Consumer Perception and Consumption Patterns of Fast Foods in Zambia's Lusaka District

Abstract

Consumer Perception and Consumption Patterns of Fast Foods in Zambia's Lusaka District

John P. Kapasa University of Zambia, 2012 Supervisor: Ms. P. Hamukwala

The purpose of this study was to examine the consumer characteristics and purchasing patterns of fast foods. It was carried out in parts of Lusaka district where fast food facilities are prominent and the data was collected from 81 randomly selected consumers. The study used Probit model in determining some of factors that affect consumption of fast foods. The factors considered in the model were. Distance to the nearest Fast Food Facility, Time taken, and Packaging, Health restrictions and provision of Nutritional Information. The other factors considered were of nature of dummy variable and these were Gender, Sex and income. The factors considered in this research were identified from the results of the regression which was done in STATA.

The study revealed that some of factors that affect frequency of consumption were Dietary restrictions (P= 0.035); Cleanness (P=0.04); Consumer Overall Service (P=0.023); Packaging (P=0.007) and Nutritional Information (P=0.001).These factors were significant at 95% confidence level. Nutritional information. Packaging had positive relationship with purchasing frequency. This means that increase in provisional of Nutritional information and improvements in packaging of fast foods will lead to the increase in the consumption of fast foods. On the other hand dietary restrictions had a negative relationship with purchasing frequency which means that the more dietary restrictions a consumer is faced with the lesser the number of times he or she is likely to purchase fast foods. Distance to reach the fast food facility (P=0.]05), Time Taken to reach the facility (P=0.433) and Means of transport used (P=0.626) were not statistically significant variables at 95% confidence level.

In view of the findings, it is recommended that the key players in the Zambian fast food industry find ways of providing nutritional information and also find innovative ways of packaging their products.