The impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on prcessed meat and dairy product comsumption habits in tekirdağ province

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, consumer attitudes and behaviour have changed worldwide and in Turkey. Many different studies have been conducted to understand these changes. Consumers sometimes experienced difficulties in meeting their required food consumption during this period. During this period, the biggest burden on the sector was marketing. In this study, the consumption habits of processed meat and dairy products in Tekirdağ were examined. A face-to-face survey was conducted with consumers in Süleymanpaşa district of Tekirdağ province. The number of sample (n) to be surveyed was calculated to be 268 people, according to the 99% significance level and 10% margin of error predicted for the research. The survey was conducted with 300 consumers. Chi-square analysis, best worst method, cluster analysis and factor analysis were used in the statistical processing of the results. In this study, in the light of the questions asked to consumers and the analysis applied, shopping frequencies, preferred shopping methods, health perspectives, purchasing behaviors and consumption habits were revealed according to appropriate demographic characteristics. As a result of the analyzes, it was determined that the rate of consumers purchasing processed dairy products was higher than the rate of consumers purchasing processed meat products. According to the best-worst analysis, the most preferred processed meat products by consumers were meatballs, roasts and doner kebabs, while processed dairy products were feta cheese, kashar cheese and yogurt. The result of the clustering analysis performed to understand the importance levels of the features of the items, showed that 19 features were grouped into 5 clusters. According to the results of the factor analysis, 5 factors have been determined. The analysis showed that there is no clear change in consumer behaviour, shopping habits and preferences for 26 products.