The study of consumption behaviors and factors affecting decision to purchase fishery products of consumers in the North and Northeast of Thailand

This study aims to explore the consumption behavior and consumer’s attitude toward the important factors affecting decision to purchase fishery products for the development of fishery businesses and the Fish Marketing Organization (FMO), Thailand. The survey was conducted within two locations in Thailand: the North, representing by Chiang Mai province, and the Northeastern, representing by Nakhon Phanom province. The data were obtained from 388 and 400 respondents residing in two provinces, accordingly. The results show that target consumers are found to be apparently different in terms of demographic and socio-economic status. Target consumers in Chiang Mai are middle income class or above, office employees, and holding bachelor degrees. They focus on the food safety, hygiene of products and marketplaces, origins of products and no contamination. High income consumers tend to have high expectation on marketplace, particularly on the convenience to visit, cooking services and available parking space. However, the target consumers in Nakhon Phanom are moderately different. The majority of consumers are farmers and self-employed with lower educational and income levels. As a result, pricing is the most critical factor affecting decision to purchase fishery products, while product strategy is less influenced on them. The marketing mix strategy is hence developed to meet the demand of target consumers that would enhance the fishery businesses. Furthermore, the FMO, Thailand can use the findings from this study to formulate strategic distribution plans for its fishery products and provide more effective operations and services to the target consumers in both locations.