THE TYPOLOGY OF CONSUMER CULTURE IN THE GASTRONOMIC FIELD AMONG THE RESIDENTS OF A MILLIONAIRE CITY (THE CASE OF ROSTOV-ON-DON)

Objective of the study is to identify the structural features and prevalence of different types of consumer culture among the residents of a millionaire city. The methodological basis of the study: P. Bourdieu's concept of habitus, which allows us to study consumption in the field of gastronomy as one of the ways of reproducing status and maintaining membership in a group, as well as J. Baudrillard's concept of consumer society, which heuristic potential makes it possible to see the role of consumption in determining various aspects of social existence. Results of the study. The features of cognitive, axiological and activity components of high, medium and low types of consumer culture in the sphere of gastronomy were identified. The data of the study showed that the consumer culture of Rostov-on-Don residents in the sphere of gastronomy retains the function of marking social differences for a certain part of consumers. This is a group of the carriers of a high type of consumer culture. Visiting cafes/restaurants remains a way of identification, maintaining social ties for them. The carriers of the medium type of consumer culture are people for whom food is not a way of emphasizing social differences, but reflects their lifestyle. The carriers of a low type of consumer culture do not seek to diversify their lives with the help of food outside the home or make it a way of identification. They are more influenced by the trends of unification of consumption in the sphere of gastronomy. Prospects of the study. The obtained results can be used in sociological studies of consumer behavior in terms of unification of consumer practices, as well as in marketing when developing a strategy for positioning catering establishments for different types of consumers.