Purchasing of chinese pastry cake products of consumers in Chonburi Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were: 1) to study the individual factors of consumers in Chonburi Province, 2) to investigate the marketing mix factors used for purchasing decisions of traditional Chinese pastry cake products of consumers in Chonburi Province, 3) to find out the purchase decisions of traditional Chinese pastry cake products of consumers in Chonburi Province, 4) to examine factors affecting the purchase decisions of traditional Chinese pastry cake products of consumers in Chonburi Province, and 5) to establish guidelines for the development of Chinese pastry cake products for consumers in Chonburi Province. The sample in this study included 400 consumers in Chonburi who chose to buy Chinese pastry cake products and 7 business owners who sold Chinese pastry cake products. The research instruments consisted of questionnaires and interviews. The data were analyzed by using statistical analyses: frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, chi-square and descriptive data analysis. The results can be summarized as follows: 1) Most of the consumers were female between the age of 31-40, running a private business with an average monthly income of 20,001 - 30,000 baht, and 74% of the study sample reside in Chonburi Province. 2) Overall, consumers’ attention for the marketing mix was at a high level. When considering each aspect of the marketing mix factors, the results reported that customers’ attention for the marketing mix from the most to the least: location, individual, price, customer service, marketing promotion and products. 3) The consumers purchased pastries as gifts or souvenirs for other people. Most of them bought a mix of golden bean paste pie and pumpkin in syrup once a month (3 - 4 pieces, about 201 - 500 baht each time). Most consumers bought those desserts for themselves. 4) Factors affecting Chonburi consumers’ purchase decisions for Chinese pastry cake products were as follows: 4.1) The individual factors affecting consumer’s purchase decisions involved gender, age, occupation, and average monthly income. Those factors affected the purchase decisions of Chinese pastry cake products of consumers in Chonburi Province with statistically significant differences at the .05 level. The residence of the consumers, however, did not result in purchasing decisions of Chinese pastry cake products at the .05 level of significance. 4.2) Marketing mix factors affecting consumers’ purchasing behavior included products, price, distribution, marketing promotion, personal factors, location and service with significant results at the .05 level. In addition to the guidelines on how to develop Chinese pastry cake products for consumers in Chonburi Province, the business owners should improve the pastries to attract market demand. Packaging improvement should be a combination of modern and traditional styles. The price should be various based on the types of products. Also, developing distribution channels through social media and the decoration of attractive storefronts with Chinese themes should be implemented. Moreover, there should be advertising through social media. Employees should be trained on the product and customer service knowledge. The store must be easily accessible to common people using public transportation. The shop owners should focus on the quality of the customer service and customer satisfaction enhancement.