CONSUMER PREFERENCE PATTERN AND PATRONAGE OF MALT DRINKS IN PORT HARCOURT Chukwu Godswill Chinedu

Abstract

This study seeks to examine the relationship between consumer preference pattern and patronage of malt drinks in Port Harcourt. The specific objectives were to: ascertain the factors that influence the consumer patronage of malt drinks, determine the extent to which quality of product influence repeat purchase of malt drinks in Rivers State and investigate the extent to which quality of product influence sales volume of malt drinks. Ascertain the extent to which price influence repeat purchase of malt drinks in Rivers State. Determine the extent to which branding influence sales volume. Six hypotheses were stated. The study adopted the survey research design. The Cochran sampling formula was used to randomly select 356 consumers of malt drinks out of infinite numbers of consumers across Rivers State. A five point Likert-scale structured questionnaire was used for the data collection and analysis was done with a confidence level of 5% or 0.05. The findings indicated that factors such as availability of quality product, affordable price, branding will boast sales volume and encourage customer patronage. Comparatively, the patronage rate for Malt drinks could be determined by the quality of product, Price, and Brand.