‘You don’t want to be sat on a sticky seat’: a Q-methodological foraging analysis of pub consumer choice

Abstract

This study investigates how consumers trade-off between various features when making pub choices, a previously underexplored area. Uniquely we apply foraging theory as a multi-level, ecologically based approach examining analysis of product, physical and service elements to the non-digital consumer behaviour of pub choice. We use Q-methodology, a mixed-methods approach ideal for understanding subjective experiences and analysing in a comparative manner, to explore these trade-offs and develop two psychographic segments (Traditional Pint Loyalists and Inclusive Drinkers), moving away from static segmentations based on demographics. This research significantly contributes to consumer behaviour by offering a novel, structured segmentation that moves beyond outdated stereotypes, notably highlighting the growing influence of women and families in pubs as well as non-beer drinkers.