WHAT FACTORS DETERMINE COLLEGE STUDENTS’ PURCHASING INTENTIONS TOWARD NUTRITIONAL MENU ITEMS?
Open Access
Author:
Fletcher, Ryan E.
Area of Honors:
Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Martha T Conklin, Thesis Supervisor Martha T Conklin, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Breffni M Noone, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
College Students Nutritional Menu Items
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that impact college students’ purchase intentions when provided with a more healthful option. This study specifically examined the following factors; gender differences, price sensitivity characteristics, price, dining location, discretionary income, college major, year in school and nutrition knowledge. A questionnaire was completed by 159 college students at a large Northeast university.
College students answered questions based on a scenario of their purchase intentions that featured two different variations of pricing schemes with nutritional information staying the same. The two pricing scenarios included a more than average price and a less than average price. The results indicated that students’ frequent choice of dining location and discretionary income were significant factors when deciding to purchase a nutritional entrée. This information could be very useful for college dining halls and restaurants within a college town. Pricing, menu design and marketing are key areas that could benefit this information to enhance customer satisfaction and increase revenue for operations that have a college student customer base.
