TIME OF PURCHASE: WHAT INFLUENCES CONSUMER CHOICE?

Consumer behavior and food choices are complex processes, shaped by a set of experiences, information, personal tastes, and purchasing capacity. An in-depth understanding of the determinants of this choice is an essential strategic tool for new product development, brand building, and marketing. In this context, the present study aimed to investigate the criteria that most influence the decision to purchase food. A cross-sectional nationwide study was conducted, using an online questionnaire as a collection tool. The sample consisted of 400 adult consumers (mean age 42 years; 54% women). The questionnaire contained socioeconomic questions and requested the ranking of importance (from 1st, most important, to 5th, least important) for five attributes of choice: brand, price, nutritional quality, practicality and flavor. As an exclusion criterion to avoid bias, food and health professionals, as well as vegetarians and vegans, were removed from the analysis. Statistical analysis involved descriptive analysis and Pearson's chi-square test. Most participants had completed high school (51%) and belonged to social class C (73%). The results showed that price was the main variable that influenced the participants at the time of choice. A significant association was found between the price of the product and the participant's social class (x²(8) = 20.854, p = 0.008). Consumers in class C were 6.4 times more likely to consider price a decisive factor, when compared to those in class A