The Cluster Analysis of Consumer Behavior on Acceptance of Innovation Affecting the Decision to Buy New Ready-to-Eat Food Style: A Case Study of Undergraduate Students in Nonthaburi Province

Abstract

This research aimed to study 1) acceptance behavior of a new ready-to-eat innovation product  2) effects of marketing mix on buying decision of a new ready-to-eat product 3) cluster analysis of acceptance behavior of a new ready-to-eat product 4) comparison between cluster and marketing mix of a new ready-to-eat product. The population used in this research was undergraduate students in Nonthaburi Province. The sample size was calculated as 305 using G*power program. The data were collected from 341 respondents using an online questionnaire which was the tool in this research. The descriptive statistics used in this study were frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The cluster analysis was done using the nonhierarchical cluster. The pair comparison was   conducted using ANOVA. The results showed that the highest acceptance score was the recommendations from friends or others (Average 2.98) (S.D. 0.82). The effects of marketing mix on buying decision showed that the consumers would buy a product because it is more convenient to eat (Average 3.22) (S.D. 1.27), the price is suitable (Average 3.24) (S.D. 1.27), it is sold in a convenience store (Average 3.15) (S.D. 0.77), and the discount is given (Average 3.05) (S.D. 0.84). Five groups of consumers which were Early Adopters, Laggards, Late Majority, Innovators and Early Majority were obtained from the cluster analysis. The pair comparison revealed that the importance of Marketing Mix 4 C’s considered by cluster was significantly different, statistically significant at 0.05. This research suggested that development of a new ready-to-eat product need to communicate about the marketing mix to the consumers in order to increase the sales and consumers’ acceptance of the new product.