Consumer decisions and selection of upscale and casual catering establishment, evidence from consumers within the Kumasi metropolis

Abstract

Consumers’ increasingly demand for convenient, quick serving and ready-made food away from home has made restaurants and fast-food outlets one of the fastest growing sectors in the service industry. In some time, past, most developing countries food service industry sector was mainly dominated by locals with little or no involvement of foreign brands yet in recent times, developing countries food service space is highly filled with foreign brands. This study investigated consumers’ decisions and selection of upscale and casual restaurant within the Kumasi Metropolis. The specific objectives of the study were; to identify the factors consumers, give much credence to when deciding to dine at an upscale-restaurant, to investigate the factors consumer, give much weight to when deciding to dine at a casual facility, to investigate the relationship between consumer demographic profile and their selection criteria patterns of both an upscale and a casual restaurant and lastly to assess whether there are differences in consumer selection criteria when deciding to dine at an upscale restaurant or casual restaurant. The study population came from both undergraduate and post-graduate students within the three public universities (i.e. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, College of Technology Education, and Kumasi Technical University) within the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. A sample population size of 200 students each within these universities were targeted. A stratefied sampling approach was used where the study population was divided into three strata that is, students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, College of Technology Education, Kumasi and Kumasi Technical University. Afterwards, the Krejcie and Morgan sampling table was used in the determination of the sample size across these strata. The study used a cross-sectional research design where questionnaire instruments based on a five-point likert scale was distributed to the study respondents. Data on this study was analysis on the basis of descriptive statistics (i.e. frequency, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multiple linear regression analysis and one-way anova). Results from the study suggest that the respondents did not use the same selection criteria when deciding to eat either at an upscale facility or a casual restaurant. For instance, when it comes to the selection of an upscale restaurant a consumer was very critical of atmospheric elements such as parking space, building exterior, interior décor and lightening in their selection decision. Interestingly, consumers who wanted to dine at the casual restaurant gave little or no attention to these atmospheric elements in their selection decision. Again, it was observed that consumers seeking to dine at an upscale restaurant were very particular about the parking space, building exterior, interior décor and lightening conditions at the facility. On this score, it is recommended to the upscale restauranteurs to take critical notice of these atmospheric elements at their facilities since its presence could increase the selection rate of their facility among upscale restaurant lovers. KEYWORDS: upscale restaurant, casual restaurant, consumer selection decision, public universities, Kumasi Metropolis.