The impact of inappropriate food advertising on consumer behavior

The impact of food advertising on consumer behavior is a matter of concern to psychologists, marketers, economists and the general public alike. It is well known that the consumer is not rational, and all the time does not carefully evaluate all available alternatives before purchase. There exist many stimuli influencing consumer behavior, which refers to the study of buying tendencies of consumers. There are several stages a consumer goes through before he finally picks up products available in the market. Various factors, be it cultural, social, personal or psychological, influence the buying decision of individuals. Submitted paper deals with the impact of inappropriate advertising on consumer behavior, namely the purchase of food. Related research was conducted at Department of Marketing and Trade, FEM SUA in Nitra, based on a questionnaire survey with a sample of 702 respondents from the Slovak Republic. We have used two research methods: Chi Square contingency test and Kolmogorov – Smirnov test. Obtained results proved that 38% of respondents have a personal experience with inappropriate food advertising and most respondents considered inappropriate food advertising as a deceptive, misleading and manipulative one. It was confirmed that the perception of inappropriate food advertising is not dependent on the age of the respondents and respondents do not avoid buying food previously seen in inappropriate advertising. They take into consideration more important characteristics and features of the food products such as quality, price, taste etc.