theimpactofpricechangesandhouseholdspecific.docVIP

The Impact of Price Changes and Household Specific Attributes on the Choice Behavior of CSD Consumers Tolga Kaya Faculty of Management, Istanbul Technical University, Macka 34367 Istanbul, Turkey Burc Ulengin Faculty of Management, Istanbul Technical University, Macka 34367 Istanbul, Turkey ABSTRACT The consumer panel information in developing world is primarily collected using the diary method. However, the reliability of information collected from the panel members is still considered scarce compared to their scanner type counterparts in more developed markets. The goal of this study is to investigate whether diary mode household panel data provide reliable inferences about the reaction of consumers with different demographic characteristics to the changes in the price levels. In order to accomplish this goal, a multinomial probit model of brand choice is established. The model is based on diary mode household panel data from the Turkish carbonated soft drinks market. Calibrated on 32320 purchase occasions of carbonated soft drinks by 2039 households, the model shows high significance for the explanatory variables of household specific features, relative prices and previous brand purchased. Based on the model built, various simulations are generated in order to illuminate the impact of price changes and household specific attributes on the choice behavior of CSD consumers. Introduction There are several types of data collecting methods in consumer panels (scanner type, diary mode, home-scan, etc.) differing in ranges of cost, investment required, and quality of data. The household level panel information in developing markets is primarily gathered using the diary mode. However it is believed that the scope and quality of the information collected from the panelists is still scarce compared to their scanner type counterparts in the developed markets. One of the important problems of diary mode data is the lack of price information for the brands that are availa