THE FAST FOOD MARKET: A STUDY OF BUYING BEHAVIOUR

AND RESTAURANT IMAGE

University of Malaya Faculty of Economics and Administration LEE KUM CHEE
INTRODUCTION

Malaysians were first introduced to fast foods when

A&W established its first restaurant in 1963. Since
then, consumers' acceptance of fast foods has been
on the upward trend. This is manifested by the
proliferation of fast food outlets in Petaling Jaya
and Kuala Lumpur, such as McDonald's, Kentucky Fried
Chicken (KFC), Grandy's, Pizza Hut and Shakey's
Pizza, especially during the past ten years. These
restaurants are franchised outlets that serve
standardised western style menus, prepared according
to strict specifications and charge fixed prices.

There is still scope for new chains as the fast food

market in Malaysia is a growing one. This is
attributed to (a) the expanding population and its
changing demographic characteristics (such as a
young population which is less traditionally bound
and hence, more receptive to the American fast food
concept), (b) the increasing affluence of the
people, (c) the changing lifestyles, such as
preferences for leisure, convenience and eating out,
(d) the changing role and independence of women as
more of them enter the labour market, and (e)
urbanisation, as urban families can afford and are
more willing to incur higher expenditures on food.
These changes have encouraged the development of
diverse eating habits and tastes among consumers for
convenience foods, such as fast foods.

Although some chains (Burger King, Orange Julius,

Popeye's) have failed, others (McDonald's, KFC) have
been very successful. Due to the high costs of
setting up and operating a fast food restaurant,
financial strength stands out as an important factor
for the long-term survival of these ventures. Indeed
the trend is that fast food chains are managed by
public-listed companies since these large operators
usually have the resources to sustain the business
(for example, Innovest owns KFC). The cost of
entering the industry is substantial, with a
franchise fee ranging from M$500,000 to M$ I million
plus an additional initial capital outlay of about
M$1 million for equipment, renovations and decor. A
fast food restaurant depends on its turnover to
recoup not only these setup costs, but also
recurring expenses, such as rent, wages, electricity
for lighting, air-conditioning and kitchen
equipment, as well as disposables such as paper cups
and plastic spoons. Besides, expenditure is also
incurred on advertising and promotion to establish
consumer awareness and support. On the other hand,
unit price is low, for example, the price of a
burger averages between M$2 and M$4. To sustain the
business, it is necessary to maintain a sufficiently
high volume of sales. It is estimated that a monthly
turnover of at least M$50,000 to M$70,000 should be
achieved just to break even.

The fast food business is a highly competitive one.

To be successful, it must be able to project the
right image as well as meet the needs of customers.
Marketing strategies must be formulated to attract
customers. This paper looks at some aspects of the
fast food market in Malaysia. It examines the buying
behaviour of fast food consumers and gauges their
perceptions of marketing variables specific to the
fast food industry through a multi-attribute image
model.

METHODOLOGY

A questionnaire survey of a sample of households in

Petaling Jaya is conducted. Petaling Jaya is
selected as the focus of study because of its
relatively greater affluence and population density
compared to other parts of Malaysia, and the fact
that, together with Kuala Lumpur, it forms the
centre of the fast food industry in the country.

Field interviews were conducted from May to July

1989. Due to cost constraints, the survey covered
only SS2, SS20, Subang Jaya, Section 14 and Section
17. Households were selected by using the street
map of Petaling Jaya and random number tables. In
cases of non-response from a selected household, the
one situated to the left or to the right was
approached. Of 300 households interviewed, only 252
questionnaires were completed and usable, yielding a
response rate of 84%.

To obtain a better insight of the fast food market,

the questionnaire was designed to answer the
following questions:

1. What are consumer's perceptions of individual

fast food chains with respect to relevant variables
like quality, cleanliness and so on?

2. How often do consumers purchase fast foods? Is

there any preference for particular days and for
particular meals?

3. Who participates in the buying process of

initiating, influencing and deciding on the
purchase?
4. Why do consumers buy fast foods'?

It is also structured such that a multi-attribute

image model of customers' perception of the fast
food chains can be developed for marketing analysis.
Questions are asked about customers' overall image
of fast food chains, the importance of certain
attributes and how well these attributes measure up
for each fast food chain.

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

In the analysis of consumer buying behaviour, the

sample is divided into three groups based on the
rate of buying fast foods: (i) very frequently
(those who purchase fast foods, on the average, once
a week or more often), (ii) frequently (once in two
weeks to once a month), and (iii) occasionally (once
in two months or less often). The buying behaviour
of fast food consumers was examined from various
aspects.

(a) Table I shows that while slightly more than ha

(51.5%) of the sample do not choose an particular
day(s) to patronise fast food outlet almost an equal
proportion (44.5%) tend to do so during weekends.
This is supported by observations of crowds during
weekends. T. persuade customers to patronize during
weekdays, A&W has come up with its Cone Day on
Tuesdays when this item is charged at lower price.

Among the various groups, frequent buyers are the

most likely to purchase on a weekend. Advertising
campaigns will tend to increase weekend buyers. To
produce a more even number of customers throughout
the week, it is perhaps worthwhile considering
organizing promotion offers during weekdays.

(b) The most popular meals for which respondent

consume fast foods are lunch or dinner (55.9% ni
Table 2). This is true across all groups of
respondents. Furthermore, about one-quater (24.7%)
consume these foods as a snack, define as a light,
casual or hurried meal. The menu offered include
items such as fried chicken burgers, pizzas (a dough-
based product) an porridge; these could be taken as a
substantial meal or snack.

(c) A majority (75.7% in Table 3) of respondents eat

fast foods at the restaurant from which the purchase
whereas only 18.7% pack it for consumption
elsewhere, such as at home or in the workplace. Thus
the decor and physical comfort (air-conditioning) of
the restaurant can contribute towards enhancing
customer satisfaction and encouraging repeat
purchases

(d) Respondents usually patronise fast food outlet

with their families (59.1% in Table 4), relatives
friends, colleagues or business associate (38.1%).
These visits are regarded as family or social
outings or as a place for meeting clients
(e) Table 5 shows that, except for the actual
purchasing, respondents and their children play a
major role in every stage of the buying process by
way of suggesting, influencing the final decision as
well as determining what and where to buy.

Children could exert a considerable influence on

parents by initiating the buying process (35.3%).
Promotional offers and a variety of sales gimmicks
(such as free gifts or sales of masks, watches,
pouches, multi-purpose bags and mini cameras) form
part of the strategies formulated to capture the
children's market. Children are also influenced by
television advertisements, which display colourful
and catchy scenes with the chain's relevant mascot
(such as Ronald McDonald, A&W Root Bear, Colonel
Sanders of KFC). However, the final decision of
buying is more likely to he made by adults (60.7%
for respondents, 21.4% for their spouses).

(f) The reasons for patronizing fast foods are

revealed in Table 6. Respondents were asked to rate
the importance of a list of reasons for buying fast
foods on a one-to-four scale in increasing order of
importance. The mean ratings in Table 6 show that
consumers generally place the most emphasis on
cleanliness of the restaurant and the hygienic
preparation of its products, followed by its
physical comfort (air-conditioning). Thus, in
contrast to the local hawker centres, these western
fast food chains are generally perceived as being
modern, clean, hygienic C comfortable.

These restaurants also represent import convergence

points for those who dine out M their family or
friends, who are in the midst shopping, as a treat
for their children, such as good behaviour, or who
celebrate special occasions, such as birthdays. This
is consist with the earlier findings in Table 4.

The basics of fast foods, as implied by the name,

are convenience (such as nobody has to cook or clean
up) and speedy service. These factors are evaluated
on the average, as important by the sample. Due to
the short time lag between ordering and delivery of
the food, fast foods go a long way towards
fulfilling the needs of people who want a hurried
meal or who may be compelled to eat while driving.
Besides, the American fast food concept provides
consumers with a convenient alternative to a
home-cooked meal.

Those who patronise fast food centres, on the whole,

are seeking a change from home-prepared food rather
than its nutritional value. This could have arisen
from doubts that fast foods contain sufficient
nutrients for either themselves or their children.
Thus, efforts should be intensified to inform or
reassure the public about the nutritional aspects of
fast foods, for example, whether they constitute
complete meals, contain high levels of saturated
fats or provide sufficient nutrients such as
vitamins and minerals.

Playing facilities for children are rated as

unimportant. Only a few outlets provide these
facilities. The changing role of women as a result
of more of them entering the labour force is also
regarded as an unimportant reason for buying fast
foods. This could be attributed to the availability
of domestic helpers in preparing meals, availability
of alternative sources of food in ready-to-eat form,
or women's own efforts in coping with work and
preparation of meals at home after work.

IMAGE CHARACTERISTICS

The Multi-attribute Image Model

What image does a fast food chain give to the

consumer? What are the attributes that most
influence buying from a particular outlet? This
section quantifies the perceptions of the attributes
of the fast food restaurant in a manner that would
give a sum total value to its image. To do so, a
multi-attribute image model is used. It determines a
set of attitudes based upon evaluation of the
attributes deemed important by customers. The
summation of this set of attitudes forms the
image-the way in which the fast food chain is
defined in the customer's mind by its functional
qualities and partly by an aura psychological
attributes. Thus, an attitude is a function of the
strength of beliefs and the evaluation of the
beliefs. The model, initially developed by Fishbein
and later modified by Bass and Talarzyk, is express
as follows:

N A = 2; WB i=l

A = the unidimensional or overall attitude towards a

restaurant

Wj = the weight or importance of attribute

B = the evaluative aspect or belief toward

restaurant

N = the number of attributes considered i the

selection of a restaurant

Thus, a consumer's attitude toward a restaurant (A )

is hypothesized to be a function of the importance
of each attribute and the beliefs about that store
each attribute.

Before the multi-attribute image model can used in

the analysis of marketing variables, it is her
necessary as a first step. to test the predictive
ability of the model to the image fast food chains.
Once I validity of the model is proven, the analysis
customers' relative perception (belief) of store
attributes among the various fast food chains can
made with confidence. Together with the relative
importance that customers attach to each attribute
the attitudes towards each attribute is formed. T.
fast food chain image is hence the sum total
attitudes of a customer. The attractiveness of this
model in marketing analysis is that the most
influence attributes can be identified to give a
quantitative basis for developing retail strategy
and to give an insight into store preference.

The Attributes

Image of fast food stores is determined from a of

nine attitudes obtained from consumers ' evaluation
of nine relevant store attributes. They are: (a)
quality of food served, (b) friendly, polite or
helpful staff, type of service whether table
(waiter) service, service service, drive-in service
or home delivery, (d) cleanliness of the restaurant,
(e) consistency of food quality, (f) menu variety,
specialities, size of servings, (g) environment, (h)
location of store, and (i) price.

Once the presence of a chain has been established, a

crucial factor in retaining customer support is
QSCC: quality, service, cleanliness and consistency.
A few years ago, one of the fast food chains
suffered a serious image problem due to poor quality
of food and service. Thus, efforts to upgrade other
marketing variables, such as quality of food,
service and menu would go a long way towards
enhancing image and customer satisfaction.

Quality of food, although not viewed as having high

nutritional value, and its consistency are
controlled through strict adherence to standard
ingredients and food preparation procedures. For
example, McDonald's stipulates that burgers which
are unsold ten minutes after being prepared must be
discarded. Workers are trained to provide quick,
efficient and courteous service. The trend is
towards self-service or counter service in order to
serve customers more speedily and to cut down costs
of staff. Drive-in service allows consumption of
food in the car while home delivery service
(initiated by Pizza Hut) means food is delivered to
the customer at no extra charge but enjoying the
convenience of not having to leave the house to make
a purchase. Most fast food chains serve a variety of
foods so as to offer customers a wide choice. These
include fried chicken, chicken, beef or fish
burgers, hot dogs, steaks, pizzas, porridge,
coleslaw, french fries, buns, shakes and ice-cream.
In addition, many chains lace their basic menus with
local flavour as attractions, such as sugar-cane
juice, egg burgers, rendang (spicy beef) burgers,
spicy fried chicken, curry pizzas and porridge .
Strategic location is an important factor. Poor or
wrong location decisions have resulted in
unprofitable outlets and subsequent closing or
relocation of these outlets. Some chains adhere to
certain rules on location, for example, stores
should be located in shopping complexes or busy
areas of town with heavy flows of people. Generally,
good locations allow easy access and large numbers
of customers are attracted to them. Prices of
products are reasonable for example, the average
cost of a meal for a person ranges from M$5 to M$10.
Results

The questionnaire designed to record customer image

consists of three parts. The first part consists of
the respondents' preference ranking of each of the
restaurants (A ). Weights for the attributes (Wj)
are obtained in the second part by having
respondents rate the importance of each of the nine
attributes in the selection of a store on a
one-to-six scale. In the third part, respondents are
asked to evaluate each store along each attribute
(Bj) on a one-to-six scale from very unsatisfactory
to very satisfactory. The scores indicate how well
each store meets their expectations .

Table 7 shows the results of multiplying the weight

or importance of an attribute (Wj) by the belief
toward that attribute (B ) for a particular store
and then averaged across all respondents. The
summation of these importance-belief scores is the
predicted (or multi-attribute) measure of attitude.
When this predicted measure is correlated with the
undimensional measure ), a correlation coefficient
of 0.939 (significant at 1% level) was obtained.
Thus 88.2 percent of the total variation in the
unidimensional measure of attitude is accounted for
by the variation in the predicted measure. This
means the multi-attribute model is an effective
predictor of restaurant appeal. It is hence useful
for developing marketing plans because it provides
with confidence information for which marketing
variables can be related to consumers' attitudes.
The average importance-belief values are plotted in
Figure I to illustrate the image profiles of the
stores. It reveals that consumers' perceptions of
McDonald's and KFC are more favourable than any
other store in the survey on seven attributes:
polite or friendly staff, type of service,
cleanliness, consistency of food quality, variety of
menu. location of store and price. The higher
rankings of these variables more than compensate for
the lower rankings of the remaining two variables:
quality of food (viewed as the most important
attribute in Table 8) and environment (for which KFC
ranks the lowest). Among all the stores in the
study, Wendy's is perceived to suffer the poorest
image based on almost all the attributes (except
service). The other four restaurants: A&W Pizza Hut,
Grandy ' s and Shakey ' s form the middle group.
Table 8 shows the importance (Wj) and belief (Bj)
scores of each fast food chain. The importance
scores indicate that quality of food, cleanliness,
consistency and friendly or courteous service are
regarded as the most important attributes in that
order by respondents. This kind of information is
necessary for the formulation of correct marketing
strategies of a fast food chain.

On the belief scores, McDonald's and KFC command the

highest rankings in terms of consumers ' perceptions
of all the variables studied. This is consistent
with the rankings of these stores on the overall
appeal measure (A in Table 8). A&W Grandy's, Pizza
Hut and Shakey's Pizza can also assess their image
on the various attributes. The image of A&W is
perceived as better than Grandy's on characteristics
like quality of food, type of service, friendly
staff, cleanliness, menu and price. The two pizza
chains perform poorer in terms of menu, probably
because they serve pizzas as the main item. Between
them, Pizza Hut ' s image is better in terms of
factors like quality of food, type of service,
consistency and location. This accounts for the
better overall image of Pizza Hut (fourth place in
Table 9) compared to that of Shakey's Pizza (fifth).
Wendy's is believed to be the least satisfactory of
all the stores on all the features. This is probably
due to the small number of outlets (only three in
Malaysia) and its limited promotional efforts; hence
it is relatively unknown in the market. In
comparison, both McDonald's and KFC engage heavily
in aggressive advertising and promotion programs.
For instance, McDonald's spends about M$4 million to
M$5 million annually on promotion . The mean
ranking of Wendy ' s location (4.00) is also the
lowest among all stores.
Table 9 shows the ranking of fast food chains by the
overall attitude measure (Ar) and the importance
belief measure (~,WjB^). Rankings are consistent, as
shown by the Spearman Rank correlation coefficient
of 0.893, which is significant at the 5 percent
level. This further indicates that the
multi-attribute model is a useful technique for
store image studies. For example, McDonald ' s and
KFC rank first and second respectively on both
overall image and evaluation of individual
attributes. The only exception is A&W which ranks
third on the attitude measure but fifth on the
belief-importance ratings. The lower belief
importance ratings arise partly from respondents'
poor perceptions of its quality of food and
cleanliness (Table 8), yet these are two of the most
important factors in restaurant selection. However,
its efforts to promote itself as as a family Iy
restaurant has some positive effect fect on
respondents ' assessment of its overall image.

CONCLUSION

A fast food consumer, on the average, patronises a

restaurant frequently (between once in two weeks to
once a month), during weekends, for lunch, dinner,
and accompanied by family members. Both adults and
children play an important role in the buying
process. Reasons such as cleanliness. convenience,
family outings and celebration of special occasions
are considered important in buying fast foods.
Customers eat out for a change from home prepared
food but they do not believe that fast foods provide
good nutritional value. Hence, it is vital that
efforts to maintain or increase a chain 's market
share should be tailored according to the pattern of
consumer behaviour.

The multi-attribute image model is proven to provide

with confidence valuable information for predicting
and describing store image. By identifying the
importance of relevant attributes and evaluating
fast food restaurants on these attributes, a manager
can better understand the market. He is better
informed not only about the image of his store
compared to that of other stores on overall measures
and on various attributes, but also on how important
these attributes are. He can subsequently develop
effective marketing and operational strategies.

Customers attach great importance to quality of

food, cleanliness and consistency. Politeness of
staff and type of service form the next important
group. The remaining menu, environment, location and
price form the lowest group. It is noted that price
is given the least importance. Hence, for a fast
food chain to do well, great attention should be
paid to the first two groupings to enhance
customers' beliefs of these attributes.

For example, improving the nutritional value of fast

food by providing a good balance of vitamins and
minerals and by reducing oils and saturated fats
(cholesterol) would encourage more customers to fast
foods. It may then be j justified as an alternative
to a home-cooked meal.

It appears that the seven stores can be subdivided

according to their image characteristics as follows:
(a) McDonald's and KFC, (b) Pizza Hut and A&W (c)
Grandy's and Shakey's Pizza, and (d) Wendy's. KFC
seems to dominate the market, with the largest
number of outlets (60) and claiming to capture about
70% of the market; the balance is shared among
McDonald's, A&W etc.

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James, D.L. et.al., "The Use of a Multi-attribute

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Kotler, Principles of Marketing Management, New

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Mohd. Tahir, A.H., "Franchising in Malaysia: A

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