careful or Casual Decision?

38%
Casual decision
50%

63%
Careful decision
50%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Single Married

Married
2/4: Careful
2/4: Casual

Single
5/8: Careful Decision
3/8: Casual Decision

FINDINGS: For married people, the decision of eating at the particular restaurant was
as much a careful choice as a casual one. For majority of the single people, it was a
careful decision (the choice of restaurant)

b) GENDER

Careful or Casual Decision?

57%
Casual decision
20%

43%
Careful decision
80%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Male Female

9
 Female
4/5: Careful Decision
1/5: Casual Decision

Male
3/7: Careful Decision
4/7: Casual Decision

FINDINGS: For majority of the females, the choice of purchasing the restaurant service
was a careful decision unlike their male counterparts, for majority of whom it was
more of a casual decision than a careful one.

Was the amount of deliberation apt for the decision?

100% of respondents agreed that the time given for deliberation was apt for the
decision

Characterize the decision-making process.

What triggered the process?

What triggered the process?

42% 42%

16%

Special occasion (Birthday, Anniversary etc.)

Family ritual (Habitual outing)
Casual dining

Special occasion (Birthday, Anniversary etc.): 5/12

Family ritual (Habitual outing): 2/12
Casual dining: 5/12

FINDINGS: Two important triggers for the plan of going out for eating at a restaurant
were special occasions like birthday, anniversary etc. and casual dining.

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Was there an information search?
Was there information search?

25%

75%

Yes No

Yes: 9/12
No: 3/12

a) MARITAL STATUS:

Was there information search?

38%
Single
63%

0%
Married
100%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

No Yes

Married
100% Yes

Single
Yes: 5/8
No: 3/8

FINDINGS: All of the married people searched for information on various restaurants
before making a decision. On the other hand, majority of the single people searched
for information but around 40% of the singles did not do an information search.

b) SEX

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 Was there information search?

43%
Male
57%

0%
Female
100%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

No Yes

Female
Yes: 100%

Male
Yes: 4/7
No: 3/7

FINDINGS: All of the female respondents did an information search before making a
decision. The male respondents on the other hand, 43% of them did not go for any
information search.

What was the source of information?

What was the source of information?

8%

38% 54%

Online Word of mouth Local exploration

Online: 7/9

12
Word of mouth: 5/9
Local exploration: 1/9

a) MARITAL STATUS

Source of Information

0%
Local exploration
25%

50%
Word of mouth
75%

63%
Online
50%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Single Married

Married:
Online: 2/4
Word of mouth: 3/4
Local exploration: 1/4

SINGLE:
Online: 5/8
Word of mouth: 4/8

FINDINGS: Word of mouth was the major source of information for married people
followed by online sources of information like Zomato reviews etc. Some of them
even went for exploration by themselves. For single respondents, online sources
were the major source of information followed by word of mouth and/or peer
reviews.

b) SEX

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 Source of Information

14%
Local exploration
0%

43%
Word of mouth
60%

43%
Online
80%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Male Female

Female
Online: 4/5
Word of mouth: 3/5

Male
Online: 3/7
Word of mouth: 3/7
Local exploration: 1/7

FINDINGS: Going for online sources of information was far more rampant in female
respondents than in male respondents. Word of mouth was equally preferred by
male and female respondents. Female respondents depended majorly on online
sources for information.

When in the process was info gathered?

100% - In the beginning

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How many alternatives were evaluated?
No. of alternatives evaluated

17%

50%

33%

0 2-3 3-4

0: 2/12
2-3: 4/12
3-4: 6/12

a) MARITAL STATUS
Married
Average: 3

Single
Average: 2

b) SEX (AVERAGE)
Female: 3
Male: 2

FINDINGS: Majority of the respondents evaluated 3-4 alternatives before making the
decision. On an average, married respondents evaluated more alternatives than
single ones & females evaluated more alternatives than males.

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How was the final choice determined?
Determination of final choice

33%

59%
8%

Group consensus Spouses's decision self-determined

Group Consensus: 7/12

Spouse’s decision: 1/12
Self-determined: 4/12

FINDINGS: The final decision to buy was made by group consensus for majority of the
respondents followed by the decision taken by the respondent himself/herself.

Where did consumer buy?

Which came first: where to eat or what to eat?
Where to eat Vs What to eat : Which came first

8%
25%

67%

Where to eat What to eat Both equally important

Where to eat: 3/12

What to eat: 8/12
Both equally important: 1/12

a) MARITAL STATUS

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 Where Vs What to eat : What came first

13%
Both equally important
0%

50%
What to eat
100%

38%
Where to eat
0%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

Single Married

Married
100% - What to eat

Single
Where to eat: 3/8
What to eat: 4/8
Both equally important: 1/8

FINDINGS: ‘What to eat’ invariably preceded ‘Where to eat’ for both the sexes. That
means, the decision-making process began by determining the type of food to eat and
then followed by the place to eat. For some of the singles, ‘where to eat’ came first,
but for all of the married respondents, ‘what to eat’ was decided first.

b) GENDER

Where Vs What to eat : What came first?

14%
Both equally important
0%

57%
What to eat
80%

29%
Where to eat
20%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Male Female

Female

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 Where to eat: 1/5
What to eat: 4/5

Male
Where to eat: 2/7
What to eat: 4/7
Both equally important: 1/7

Findings: For majority of the people, ‘what to eat’ preceded the ‘where to eat’ decision
by a bigger margin for females than their male counterparts. For some of the males,
both decisions were taken in conjunction.

KEY INSIGHTS & MARKETING

IMPLICATIONS:
Social CONSIDERATION
 For both the genders, friends have played a more important role than family
overall. But for females, friends have played a more important role than family
as compared to the male population interviewed.
 For married people, spending quality time was the most important need being
fulfilled by availing the restaurant service than the culinary needs. For singles,
on the other hand, they gave equal importance to spending quality time and
their culinary preferences.
 For females, spending quality time emerged as the most important need
fulfilled. For their male counterparts, equal importance was given to satiation
needs and spending quality time. Males also mentioned the quick service of
food as one of the needs being fulfilled.
 Ambience, quality of food & discounts like Zomato Gold emerged as some of
the most important parameters for decision-making

Marketing Implications: Since friends & family play a significant role in

decision-making, for restaurants targeting married individuals, they should try to
make the restaurant family and/or children friendly. Such restaurants should also
focus on the ambience as spending quality time emerged as an important reason for
going out among married respondents.
For restaurants targeting younger single male & female population, they should
focus on the quality of food & ambience both. The availability of discounts like
Zomato Gold which is getting popularity in metro & tier – 1 cities also acts as a
reinforcer to choose the restaurants.

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Type of Decision
 For married people, the decision of eating at the particular restaurant was as
much a careful choice as a casual one. For majority of the single people, it
was a careful decision (the choice of restaurant)
 For majority of the females, the choice of purchasing the restaurant service
was a careful decision unlike their male counterparts, for majority of whom it
was more of a casual decision than a careful one.
 Two important triggers for the plan of going out for eating at a restaurant
were special occasions like birthday, anniversary etc. and casual dining.

Marketing Implication: Since the decision of choice of restaurant was a careful one
than a casual one for majority of the respondents, the restaurants should make their
marketing communications stronger via channels like Zomato, Facebook, YouTube ads etc.
They should also ensure that they have an updated database of people who visited their
restaurants so that they could be intimated about any special discounts etc. around special
occasions like anniversaries to garner repeat purchase at the restaurant.

Information Search
 All of the married people searched for information on various restaurants
before making a decision. On the other hand, 40% of the singles did not do
an information search.
 All of the female respondents did an information search before making a
decision. The male respondents on the other hand, 43% of them did not go
for any information search.
 Going for online sources of information was far more rampant in female
respondents than in male respondents. Word of mouth was equally preferred
by male and female respondents. Female respondents depended majorly on
online sources for information.

Marketing Implications: For restaurants targeting younger population, they could

hold special ladies-night etc. to attract female visitors for which they could make their online
presence stronger as 100% of female respondents went for information search and online
sources were the preferred media. For attracting male population, they could use rely on
pamphlets, messages etc to communicate in order to reduce the search cost in case of
impulse buying decisions.

Alternative Evaluation
 Majority of the respondents evaluated 3-4 alternatives before making the
decision. On an average, married respondents evaluated more alternatives
than single ones & females evaluated more alternatives than males.

19
  The final decision to buy was made by group consensus for majority of the
respondents followed by the decision taken by the respondent
himself/herself.

Marketing Implication: Since all the respondents, on an average, evaluated 2-3

restaurants, the restaurants need to make sure that their value proposition &
communication is better than the nearby restaurants (since location was a key contributor)
which targeted similar customers as them.

Cuisine Vs Ambience
 For some of the singles, ‘where to eat’ came first, but for all of the married
respondents, ‘what to eat’ was decided first.
 For majority of the people, ‘what to eat’ preceded the ‘where to eat’ decision
by a bigger margin for females than their male counterparts. For some of the
males, both decisions were taken in conjunction.

Marketing Implication: Restaurants targeting young population in tier-1 cities need to

ensure that they have the right balance between good ambience & quality of food served as
‘What to eat’ was clearly a bigger deciding factor which preceded ‘Where to eat’

20
References
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/6330/8/08_chapter%203.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258120897_Consumer_Behavior_in_Restaurants_Assess
ing_the_Importance_of_Restaurant_Attributes_in_Consumer_Patronage_and_Willingness_to_Pay
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/consumers/top-5-stages-of-consumer-buying-process/48596
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/2428/12/12_chapter%203.pdf

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