The impact of pricing on consumer buying behavior in the UAE

Abstract

AbstractThis study examines the effect of pricing practices and other factors on consumers’ buying behavior in the UAE in the post-Covid-19 era. The focus is on buying from hypermarkets. Other factors such as product quality, the possibility of paying with cards, convenient hypermarket layout, near location, not-crowded hypermarkets, and the way prices are written are also investigated. The effects of factors such as gender, marital status, age, income, education, and shopping frequency were examined. A questionnaire built based on a literature review was used to collect data from 180 respondents in the UAE. Statistical methods such as the one-sample t-test, two-sample t-test, ANOVA, and correlation were utilized. R statistical tool was used for data analysis. Results showed that product quality is more important than lower prices. However, lower prices are still a key factor that determines where consumers will buy from and how much they will buy. Highly educated consumers place more importance on a well-designed hypermarket with wide aisles and not being crowded. Generally, factors other than prices are also important. Men and married people care more about prices than other respondents. For this reason, they look for good prices in distant hypermarkets. Decision-makers need to consider such factors and focus on improving customer service to increase customer loyalty. It is also essential for them to keep up with the changing preferences and needs of their customers.

Keywords

• Pricing
• buying behavior
• hypermarkets
• product quality
• consumer demand
• Kaouther Kooli, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK