Effect of Importance of Selection Attributes on Satisfaction and Repurchase of Nostalgic Desserts among 20's

Abstract

Purpose: This research aimed at understanding the dynamics of consumer behavior in the context of nostalgic desserts. The primary objective is to scrutinize how different attributes like quality, health, convenience, and trend influence customer satisfaction and their subsequent decision to repurchase nostalgic desserts. Research Method: The study leverages structural equation modeling, incorporating statistical tools such as SPSS and AMOS for a thorough analysis. It involves collecting data over a specified period, followed by correlation and trend analyses to deduce patterns and relationships. Results: The findings reveal that attributes such as quality, health, convenience, and trend significantly impact customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Interestingly, economic factors appeared to have a negligible effect on these decisions. The study offers a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence consumer decisions in the context of nostalgic desserts, providing valuable implications for both academic research and practical marketing strategies. Conclusions: The insights garnered from this research are pivotal for formulating marketing strategies for nostalgic dessert brands. It underscores the importance of accentuating quality, health, and trend in product offerings to boost customer satisfaction and encourage repurchases. The study also sheds light on the evolving nature of consumer preferences and the integral role of nostalgia in shaping purchasing behaviors.

1. Introduction

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the production of rice cakes increased by 36% year-on-year to 30,000 tons in 2021. The production value also increased every year, increasing by more than 40% from 46.35 billion won in 2017 to 64.94 billion won in 2021. Hanwha also increased its production by 25.8% year-on-year to 58,988 tons. The value of production also increased by 5.7% from the previous year (77.4 billion won) to 81.8 billion won. As consumer awareness of the nostalgia trend has risen, spaces for traditional desserts such as tiramisu tteok, fusion tteok such as fresh cream tteok, and castella tteok, as well as tteok cafes have become popular. In the case of medicine, a neologism called "medicine ticketing," a compound word that combines traditional medicine and the English word "ticketing," which refers to the purchase of tickets and tickets, has been coined around famous Korean medicine specialty stores. Due to the influence of the Korean Wave not only in Korea but also overseas, the export value of rice processed food products has been steadily increasing since 2016, reaching a record high in 2020 with a year-on-year increase of 26.9%. Rice crackers increased by 8.7% compared to 2019, while rice cakes increased by 56.7%, and sake by 11.3%.

Recently, Korean traditional snacks have been attracting attention as new and hip desserts. This is because consumers are increasingly looking for healthy traditional foods due to the neutro craze and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. This trend has led to the emergence of the neologism "halmanial," which is a combination of the words "grandma" and "millennial". Foods based on this are nostalgic for the middle-aged and older generation, and provide experience and new sensibilities for the younger generation. As this new sensibility influences the younger generation, traditional snacks for the "grandmotherly palate," such as black sesame seeds, injeolmi, and yakgwa, which have a savory and subtle flavor that is not overpowering, are trending. As this trend emerges, companies are introducing related products. The nostalgia trend can also be seen in recent sales and card payment trends. According to online shopping site G-market, the sales volume of 'Yakgwa', a representative product of nostalgia, increased by 37% this year compared to the same period last year.

According to KB Card's analysis of credit and debit card sales and the proportion of new merchants in dessert specialty stores from 2019 to last year, 'Tteok-hangwa' is the dessert specialty store with the highest sales growth rate at 66%. According to KB Card's announcement, sales of dessert specialty stores have shown continuous sales growth over the past four years, increasing by 8% in 2020, 28% in 2021, and 47% in 2022 compared to 2019. In the beverage industry, we can see the popularity of Faldo's 'Birak Sikhye'. It sold 70 million units in 2023 alone. The average monthly sales volume is reportedly 6 million units, 1 million more than the previous year. In October, IDIYA Coffee announced that its Black Sesame Cream Latte sold an average of 10,000 cups per day, with cumulative sales of 500,000 cups in 50 days. The company also announced that its Black Sesame Taiyaki Nostalgia snack sold more than 350,000 cups in the same period.

As interest in Nostalgia has increased, the number of collaborative products has increased and sales have also risen. Homeplus' 'Seolbing Injeolmi Soonhee' rice wine, which was launched for the Nostalgia trend, ranked first in both sales and volume in the Homeplus rice wine category as of mid-June. 'Cream Pea', which was introduced to mimic the original cream bread, 'SPC Samlip Cream Bread', was also ranked second in the craft beer category with cumulative sales of over 35,000 cans during the same period. Although the nostalgic dessert market continues to grow in various formats, there are not many studies on the influence of consumers' perceived value of nostalgic dessert menu items on purchase behavior and repurchase intention. Previous studies on nostalgia have been conducted on nostalgia marketing and trends (Kim et al., 2021), and studies have been conducted on the relationship between consumer perceived value and purchase intention, purchase behavior, and repurchase intention (Yang & Kim, 2018). Recognizing the lack of domestic and international studies on the rapidly growing nostalgic dessert market, this study aims to empirically analyze the factors that may lead consumers to purchase nostalgic dessert menus in the context of a lack of understanding of the consumption value of nostalgic dessert menus and brands. This study aims to recognize the trend of nostalgic desserts, identify consumers' purchasing behavior, and provide basic data that can help establish marketing plans that can attract consumers to visit the brand and store continuously and make repurchases instead of making a one-time purchase.

2. Theoretical Background

2.1. Nostalgia Dessert

The word dessert means "to finish a meal, to put away food" in French and refers to the food that is served at the end of a meal, usually including three items: sweet, savory, and fruit. In general, dessert is eaten after a meal, but with the recent development of dining culture, the meaning of dessert is changing to light desserts that can be eaten before or after meals, and the composition of dessert menus is becoming more specialized and diverse. As a result, the "nostalgia" of grandmothers and millennials has infiltrated traditional treats. "Grandmotherly" desserts are a combination of the words "grandmother" and "millennial," which refers to traditional foods such as mugwort, yangwha, etc. that are called grandmotherly favorites.

For example, mugwort cookies, injeolmi shaved ice, yakgwa cookies, etc. The long-term recession has led to the consumption of Gasimby', a sense of psychological satisfaction in relation to price, by satisfying the desire to receive comfort from adults in their daily lives. Kim Hyun-sik, a public commentator, believes that as the number of dual-income couples in the MZ generation has increased, many of them grew up with their grandparents, so they are familiar with the faces, voices, and behaviors of the elderly and tend to feel more warmth and affection towards 'nostalgia'. In other words, Nostalgia brings feelings of fun and coziness to young people (Kang, 2017).

2.2. Quality

The concept of quality is the ability to fulfill consumers' consumption goals and desires for a product (Kim, & Kim, 2000). The concept of menu quality has many different definitions depending on the perspective. In general, the concept of quality is not only judged by the superiority of the product, but also perceived as the cost of entry for market share. The evaluation factors of menu quality can be defined as the evaluation of the impact of foods that can increase sales and increase net profit by thoroughly evaluating customer preferences and internal management to achieve the ultimate goal. It has been suggested that menu quality should be approached as a concept centered on customer value by satisfying consumers' desires and fulfilling their consumption goals (Kim et al., 2019).

The quality factor of traditional dessert selection attributes has a positive effect on consumer purchase behaviour. It can be seen that the higher the status of 'quality' among the selection attributes of traditional desserts, the higher the satisfaction level. Regarding satisfaction with taste and quality among the selection attributes of brunch cafes, it was found that the taste of the food had a positive effect on satisfaction (Park et al., 2020). Since the previous studies on desserts, traditional desserts, and rice cakes have shown that quality value has a positive effect on satisfaction, it is expected that quality will also affect satisfaction with nostalgic desserts, so we set the following hypotheses.

H1: Quality will have a positive effect on nostalgia dessert satisfaction.

2.3. Health

A dictionary definition of health is the state of being mentally and physically sound and strong. It also refers to a state of being able to prevent all diseases that may result from nutritional imbalances, not just those that contain balanced nutrition (Kim et al., 2010). In addition, a healthy diet is defined as the food and dietary practices that contribute to the physical, mental, and social wholeness of a person. In general, in terms of function, in addition to providing nutrients and energy, food is involved in various metabolic functions of the body, which play a role in disease prevention and the regulation and balance of circadian rhythms. The relationship between the image of tteok (rice cake) and Korean desserts on consumption value and purchase intention was investigated, and it was found that the image of tteok and Korean desserts is traditional, healthy, sensual, and reliable, and all of them have a positive effect on consumption value and purchase intention (Cho et al., 2014). Since healthiness has a positive effect on consumption value and purchase intention through previous studies on rice cake desserts, we concluded that healthiness will also affect the satisfaction of nostalgic desserts and set the following hypothesis.

H2: Health will have a positive effect on nostalgic dessert satisfaction.

2.4. Price

Previous studies have demonstrated that price, convenience, menu, and freshness of HMR products have a significant impact on customer satisfaction (Cha & Lee, 2018), Convenience, affordability, variety, and safety of dessert foods affect hedonic and utilitarian value and repurchase intention (Cha & Lee, 2020). Since economic value statistically has a positive effect on dessert purchase behaviour, it is assumed that economic value will also affect purchase behaviour in satisfaction with nostalgic desserts, so the following hypothesis is set.

H3: Price will have a positive effect on satisfaction with nostalgic desserts.

2.5. Convenience

Convenience refers to a quality that is comfortable and favorable in terms of circumstances or conditions. The time-saving aspect of convenience has been shown to be related to consumers' reactions to waiting time (Gehrt & Yale, 1993). Emphasizing the importance of the desire for convenience and time value of money, it has been argued that the time consumed by prolonged waiting is usually converted into an opportunity cost that can be a valuable asset in everyday life. In the same vein, it has been shown that service convenience provides consumers with the benefit of saving time and effort, while inconvenience entails wasted time and effort for consumers (Berry et al., 2002; Seiders et al., 2007). Among the selection attributes of brunch cafes, it is hypothesised that convenience will have a positive effect on satisfaction, and the six factors of brunch cafe selection attributes are food taste and quality, atmosphere, menu, hygiene, and convenience will have a positive effect on satisfaction (Ko, 2015).

H4: Convenience will have a positive effect on satisfaction with nostalgic desserts.

2.6. Trend

A trend is a behavioral process in which a product, behavior, or idea is introduced to society and then spreads to a large number of people. It is a phenomenon caused by human behavior through various social behaviors. Furthermore, it is a mechanism that is skilled to adapt to an ever-changing world in an orderly and unified way (Blunner, 1981). Here, mechanisms are the dynamic mechanisms of change in which potential fads are transferred to the public introduction, public acceptance, and overall absorption (Sproles, 1979), and in this mechanism process, the main force that plays a role in the acceptance of innovative products or the understanding of the public is called trend leadership, and consumers with strong characteristics are called trend leaders, or in other words, trend change facilitators (Cho et al., 2016).

Consumers are inclined to follow trends, so it is necessary to predict changes in trends for successful marketing. It was found that trendy gourmet dessert consumption culture has a positive effect on the effect of satisfaction with the quality of the dessert menu and the physical environment on revisit intention (Shin, 2018). Cha and Lee (2020) analyzed the hedonic-utilitarian value of choice attributes of convenience store desserts in their study and found a significant effect on satisfaction. As previous studies on desserts and rice-based HMR foods have shown that emotional value has a positive effect, we believe that fashion will also affect purchase behaviour on satisfaction with nostalgic desserts, so we set the following hypothesis.

H5: Trendiness will have a positive effect on nostalgic dessert satisfaction.

2.7. Satisfaction and Repurchase

Satisfied customers can help you retain and acquire customers, increase profitability, and reduce marketing costs. Satisfaction is a customer's feeling of pleasure or disappointment that results from comparing the performance of a product or service with their expectations. Satisfaction is usually experienced and is strongly influenced by the customer's emotions. Satisfaction is usually experienced and is strongly influenced by the customer's feelings. Consumers usually feel satisfied when the experience exceeds their prior expectations and dissatisfied when the experience is below their expectations. Therefore, purchase satisfaction is the reaction of consumers to the evaluation of the difference between their prior expectations and the perceived actual performance when consuming a certain product. In formulating marketing strategies, companies should focus on analyzing their understanding of consumer satisfaction. Many studies have shown that satisfaction with a food or restaurant has a significant impact on repurchase and repeat visits. Cha and Lee (2021) demonstrated that the importance of choice attributes of instant noodles had a significant effect on satisfaction and repurchase. Lee et al. (2020) demonstrated that the effect of choice attributes of online fresh food on satisfaction and repurchase was significant during Covid-19. In addition, it has been proven by previous researchers that purchase satisfaction of HMR products has a significant effect on repurchase intention (Cha & Seo, 2019).

Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis Repurchase refers to a consumer's intent to purchase a previously purchased product again. Repurchase intent is the behavior of a consumer who has purchased some type of good or service and intends to purchase it again for the same good or service received. Consumers engage in purchase behavior in order to use a good or service and obtain high satisfaction. Repurchase occurs when the product or service is evaluated and the consumer's expectations are met. It was concluded that the physical environment provided by the food and beverage sector and the emotional responses of customers to it are closely related to customer satisfaction, repurchase intention, and recommendation intention in a situation where the proportion of the food and beverage sector in hotel companies is expanding and competition among hotels is intensifying (Tsai et al., 2009).

A study was conducted to identify the relevance of consumer emotions and their components to the dining out consumption experience in hotel restaurants and their effects on repurchase intention. A study on the influence of consumers' eating lifestyle and food involvement on their choice of HMR products and found that HMR selection attributes have a positive effect on repurchase intention. Health-oriented consumption behavior of meal kit consumers has a positive and significant effect on repurchase intention. A study on the structural relationships between delivery service provider selection attributes and consumer attitudes, trust, and repurchase intentions of a restaurant franchise found that price, brand image, and food quality had a significant effect on repurchase intentions, but ordering system quality was not significant. In order to examine the consumption trend of nostalgic desserts and the repurchase intention of nostalgic dessert food products, this study set the following research hypotheses based on the previous studies.

H6: Satisfaction will have a positive effect on repurchase.

3. Research Method

Modelling is a necessary process for scientific research and has different characteristics from theory. In the course of research, a model should be established by synthesising the perspectives obtained through the literature review related to the research topic. By presenting a theoretical framework of the phenomenon related to the research topic, the researcher explains the relationship between the variables that are important for solving the problem. This study aims to find out how nostalgia satisfaction affects repurchase. Therefore, based on the previous studies, a research model was established for this purpose as shown in Figure.

Figure 1: Research Model

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between choice attributes and purchase satisfaction on repurchase intention of nostalgic desserts. Operational definition is the process of expressing the concept of a defined variable more clearly, and operational definitions have been made for the concepts of the variables used in this study. The measurement variables are important because they accurately represent the objectives of the study and play a direct role in measurement error. Choice attributes are the various characteristics of a good or service that are used to create a desire or expectation for consumers to experience something they cannot experience in their daily lives elsewhere. When consumers choose a product, they select it based on the importance of the attribute, which refers to the perceived satisfaction after use. Therefore, choice attribute is a concept that includes attribute importance and satisfaction.

In this study, quality, health, economy, convenience, and fashion were set as factors for purchasing attributes of nostalgic desserts. The items were measured using a 5-point Likert scale. Consumer satisfaction is the overall level of satisfaction after purchasing a Nostalgia dessert. Consumers receive tangible and intangible goods or services, evaluate them accordingly, and are satisfied only when their expectations are met, i.e., the expectation function based on perceived performance, which is defined as the overall experience experienced by the consumer. Repurchase is the behaviour of a consumer to buy a product again. Repurchase occurs when consumers are provided with a combination of tangible and intangible goods or services and evaluate them to ensure that their expectations are met and they are satisfied. Repurchase intention is defined by Mcdougall and Levesque (2000) as the extent to which consumers want to use a service again and suggest others to use the company or service again. Furthermore, repurchase intention is defined as the likelihood that consumers will continue to use the current service not only in the present but also in the distant future (Jung & Park, 2007).

This study focuses on consumers who have consumed nostalgic desserts and aims to analyse the relationship between nostalgic dessert consumption experience, satisfaction and repurchase intention. The survey for this study was conducted online over a period of 9 days from 19 June 2023 to 27 June 2023. A sample of 265 questionnaires was collected, and after excluding the responses of 37 respondents who had not purchased Nostalgia desserts, a total of 228 questionnaires were used as the final survey sample. The study was conducted among consumers who have consumed nostalgic desserts, and the general characteristics of the respondents were analyzed as follows.

The gender of the sample was 127 males (48%) and 138 females (52%). In terms of age, 4 (1.5%) were teenagers (~19), 174 (65.7%) were in their 20s (20-29), 11 (4.2%) were in their 30s (30-39), 29 (10.9%) were in their 40s (40-49), and 47 (17.7%) were in their 50s (50+). In terms of marital status, 190 (71.7%) were single and 75 (28.3%) were married. In terms of education, 39 respondents (14.7%) graduated from high school, 32 respondents (12.1%) graduated from a vocational college, 178 respondents (67.2%) graduated from a four-year college, and 16 respondents (6%) graduated from a graduate school. The average monthly income was 130 (49.1%) for less than 1 million won, 33 (12.5%) for 100 to 200 million won, 43 (16.2%) for 200 to 300 million won, 19 (7.2%) for 300 to 400 million won, and 40 (15.1%) for more than 400 million won. In terms of how they heard about Nostalgia Desserts, 31 (11.7%) used the internet, 118 (44.5%) used social media, 16 (6%) used advertisements, 46 (17.7%) used recommendations from acquaintances, and 53 (20%) used other methods. Finally, 118 respondents (44.5%) spent less than $10,000, 102 respondents (38.5%) spent $1-3,000, 34 respondents (12.8%) spent $3-5,000, 8 respondents (3%) spent $5-10,000, and 3 respondents (1.1%) spent more than $10,000.

4. Result of the Study

Composite reliability (CR) is considered to be consistent when it is above 0.7. Among the factors in this study, the CR values of quality, health, economy, fashion, satisfaction, and repurchase are above 0.7. However, the CR value of convenience is 0.60805, which is lower than 0.7, so it cannot be considered consistent. The average variance extraction (AVE) is considered reliable when it is above 0.5. Among the factors in this study, the AVE values of quality, health, economy, convenience, fashion, satisfaction, and repurchase are all above 0.5. Therefore, they can be considered reliable.

Table 1: Confirmatory factor analysis

Chi-square=1039.7 (p=0.001, df=284), NFI=0.797, CFI=0.859, RMSEA=0.081

Discriminant validity refers to the degree of discrimination between latent factors. If the correlation between two factors is low, the value of discriminant validity is high. In order to secure discriminant validity, it is said that discriminant validity is secured by comparing the square value of the correlation coefficient and the average variance extracted value and confirming that the average variance extracted value is greater than the square value of the correlation coefficient (Hair et al. 2014). In this study, it can be seen that discriminant validity was secured because the criteria were met.

Table 2: Discriminant validity analysis

This study aimed to empirically investigate the moderating effect of nostalgic dessert consumption experience on consumers' repurchase intention by focusing on consumers who have consumed nostalgic desserts. This study aimed to empirically analyze the psychological factors that can lead to the purchase of nostalgic dessert menu, and to propose a logical theory that can attract consumers to make continuous purchases instead of one-time impulse purchases.

In this study, a combination of literature and empirical research was conducted. For literature research, we used domestic and foreign professional books, research papers, journals, reports, and statistical data to examine recent dessert trends and repurchase intentions, and based on literature research and empirical research, we designed a research model suitable for this study and set hypotheses. For the empirical analysis, a questionnaire consisted of 40 questions, including 4 questions each on quality, health, economy, convenience, and fashion, 5 questions on dessert satisfaction, 5 questions on repurchase, and finally 7 questions on demographics. The analysis was conducted using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) and AMOS statistical programme. The results of the analysis are shown in the table 3.

Table 3: Hypothesis testing results

*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001

Figure 2: Result of the Research

5. Conclusions and Implications

Based on the results of this study, the following implications can be drawn. Quality, health, economy, convenience, and fashion were presented as attribute factors for purchase satisfaction of nostalgic desserts, and the effects of these factors on repurchase were examined. The results show that quality, health, convenience, and fashion have a significant effect on consumers' repurchase, while economy does not have a significant effect on consumers' experiential value.

In this study, quality, health, economy, convenience, and fashion were identified as attribute factors for purchase satisfaction of nostalgic desserts, and hypotheses on the influence relationship between each variable were proposed. The results of the hypothesis testing are summarized and summarized as follows. First, among the attribute factors for purchase satisfaction of nostalgic desserts, quality had a significant positive effect on purchase behavior. A study showed that the taste of food had a significant effect on satisfaction in relation to taste and quality satisfaction among the selection attributes of brunch cafes. Kim, Ki-Young (2019) found that the higher the quality status of traditional desserts, the higher the satisfaction level, indicating a significant impact on consumer purchase behavior. Second, among the attributes of purchase satisfaction of nostalgic desserts, health had a significant positive effect on purchase behavior.

According to Cha and Noh (2021), health has a significant effect on purchase behavior. Third, among the attribute factors for purchase satisfaction of nostalgic desserts, convenience had a significant positive effect on purchase behavior. According to a study by Kim (2021), among the selection attributes of meal kit products, the effect on purchase behavior and repurchase intention was significant, indicating that it had a significant effect on purchase behavior. Fourth, among the attributes of purchase satisfaction of nostalgic desserts, fashion had a significant positive effect on purchase behavior.

Some studies indicates that fashionable gourmet dessert consumption culture has a significant effect on the effect of satisfaction with the quality of the dessert menu and the physical environment on revisit intention. Fifth, according to Cha and Lee (2020), economic value among consumers' perceived experience value of convenience store dessert has a significant effect on consumers' repurchase intention for continuous and repeated purchase behavior of rice-based HMR foods, but in this study, among the attributes of purchase satisfaction of nostalgic desserts, economic value does not have a significant positive effect on purchase behavior. It is expected that if nostalgic desserts are popularized by making them available to more consumers, they can be sold at a lower price. If this is the case, future studies may show a significant effect of the economy.

The academic implications of the findings of this study are as follows. In this study, the choice attributes of nostalgic desserts were defined as quality, health, economy, convenience, and fashion to determine the influence of dessert purchase satisfaction. The results of the study showed that quality, health, convenience, and fashion have a significant effect on purchase satisfaction of nostalgic desserts. It can be concluded that people do not buy nostalgic desserts to eat and enjoy them, but are satisfied with the high quality and health-oriented aspects of nostalgic desserts, convenient purchases, and trends that they want to follow, so satisfaction with nostalgic desserts leads to repurchase.

The economy does not have a significant effect on the satisfaction of purchasing nostalgia desserts, so it is recommended to adjust the price of nostalgia desserts to make them more affordable. This study has implications for the academic field as there are relatively few studies on the purchase satisfaction and repurchase of nostalgic desserts compared to general dessert products.

The practical implications of the findings of this study are as follows. First, to increase consumer satisfaction and awareness of nostalgic desserts, it is necessary not only to understand traditional desserts but also to structure them in terms of quality, health, convenience, and fashion. It is important to create an image of traditional desserts that makes use of the characteristics of quality, health, convenience, and fashion, which are choice attributes that affect consumer satisfaction.

Second, based on the results that customer satisfaction is influential in purchasing nostalgic desserts, it is judged that improved taste and quality, health-conscious desserts, convenience for easy purchase, and the psychology of consumers who want to follow the trend are important factors.

Third, it is necessary to develop a continuous menu that utilizes the characteristics of nostalgic desserts to stimulate consumer interest. It is important to develop a menu that has the characteristics of grandmother's taste, which focuses on savory, sweet and healthy flavors, and continuous quality control. Furthermore, considering that the awareness of nostalgic desserts is low compared to general desserts, more publicity and marketing are needed to raise awareness. Based on the practical implications of this study, food companies should strive to create experiential value for Generation MZ through fashion as a choice attribute for consumers to purchase nostalgic desserts, and promote healthy taste and quality. In addition, companies should constantly maintain relationships with consumers who use their products or services through continuous management, and analyze the consumption tendencies and consumption characteristics of each generation to implement marketing appropriate to the consumer group.