Title: Recessionary pressures on food budgets and payment options among working professionals

Authors: Alan D. Smith

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3099, USA

Abstract: Fast-food restaurants have generally benefited from difficult economic times throughout the USA and globally. In an exploratory study in the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area of working professionals, it was found that current food preferences, as compared to the previous year, point to less dining-out, increased dining at home, less fast-food consumption, and decreased formal dining; although none of these relationships held for gender biases. Payment options, including electronic ones, do vary somewhat as a function of food choices (more cash and/or debit cards in fast-food outlets as compared to sit-down restaurants), credit card usage has not significantly increased for fast-food restaurants; however, cash is still the preferred method of payment.

Keywords: credit cards; credit crunch; customer relationship management; CRM; debt cards; empirical; e-finance; food choices; recession; recessionary pressures; food budgets; payment options; working professionals; food preferences; electronic finance; fast-food restaurants; USA; United States; dining out; dining in; fast-food consumption; formal dining.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEF.2011.040459

International Journal of Electronic Finance, 2011 Vol.5 No.2, pp.169 - 208

Published online: 30 May 2011 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article