Consumer Behavior and Decision-Making in the Purchase of Milk and Dairy Products in Crisis and Beyond

The submitted paper examines consumer behaviour and the importance of consumer rationality and irrationality in purchasing decisions at the threshold of the 3rd millennium.It primarily points to consumer behaviour in the food market in crises and beyond.Many factors condition purchasing behaviour.Knowing them is important because it identifies the driving forces and motives of consumer behaviour and the reasons for the consumers' purchases. Paper's objective(s) and research backgroundThe main goal of the contribution is to use selected marketing methods, tools and techniques to point out rationality and irrationality in consumer behaviour at the threshold of the 3 rd millennium.Emphasis is placed primarily on the influence of external factors on consumer behaviour and decision-making in the Slovak Republic.At the same time, attention is paid to selected food categories, specifically milk and milk products. Data/MethodsTo obtain data on the influence of rationality and irrationality on consumer behaviour in the milk and dairy products market in crisis and beyond, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Slovakia, in which 1,091 respondents participated.Statistical methods and tests such as Friedman's test, Nemenyi's procedure, Kruskal-Wallis test, Fisher's exact test, Pearson's Phi coefficient and Cramer's V coefficient were used to evaluate the results. Results/Conclusions/Value addedThe survey results showed that during a crisis, despite the expected irrational behaviour, the consumer acts rather rationally and does not modify his usual consumer behaviour and habits in any significant way.