Which Factors Drive Consumer Decisions during Milk Purchase? New Individuals’ Profiles Considering Fresh Pasteurized and UHT Treated Milk

The cow’s milk market is going through a critical period characterised by a continuous contraction in consumption as a consequence of the lack of competitiveness on the market of the conventional product (commodity) versus numerous specialties. This paper aimed to define the profiles of milk consumers in terms of individual preferences (assessed using the best-worst scaling methodology) and socio-demographic features. A survey was conducted in several stores of large-scale retail, convenience stores, and open-air markets distributed in north-west Italy to collect data from 1216 respondents. For milk shopper purchasing habits, two consumer groups were defined and compared in terms of preferences: the fresh pasteurized milk consumer (FPc) (56% of the total sample) and the ultra-high temperature treated milk consumer (UHT_c) (35%). A series of two-ways multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were conducted to assess the effect of individuals’ socio-demographic characteristics and the type of milk chosen on the consumer preferences, simultaneously. Significant differences in milk purchasing habits and preferences emerged when comparing the two consumer groups (UHT_c and FP_c). Empirical evidence of the study supported the starting hypothesis, suggesting the significance or relevance of the consumer socio-demographic characteristic, as well as their interaction effect with the type of milk on the level of importance given to the considered milk quality attributes. On the contrary, the gender results were not significant for the milk preferences definition. The assessment of consumer preferences, associated with the individuals’ socio-demographic characteristics could have important implications for outlining more effective marketing strategies based on a more targeted communication (i.e., related to the sustainability dimension of the local product, nutritional value and brand), leading the consumer back to the commodity rediscovery concerning individuals’ features and habits.