Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Pt. 2 15A

For my three interviews, I picked three friends who do not know each other from my previous segment of UF faculty and students.

Of all my interviewees, they each agreed that price and convenience matter the most when it comes to picking where to eat.  I expected for them to agree on price because it feeds into the stereotype that broke college kids want cheap food.  College kids are also lazy, so convenience is also important to my segment.

My first interviewee, a TA in the business school, says he prefers to pick up or dine in to get his food, because he can duck the service charge that comes from online delivery.  My second interviewee, one of my classmates in ENT3003, says he prefers to buy his online and have it delivered to him.  My third interviewee, my fraternity brother, says it all depends on price, and usually it is cheaper for him to pick-up, so that is what he does most of the time.

As for food, my three interviewees look back and want to the food to have tasted good, and they want the size and quality of the meal to worth what they paid for it.

Interview 1: This student is a TA for business stats.  He said price is definitely the most important factor when it comes to him buying food to eat.  He clarified that although price is the most important, he won't order food that he doesn't like or is unhealthy because it's cheap.  He also prefers picking his food up because it's cheaper than doing UberEats or Door Dash.  After his meal, he wants to be satisfied knowing he paid the right price for the size and quality.

Interview 2:  My second interview is one of my friends who also happens to be in this class.  He is from out of state and does not have any means of transportation, which makes location/convenience very important to him; however price is still his deciding factor most of the time.  After his meal, he wants to make sure that the food was worth the price he paid for it.

Interview 3:  My third interview is with one of my fraternity brothers.  We chatted for awhile about what goes into his ordering food and he says it's all about price, which means he picks up or dines in most of the time, unless he has a delivery coupon or a free delivery on UberEats.  He also mentioned that he likes to order from convenient locations that can have his food ready quickly.

Conclusion:  I was not surprised to hear these responses in my interviews because for me ordering food is all about convenience in price, and it was for these three students as well.  As for purchase decision, everyone likes to do what is cheapest and most convenient, and most of the time the best option is dining in or picking up, which happens in the store.  For post-purchase evaluation, each of the three responses were similar as well.  College students do not want to feel like they used their money inefficiently.  Overall, the segment of UF students has similar desires and tastes, so I think that gives an advantage to someone who can cater their business model to meet the needs of this segment.