“012012 or 111000”: preference for consumption pattern-seeking

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how consumers make choices when they are faced with a fixed set of available options, consisting of both preferred and less-preferred choices, in the domain of food consumption. Specifically, the paper offers a novel perspective to predict repeated choice decisions in food consumption, which is termed as “pattern-seeking” – a consumption choice pattern that involves a coherent repetitive sequence of sub-groupings or coherently concentrated sub-groupings of options.

Design/methodology/approach

Eight experimental studies that contrast the existing theoretical predictions regarding repeated choices (e.g. primacy effect, recency effect, variety vs consistency) against pattern-seeking were conducted using hypothetical and actual food choices.

Findings

The results of experimental studies show that an explicit decision pattern (i.e. pattern-seeking) emerges as the most significant predictor of repeated choice in the food consumption domain.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers a novel perspective on how consumers make repeated choices in the domain of food consumption.

Practical implications

The results show that consumers prefer food consumption with a pattern (vs non-pattern). Thus, it would be better to generate marketing activities that allow customers to satisfy their pattern-seeking more easily.

Originality/value

This study advances the literature on repeated food choices by demonstrating that people possess an inherent preference for patterns in food consumption.

Citation

Kim, J., Cui, Y.(G)., Hwang, E., Franklin, D. and Seo, Y. (2020), "“012012 or 111000”: preference for consumption pattern-seeking", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54 No. 9, pp. 2171-2194. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-03-2019-0224