Consumers follow predictable pattern when it comes to ordering food, drinks.Byline: ANI Washington, Sep 22 (ANI): While ordering food and drinks in a restaurant, people tend to follow a predictable pattern, says a new study. The study found that people in groups apparently tend to seek variety when making initial orders, then gravitate grav·i·tate intr.v. grav·i·tat·ed, grav·i·tat·ing, grav·i·tates 1. To move in response to the force of gravity. 2. To move downward. 3. toward similar choices, and then, as the group consensus grows, to move away from popular choices. "Our study shows empirically that consumers are susceptible to both conformist con·form·ist n. A person who uncritically or habitually conforms to the customs, rules, or styles of a group. adj. Marked by conformity or convention: and variety-seeking tendencies. They like to differentiate themselves from a growing minority or an overwhelming majority, but tend to conform in between," wrote authors Pascale Quester and Alexandre Steyer. The authors conducted a study on candy bars in a lab, and then moved on to a real-life setting of a restaurant called Flam's in Paris. They sought out a situation where a drink was included in a package (Flam's Plus) that included an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. In such a situation, price would not be a factor, since the drinks were included, and people were unlikely to share drinks, as they might share food in a Chinese restaurant See:
"We decided that consumers' choice of pre-meal drinks within a Flam's Plus order would provide the best and most reliable context for determining whether and how individuals' choices were influenced by other's choices, in a condition when individual orders would be made public by the order process," said the authors. They analysed the data from 70 tables with two or more patrons where everyone ordered the Flam's Plus. The tables ranged from two to 18 customers. The results of the restaurant study showed people sought variety as long as others' choice of the same item did not achieve a threshold level Noun 1. threshold level - the intensity level that is just barely perceptible intensity, intensity level, strength - the amount of energy transmitted (as by acoustic or electromagnetic radiation); "he adjusted the intensity of the sound"; "they measured the of group unanimity UNANIMITY. The agreement of all the persons concerned in a thing in design and opinion. 2. Generally a simple majority (q.v.) of any number of persons is sufficient to do such acts as the whole number can do; for example, a majority of the legislature can pass . "However, when others' choice of an alternative reaches 30 percent or so, variety seeking weakens. Beyond 60 or 70 percent, variety-seeking has been reversed and becomes conformism con·form·ist n. A person who uncritically or habitually conforms to the customs, rules, or styles of a group. adj. Marked by conformity or convention: ...When an alternative becomes very dominant (with over 80 to 90 percent of other selecting it), variety-seeking reappears," explained the authors. The study has been published in the Journal of Consumer Research. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion