2.
1 Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior entails all consumer activities associated with the purchase, use, and
disposal of goods, and services, including the consumer’s emotional, mental, and behavioral
responses. The term “consumer” can describe either individual or organizational consumers.
Individual consumers purchase goods and services to satisfy their own personal needs and wants
or to satisfy the needs and wants of others (Kardes,2011). Consumer behavior can be thought of
as the actions, reactions, and consequences that take place as the consumer goes through a
decision-making process, reaches a decision, and then puts the product to use (Babin ,B. J., &
Harris, E. 2013). On the other hand, Arndt, J. (2007) defined consumer behavior as (1) the
mental and physical acts of (2) individuals, households or other decision-making units concerned
with ultimate consumption involving (3) the acquisition, own production, use and, in some cases,
the dispossession of products and services.
Consumer behavior as a whole, including that related to the place of purchase, is affected
by a number of factors, the sources of which can be found in the customer’s external
environment, mainly in the retail environment. Maciejewski (2016) conducted an analysis of
consumer preferences in relation to making purchases. They revealed that the decision to choose
where and when to shop is mainly influenced by the type of product and how important it is in
the process of meeting needs.
2.2 Fresh Products
Fresh products can drive most customers to visit the wet market because most Asian
families often cook and use fresh ingredients. Vegetables in China market directly from
producers resulting in the sellers getting fresh products. It can indicate that customers frequently
visit wet markets to buy fresh products (Goldman, Krider, & Ramaswami, 1999). Many rural and
urban people choose to purchase their fresh vegetables at wet markets due to a number of
perceived instrumental benefits, including shopping convenience, freshness, and affordability
(NGO, VU, Liu, Moritaka, & Fukuda, 2019). According to Zhong, S., Crang, M., & Zeng, G.
(2019), freshness is found when experienced food shoppers mobilize as many senses as possible
to select food, via their looking, poking, squeezing, smelling, and so on. . Freshness of fresh
foods is defined as a utilitarian benefit in Vietnam since it connects to the product's look and is
seen as a fundamental food attribute by consumers (S. C. Wertheim-Heck & Spaargaren, 2016).
2.3 Price
Price is the amount that consumers will be willing to pay for a product. Marketers must
link the price point to the product's real and perceived value, while also considering supply costs,
seasonal discounts, competitors' prices, and retail markup (Twin, A. (2024, August 9). It is worth
mentioning that consumer satisfaction also plays a decisive and mediating role in the
development and molding of buying behavior of consumers (Larsen et al., 2017). With the low
price of fresh foods, traditional markets have enabled access to healthy foods among low-income
urban households that are excluded from modern retail outlets (Mai, Hansson, Abu Hatab, Darr,
& Shakur, 2022). Most of the time, the products that are being sold at the wet market come up
with lower prices than those in the supermarket and it attracts a lot of price-conscious shoppers.
2.4 Facilities
In Asia, public wet markets are considered as traditional food providers and significant
sources of food and agricultural products (Zhang & Pan, 2013; Huang et al., 2015). In the
Philippines, wet markets are commonly known as palengke among the Tagalogs and tienda or
mercado for the Ilonggos. These have been the primary trading and commercial centers in towns
all over the country since the Spanish colonial times (J. C. Carmen et.al). According to David
O'Neil (2005), the right public spaces is one of the qualities for a successful market. A public
market must be well maintained, clean, and comfortable for the customers.
2.5 Seller- Buyer Interaction
The interaction between buyers and sellers forms the foundation of business transactions.
Effective communication, negotiation, and relationship-building are essential for successful
interactions and mutually beneficial outcomes (Prince Kumar, 2022). Personal relationships and
social interaction between vegetable buyers and their regular sellers at wet markets may shape
consumers' attachment to this local shop and their perceived benefits of fresh foods bought (S. C.
Wertheim-Heck et al., 2014). Not only that, wet markets provide opportunities for employment
and the development of the local economy. Moreover, they perform as a hub of social
interaction, connection and interconnection among localities. Therefore, the people can get the
exposure of different cultures and build a sense of local community in the wet markets (May
Khine, W. W., 2023).
Freshness is found when
experienced food shoppers
mobilize as many senses as
pos-
sible to select food, via their
looking, poking, squeezing,
smelling, and so on. The wet
market thus enables the kinds
of valuation practices that
ascertain the type of
freshness
Southern Chinese consumers
seek. It is not enough to say
‘freshness’ makes wet
markets attractive; it is also
the case
that they enable the kind of
freshness, and its evaluation,
that consumers seek.
Freshness is found when
experienced food shoppers
mobilize as many senses as
pos-
sible to select food, via their
looking, poking, squeezing,
smelling, and so on. The wet
market thus enables the kinds
of valuation practices that
ascertain the type of
freshness
Southern Chinese consumers
seek. It is not enough to say
‘freshness’ makes wet
markets attractive; it is also
the case
that they enable the kind of
freshness, and its evaluation,
that consumers seek.
Freshness is found when
experienced food shoppers
mobilize as many senses as
pos-
sible to select food, via their
looking, poking, squeezing,
smelling, and so on. The wet
market thus enables the kinds
of valuation practices that
ascertain the type of
freshness
Southern Chinese consumers
seek. It is not enough to say
‘freshness’ makes wet
markets attractive; it is also
the case
that they enable
