Marketing Factors Related to Purchasing Behaviors of Bar Soaps Consumers in Central Region of Thailand

Abstract

     The research study aims 1) to study marketing factors affecting selection of consumers in the central region of Thailand, when purchasing bathing bar soap; 2) to investigate behaviors of consumers in the central region of Thailand, when purchasing bathing bar soap; 3) to compare consumers’ point of views on behaviors when purchasing bathing bar soap, in accordance with demographic factors; and 4) to compare consumers’ point of views on selection of bathing bar soap, with regard to marketing behaviors. Purposive sampling and quota sampling were used to recruit the sample into the study, and the sample included 400 people living in the central region of Thailand. The statistics used in the present study were, namely, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Independent Samples t-test, and One-way ANOVA.

     The results revealed that, mostly, the sample were female and aged under or equal to 20 years old, with a single status. The majority of them were students with the average income of under or equal to 10,000 baht. Most of them were familiar with bathing bar soap rather than bathing liquid soap, and they purchased bathing bar soap more than once per month. Moreover, consumers mostly preferred to purchase bathing bar soap at supermarkets and malls, and the average prices ranged from 31 to 50 baht. Regarding behaviors when purchasing bathing bar soap, consumers bought one soap bar for a single household and kept using the same brand as well as the same scent. Besides, the bar soap type which was selected the most was the hygienic soap type. As for consumers’ point of views on behaviors when purchasing bathing bar soap in accordance with demographic factors, consumers’ selection was affected mostly by distribution channels the mostly, followed by product characteristics, price range, and promotional campaigns, respectively. It was also found that consumers’ point of views regarding marketing behaviors was significantly different at the level of 0.01 when it came to the frequency of using bathing bar soap, the price range of bathing bar soap, the consumers’ usage behaviors, and the bathing bar soap types.