Analysis of Food Away from Home Expenditures by Meal Occasion: Are Transactional Variables and Prior Purchase Behavior Important?

Given the rise in health-related issues associated with changing food consumption patterns, we examine the role of not only demographics on food-away-from-home expenditures by meal occasion, but also transactional specific variables (e.g., promotion, ordering, and both facility and meal characteristics) and past away-from-home expenditures. Our results suggest that transactional variables that reflect both facility and meal characteristics as well as ordering, promotion, and party composition variables significantly influence food-away-from-home expenditures by meal occasion. Furthermore, both the timing and amount of previous away-from-home expenditures play a major role in expenditures as well.