Differences Created by Generations' Social Medıa Use in Food and Beverage Business Preferences

Abstract

Purpose – Today’s consumers, who can access unlimited information and user experience with the opportunities provided by information technologies, make their purchasing preferences through social media. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the difference created by the social media usage status of the consumers in the Baby Boomer, X, Y and Z generations in line with the differences in technology usage and consumption behaviors. Design/method/approach –In the study, which was handled using the quantitative research method, online and face-to-face surveys were conducted with the convenience sampling method for Baby Boomer, X, Y and Z generations. Stratified sampling method was used to determine the number of samples to represent the universe. Data collected from a total of 426 participants were analyzed with SPSS 22.0. T Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the research hypotheses, and Post-Hoc tests were used to determine from which groups the differences between the groups originated. Findings – In the research, it is seen that the time spent on social media increases as one moves from the Baby Boomer generation to the Z generation. The Baby Boomer generation is more price sensitive when choosing a food and beverage business. As the age of the consumers increases, it is seen that they give more importance to the existence of non-food and beverage services. It is possible to say that as the education level of Baby Boomer and X generation increases, the use of social media is more effective in the choice of food and beverage business. In addition, low-income participants of the X generation are more reluctant to share their positive or negative experiences in the food and beverage business on social media. Discussion –Today's consumers are more conscious, they do not only change their food and beverage business preferences due to their own negative experiences or bad service, but also attach importance to the ideas and experiences of other people they reach through social media. At this point, it becomes even more important for food and beverage businesses to reach consumers from every generation via social media.