Customer preference in food vendor during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case study of university student

Abstract

The canteen is the public place that sells and serves foods and drinks to the consumer. The study aimed to determine the attributes considered important for the consumer to select the food vendor during the COVID-19 pandemic at the BINUS University, Alam Sutera Campus canteen. The study was conducted by using conjoint analysis in which respondents were Bina Nusantara University students (n = 100) who had visited and consumed food in the canteen of BINUS University, Alam Sutera Campus. The results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the crucial attributes for the consumer to select the food vendor. Nowadays, the attributes with the highest to the lowest importance values are personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, price, and food freshness. Therefore, the respondent will consider buying food from food vendors that promote their staff’s hygiene, such as wearing masks, gloves, head covering, and washing hands. Besides, the respondents preferred the food vendor with a clean display window, within the price of 20.000 – 25.000 IDR, and freshly-cooked food.