Factors that influence consumers to choose a restaurant in Bangkok metropolitan area.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nowadays, Thai families want to spend time together. The most common activity that they often choose is dining together at a restaurant. Thailand is a country where we can always find food to eat, even on the walking street. Many studies show that the restaurant business in Thailand still has a chance to grow amidst the economic fluctuations. On the other hand, the competition will be more intense due to the expansions of branches of various restaurants and the entrance of new players. The objective of this study is to better understand the main reasons and the factors that influence customers to choose and visit a restaurant for eating out in Bangkok. This research collects data by using quantitative methods from 148 respondents by using the questionnaire through an online channel. The key finding from this study is that ‘Taste’ is the most important factor that respondents are concerned about when they select a restaurant followed by cleanliness and quality of food respectively. A less important factor is the atmosphere in the restaurant. This study also tested the difference in the mean of the 10 factors between Gender, Age, Marital Status, Education level and Income level groups by using T-test analysis. The result shows that the means of the 10 factors are not different in the age and education level groups but for gender, there is difference in the mean of three factors which are Quality of food, Variety of menu and Food appearance. The recommendation based on this study for entrepreneurs in the Thai restaurant business in Bangkok is to focus on the first four factors, which are Taste, Location, Cleanliness and Quality of food.