Understanding Consumer Behavior Overview - Location and concept
BoxPark Sushi would be located at a university (i.e., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee). Moreover, BoxPark Sushi is inspired by Edoites' lifestyle, which they used to eat quickly in front of the food stands. The restaurant will bring back the original notion of sushi being an inexpensive and accessible meal to consumers. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: 1. Physiological needs: Relieve stress and hunger a. The setting: Students are hungry and stressed out. According to NYU, stress is the "number one reported impediment to academic performance". It has physical and emotional adverse effects on the students. Other negative consequences include not finishing their assignments and not wanting to go out with their friends. Additionally, according to a study done at a university located in Oregon, over 59% of college students are not eating healthy meals consistently (Sifferlin, 2014). b. The method: Since BoxPark Sushi will be on-campus, students will have easy access to quick, healthy meals that will serve as comfort food. It will accommodate the lifestyle of students that are on-the-go to study, work, attend to another class, or do other errands. 2. Safety needs: Financial situation a. The setting: One of the reasons students eat unhealthily or even skip meals is due to the rise in tuition costs and living expenses. Therefore, eating healthy is not a top priority. b. The method: The meals BoxPark Sushi will be serving are going to be inexpensive. It will convince students that they do not need to spend too much money nor skip meals to consume healthy foods. 3. Love and belongingness needs: Social acceptance a. The setting: BoxPark Sushi will not have tables and chairs. Students will enter the restaurant, choose the meal that is on display, buy and eat it while standing up. b. The concept: As part of the branding of the restaurant, BoxPark Sushi will influence its customers to connect with others while eating sushi. Whether the person goes alone or with a group of friends, people will feel comfortable dining at the restaurant sharing their passion for the food and the Japanese culture. 4. Esteem needs: Approval a. The setting: Generation Z are people born between the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. Therefore, most of them are attending college. According to Jared Atchison, Gen Z spend 74% of their free time online, and social media influenced 80% of their purchases. Meanwhile, social media users post images of the food they are currently eating. The most shared foods on Instagram are pizza, steak, and sushi. In addition, posting about food on social media has a cultural impact. "Blogs and social media channels are leading people to be exposed to cuisines that they may have never seen before" (Arnold, 2019).