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Sociodynamics
Reference:

Catering establishments in the everyday life of urban residents

Notman Ol'ga Valer'evna

ORCID: 0000-0002-3393-9933

Doctor of Sociology

Professor; Department of Applied Sociology; Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin

620062, Russia, Sverdlovsk region, Yekaterinburg, Mira str., 19

o.v.notman@urfu.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Shevchenko Nikita Grigorievich

Master's degree; Department of Applied Sociology; Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin

620062, Russia, Yekaterinburg, Mira str., 19

twinable0025@gmail.com
Smirnova Ol'ga Gennad'evna

PhD in Sociology

Associate Professor; Department of Applied Sociology; Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin

620062, Russia, Yekaterinburg, Mira str., 19

olga.smirnova@urfu.ru

DOI:

10.25136/2409-7144.2024.6.71078

EDN:

LPGQJE

Received:

15-06-2024


Published:

22-06-2024


Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of consumer preferences and behavioral practices of urban residents in the catering market. The conceptual framework of the study was the theory of "third places" – spaces outside home and work that create conditions for full communication of visitors. The empirical basis of the study was the results of an online survey conducted among the residents of Ekaterinburg in 2024 (n=610). The study tested the hypothesis about the significance of the socio-communicative function of catering establishments in the perception of citizens. The results of the study showed the important role of catering establishments in the everyday life of urban residents: the behavioral practices of urban residents indicate the regularity of visits to catering establishments regardless of the day of the week, the preference for evening visiting time, more frequent use of actual visits compared to the use of ready meal delivery services. Consumer preferences of citizens in the catering market are characterized by a clearly expressed communicative dominance, confirming the importance of the social function of catering establishments. The most significant motive for visiting catering establishments is communicating with friends and relatives. The most popular venues are those that provide the best atmospheric and spatial opportunities for "live" communication. Among the factors for choosing catering establishments, the leading ones are the "internal" factors of the establishment – food quality, hygiene and safety, service, menu and variety of dishes, and the atmosphere created. External factors – reviews on the Internet, ratings of establishments on specialized sites, recommendations of food bloggers – do not have a decisive influence on the choice of consumers. The results of the study can be used to improve the quality of service in the catering industry and to develop an effective promotion strategy of enterprises in this sphere.


Keywords:

catering market, theory of third places, public spaces, socio-communicative function, consumer preferences, motives for choosing, behavioral practices, urban residents, megacity, survey

This article is automatically translated.

Introduction

The active development of the catering market has become a noticeable feature of modern life in Russian cities, especially megacities. The growth of urbanization, the rapid pace of life of urban residents and the associated specific needs due to the lack of time to implement a range of everyday tasks have contributed to increasing the importance of various forms and formats of public catering in the lifestyle of citizens.

The current stage of development of the Russian catering market is characterized by the involvement of an increasing number of people in the food culture outside the home, the growing demands of consumers on the quality of service, quality and variety of products [1]. As the experience of recent years shows, the withdrawal of Western food suppliers and service companies from the market was not critical for the development of the Russian catering industry. In 2023, the catering market in Russia showed unexpected growth, despite significant challenges – inflation, staff shortages, rising prices and periodic disruption of the availability of a number of products [2].

The unstable economic situation requires business entities to quickly adapt to market requirements, including modification of services, menus, recipes, as well as the search for alternative suppliers and opportunities for the development of their enterprises. In the context of dynamic market changes, the study of consumer preferences is an important component of the processes of improving the quality of service in the catering industry and developing an effective strategy for the development and promotion of enterprises in this field.

The purpose of our study was to identify consumer preferences and behavioral practices of citizens in the catering market. The study tested the hypothesis of the importance of the social and communicative function of public catering establishments in the perception of citizens. This function of a "meeting place and communication" was artificially blocked during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the restrictions imposed and replaced by a "contactless" practice of interacting with customers through ready-to-eat delivery services.

The theoretical context

The social and communicative function of catering establishments was first conceptualized by sociologist R. Oldenburg. Within the framework of his theory, catering establishments – cafes and coffee shops, along with other public spaces – were called "third places" – spaces outside the home and work, in which informal communication takes place, due to a certain situational context and does not exclude elements of creativity. For the full implementation of the social and communicative function of the "third places", the following conditions must be met: a comfortable atmosphere of the institution, territorial accessibility, price flexibility, openness, neutrality and democracy, the possibility of regular visits. Among the barriers to the realization of the social and communicative function, Oldenburg singled out ignoring the individuality of the visitor (a person is only a buyer who will be billed), moving catering establishments to the territory of shopping centers (as a result, "places" turn into "non-places" and lose social functions), turning urban space into a space for cars, making it difficult to walk accessibility of a public place [3].

Researchers of public catering establishments as socially significant spaces emphasize the increasing influence of media technologies on the urban environment and communication of citizens [4,5]. If in the 1990s and early 2000s there was a clear tendency to weaken the role of physical space in comparison with virtual space [6], then in the second half of the 2000s the phenomenon of hybridization appeared - mixing of online and offline worlds [7-9]. O.G. Kvyat, analyzing the "third places" in According to the theoretical framework of "cities 3.0", it comes to the conclusion that post-virtual reality in Russian urban culture does not yet dominate, but only manifests itself in the form of local spatial and temporal enclaves [5]. We believe that in the near future the hybridization of "third meta" will become a normative model, however, the needs of live communication in the real space of places (including catering establishments) will not lose their importance for the modern inhabitant of a megalopolis, who daily experiences a complex of negative effects of virtual information overload. In addition, the trends of the pandemic period – such as the active development of online aggregators, contactless formats and self-service cash desks, food delivery services and courier services [10, p. 33] – require continued research within the framework of the post-pandemic period, which demonstrated the value of direct social contacts between people in real (not virtual) space.

Data and methods

The results of our study are based on data from an online survey of Yekaterinburg residents conducted in March-April 2024. In order to reach various socio-demographic groups of the urban population, a streaming sample was used, suggesting the distribution of questionnaires through the most possible and accessible communication channels. The questionnaire was posted on popular social networks and online communication platforms, distributed through Telegram channels of food bloggers and influencers of the catering market, student chats, the personal page of the Vkontakte social network of the organizer of the survey, N.G. Shevchenko. To attract respondents of older age groups, the WhatsApp client chat of the Center for Social Services of the Population, which consists of about 400 pensioners from all administrative districts of Yekaterinburg, was used. The use of various platforms and channels made it possible to minimize the risks of data bias associated with the predominance of respondents with homogeneous socio-demographic characteristics and interests. As a result of the online survey, 610 questionnaires were collected through Google Forms. The share of working citizens in the sample was 60.2%, students -19%, pensioners – 17.2%, unemployed/unemployed – 3.6%.

The results of the study

The results of the study showed that 95.2% of the respondents regularly visit catering establishments. This fact confirms the important role of catering establishments in the daily life of citizens. Less than 5% of respondents who do not attend catering establishments are, as a rule, non-working pensioners. Among the main reasons for "non-attendance" are the following: financial constraints (44.8%), preference for homemade food (41.4%), distrust of the quality and safety of products (34.5%). Table 1 shows the main reasons for visiting public catering establishments.

Table 1

Motives for visiting public catering establishments (in % of the number of respondents)

The motives of the visit

%

Communication with friends and family

70,7

Getting a variety of flavors and culinary experiences

48,4

Getting pleasure from the service atmosphere

39,1

Celebrating special events

38,0

Just to eat

32,0

A break from cooking and cleaning the house

23,2

Saving time and convenience

18,2

Business meetings and work

0,9

Other reasons

0,5

* The total of responses exceeds 100%, because respondents could choose more than one answer

The data in Table 1 show that the most significant motive for visiting public catering establishments is a communicative one – the desire to spend time with friends or family. Just under half choose restaurants and cafes to diversify their tastes and expand their culinary experience. The third and fourth places are shared by hedonistic atmospheric causes and causes of special cases. It is characteristic that banal or utilitarian reasons are at the bottom of the rating of motives for visiting. Thus, our data confirm the hypothesis of the high importance of the social and communicative function of public catering establishments as places of meetings and communication. An analysis of respondents' answers to questions measuring quantitative indicators of behavior showed that a city dweller visits public catering establishments 6.2 times on average per month, uses delivery on average 3.8 times a month. Thus, the frequency of "communicative" behavioral practices significantly exceeds the frequency of "non-communicative" ones. The revealed fact further confirms the importance of the socio-communicative aspects of consumer practices, which are difficult to recreate in any other way – for example, by resorting to ready-made food delivery services from restaurants.

For 61.1% of citizens, the choice of the day of visit does not matter, 23.5% prefer to visit catering establishments on holidays and weekends, 15.1% - on weekdays. This fact indicates that for a significant proportion of citizens, visiting public catering establishments is a regular practice of daily life and communications, which are not strictly tied to specially designated days. At the same time, the largest number of visits is in the evening – 74.5% of respondents prefer to visit catering establishments in the evening (dinner), 65.6% - in the afternoon (lunch), 26.2% - in the morning (breakfast).

Preferences by type of establishments also confirm the importance of social and communicative aspects of catering establishments for citizens (Table 2).

Table 2

Preferences by type of establishments (in % of the number of respondents)

The motives of the visit

%

Cafe

78,0

Restaurants

74,0

Coffee shops

57,8

Fast food restaurants

49,7

Bars and pubs

29,9

Canteens

22,5

Pastry shops

19,4

Street food kiosks

11,7

* The total of responses exceeds 100%, because respondents could choose more than one answer

The data in Table 2 show the growing popularity of establishments that, in addition to providing basic services, have the most suitable spatial and atmospheric conditions for meetings and communications. It is characteristic that when assessing the importance of factors in choosing a catering establishment, the price factor, contrary to our assumptions, does not play a decisive role for citizens, being in seventh place with a significance index of 3.77 (the index was calculated as the average value of the assessment measured on a 5-point scale of importance of the factor). The leading positions are occupied by factors related to food quality, hygiene and safety, service, menu and variety of dishes, as well as the atmosphere of the institution – the index of importance of these factors varies from 4.69 to 4.09. The hypothesis about the significant role of external influence factors on consumer choice has not been confirmed either: "reviews on the Internet", "ratings of establishments on specialized sites", "recommendations of food bloggers and restaurant critics" occupy the last positions in the ranking of the importance of factors with indices 3.0; 2.90; 2.51, respectively.

During the data analysis, a number of dependencies were revealed between the assessment of the importance of factors in the choice of catering establishments and the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. The higher the income level, the less important are the factors related to savings (price, special offers and promotions, loyalty programs) and the more important are the factors of food quality, service, atmosphere of the establishment, menu and variety of dishes. The location factor of the institution is most important for students and working citizens. The price has a higher significance for students and retirees. Special offers and promotions are most important for students and pensioners, and least important for workers. Reviews on the Internet are of the greatest importance for students, the least for pensioners.

Conclusion

The results of the study showed the important role of catering establishments in the daily lives of urban residents. The behavioral practices of citizens indicate the regularity of visits to public catering establishments, regardless of the day of the week, the preference for evening visits, and the more frequent use of real visits in comparison with the use of ready-made food delivery services. The consumer preferences of citizens in the catering market are characterized by a pronounced communicative dominant, confirming the importance of the social function of catering establishments. The most significant motive for visiting public catering establishments is communication with friends and family. The most popular are cafes, restaurants, coffee shops – establishments that provide the best atmospheric and spatial opportunities for "live" communication. Among the factors of choosing public catering establishments, the factors of food quality, service, and the atmosphere of the institution are leading. External factors do not have a decisive influence on the consumer's choice. Our research proves the importance of public catering establishments as places for the realization of the social and communicative needs of citizens. The desire of citizens to return to the practices of interaction in physical space and awareness of the value of live communication can be considered as a new post-pandemic trend in the catering market.

References
1. Vlasova, O.V. (2019). Public catering market in Russia: features and development trends. Economic Studies, 2, 12–17.
2. Results of the restaurant market-2023: unexpected growth and new difficulties [electronic resource]. Retail.ru 2023. URL: https://www.retail.ru/articles/itogi-restorannogo-rynka-2023-neozhidannyy-rost-i-novye-trudnosti/ (date of access: 05.06.2024)
3. Oldenburg, R. (2018). The great good place. Cafés, coffee shops, bookstores, bars, hair salons and other hangouts at the heart of a community. Moscow: New Literary Review.
4. Belyakova, T.Ye., & Kondyukova, A.S. (2021). Methods of organizing a modern metropolitan cafe as a socially significant "Third Place". Society: Philosophy, History, Culture, 6, 134–139.
5. Kvyat, A.G. (2014). Anti-cafe, fast food as a media and pop-up park: post-virtuality and city 3.0 in Russia. Bulletin of VolSU. Series 7. Philosophy. Sociology and Social Technologies, 3, 126–136.
6. Wellman, B. (2001). Physical place and cyber place: the rise of networked individualism. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 25, 227–252. doi:10.1111/1468-2427.00309
7. Souza, E., & Silva, A. From cyber to hybrid: mobile technologies as interfaces of hybrid spaces (2006). Space and Culture, 9(3), 261–278. doi:10.1177/1206331206289022
8. Quan-Haase, A., & Martin, K. (2013). Digital curation and the networked audience of urban events: expanding la fiesta de Santo Tomas from the physical to the virtual environment. The International Communication Gazette, 75(5-6), 521–537. doi:10.1177/1748048513491910
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10. Sedelnikov, V.M. (2021). Marketing Research of Consumer Preferences in the Public Catering Market (on the Example of Ekaterinburg). Practical Marketing, 2, 32–41. doi:10.24412/2071-3762-2021-2288-32-41

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The subject of the research in the presented article is catering establishments in the daily life of citizens. The descriptive method, the categorization method, the analysis method, as well as the questionnaire method (online survey) using a streaming sample of respondents and the most accessible communication channels for the distribution of questionnaires were used as the methodology of the subject area of the study in this article. The relevance of the article is beyond doubt, since catering places, being one of the most popular social spaces, attracted earlier and in modern conditions of urban development continues to attract the interest of various socio-demographic groups. The popularity of public catering places is associated with the processes of urbanization, the intense rhythm of daily urban life and the lack of time for cooking at home, the need for informal communication outside the home and outside work, as well as a number of other reasons, not only objective, but also subjective. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the study of the importance of public catering establishments in everyday life using the author's methodology by conducting an online survey of Yekaterinburg residents among various socio-demographic groups of the urban population. The total number of questionnaires received during the online survey using Google Forms amounted to 610 questionnaires, including "the share of working citizens in the sample was 60.2%, students -19%, pensioners - 17.2%, unemployed/unemployed – 3.6%." The article is written in the language of scientific style with the competent use in the text of the study of the presentation of the positions of famous scientists on the issue under study and the use of scientific terminology characterizing the subject of the study, as well as a detailed description of the results of the study. The structure is designed taking into account the basic requirements for writing scientific articles, the structure of this study includes an introduction, theoretical context, data and methods, research results, conclusion and bibliography. The content of the article reflects its structure. In particular, the identified reasons for visiting public catering establishments, clearly presented in Table 1, and the preferences of citizens of various types of establishments, which is demonstrated in Table 2, are of particular value. The bibliography contains 10 sources, including domestic and foreign periodicals and non-periodicals. The article describes various positions and points of view of well-known scientists who characterize various approaches to understanding public catering establishments as a special social space. The article contains an appeal to various scientific works and sources devoted to this topic, which is included in the circle of scientific interests of researchers dealing with this issue. The presented study contains conclusions concerning the subject area of the study. In particular, it is noted, "the behavioral practices of citizens indicate the regularity of visits to public catering establishments, regardless of the day of the week, the preference for evening visits, more frequent use of real visits in comparison with the use of ready-made food delivery services. The consumer preferences of citizens in the catering market are characterized by a pronounced communicative dominant, confirming the importance of the social function of catering establishments. The most significant motive for visiting public catering establishments is communication with friends and family. The most popular are cafes, restaurants, coffee shops – establishments that provide the best atmospheric and spatial opportunities for "live" communication. Among the factors of choosing public catering establishments, the factors of food quality, service, and the atmosphere of the institution are leading. External factors do not have a decisive influence on the consumer's choice." The materials of this study are intended for a wide range of readers, they can be interesting and used by scientists for scientific purposes, teaching staff in the educational process, management and administration of places and public catering establishments, employees of ministries, departments and organizations responsible for the organization of public catering, food bloggers and influencers of the public catering market, sociologists, analysts and experts. As disadvantages of this study, it should be noted that when making tables, it is necessary to pay attention to the requirement of the current GOST. Table 2 shows a demonstration of the preferences of citizens for certain types of catering establishments, but the header of table 2 indicates "motives for visiting", as in table 1, most likely, this is a technical error. Perhaps, for greater clarity of the results of the study, it was advisable to use figures, and not be limited to only two tables. These shortcomings do not reduce the high scientific and practical significance of the research itself, but rather relate to the design of the text of the article. It is recommended to publish the article.