Consumer attitudes on the food market : the case of Poland

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to explore contemporary consumption trends in Poland, with special consideration for the determinants of consumer attitudes adopted when choosing food products.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research method was a diagnostic survey with the use of a research tool – a questionnaire. The basic source of data presented in this article was information collected from a survey carried out in December 2020. In the process of preparing this publication, both literature analysis of the discussed issue and questionnaire research were used. The article presents in detail differences in behaviour patterns at the stage of making purchasing decisions in Poland, depending on gender, education, and per capita income in the household.

FINDINGS: The conclusions from the study indicate that consumers in Poland display some differences at the stage of analysing whether a product is organic. When shopping for food products, they adopt various attitudes which can be distinguished based on consumption determinants. The knowledge obtained can be used both for practical purposes and for further theoretical considerations.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The article sheds some light on the determinants of the purchasing choices of contemporary consumers in Poland, and on the attitudes they adopt when choosing food products. This knowledge can influence the means of conveying information about the ecological nature of products, facilitating the forms of presenting labels and compositions by producers so as to meet consumer expectations, and using the knowledge about the factors characterising each of the attitudes to present information about producers’ own activities in a way better tailored to expectations.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This article presents the results of a study on the determinants of shopping choices conducted on a representative group of 1000 Poles at the end of 2020.