Analysis of the social impact on the youth`s consumer behavior in the "green" food products market
Abstract The article investigates social influence as a process of influencing the behavioral and consumer attitudes of young people in the market of "green" food products. The article presents the quantitative study results of young people aged 18 to 23 years, as hypotheses we consider the possibility of having a direct impact on the consumer behavior, as well as changes in consumer behavioral characteristics, which, in turn, will affect their perception of information within the consumer preferences framework. The quantitative study was conducted as part of an online questionnaire, where the respondents were offered questions related to their media preferences, the purchase of "green" food products, as well as involvement in modern fashion trends related to vegetarianism and veganism. Based on the study results, it was concluded that the media impact on consumer behavior does not always lead to direct changes in preferences, but it affects the information perception, even among the part of the audience that, according to the researchers, should be affected the most by such an influence. Suggestions about the direct impact on the consumer behavior of young people through the Internet media are not sufficiently confirmed, and further ways to study this issue are suggested.
Keywords: social impact, consumer behavior, influencer marketing, food, quantitative audience research.
Highlights:
♦ possibilities of social influence on consumer behavior through influencer marketing and advertising integration within the framework of healthy eating trends and "green" food products are considered;
♦ a quantitative study was carried out, the results of which partially refute the established postulates about the social impact on young people through the Internet media;
♦ the necessity of furthe r study of the issue of social influence on the consumer behavior of young people is substantiated.
Dmitry V. Dolgopolov, Angelina D. Solovyeva, Maria S. Cherkazyanova - State University of Management, Moscow, Russia