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• Changes in Food Purchasing Habits During the Covid Pandemic in Slovakia and Hungary, Focus on Southern Slovakia and Western Hungary

  55-70

  Anna Molnár

  László Józsa

  Adrienn Dernóczi-Polyák

  Views:

  957

  The global pandemic of COVID-19 has led to many drastic changes worldwide, not only in the economy, but amongst others, in the structure of people’s daily routines as well. Some developments have been involuntary – as social distancing, wearing masks, restrictions on travel, etc., but for others, it has merely accelerated the adoption of behaviors already gaining traction, such as the digitalization of shopping and more. Consequences of subsequent lockdowns and their effect on the consumers’ grocery purchasing habits and their implications for food retail had been investigated in our research with a particular focus on regions of South Slovakia and West Hungary in a period ranging from November 2020 till April 2021. The constructed online questionnaire chosen for data collection aimed to identify specific ways in which consumers changed their grocery shopping behavior during the lockdown (e.g., frequency of shopping trips, time spent in stores, the aim of shopping, purchase of ingredients, online shopping). The results of the online questionnaire underlined the main regional differences between the two countries. The overall outcome of our research showed the moderate reduction in grocery shopping frequency, minor changes in shopping location and partially increase in online shopping. Our results showed that although the proportion of online purchases has increased, such a crisis does not seem to be sufficient to overcome barriers to shopping, such as the purchase of a new, unknown product. But changes that provide positive experiences are likely to last longer, particularly those driven by convenience and well-being, such as digital adoption, value-based purchasing, and increased health awareness. This provides an opportunity for companies to offer innovative, value-based, and integrated products or services to meet customer needs. Companies and retailers will need to adapt fast, understand consumers’ preferences, and stay relevant.

  JEL Codes: D12, D91

• The Young People's Health from the Aspect of the Quality of Life and Consumer Behaviour

  87-95

  Ida Ercsey

  Péter Huszka

  Views:

  131

  The examination of the quality of life on societal and individual level is emphasized increasingly in the social researches. The quality of life has subjective and objective components as well and we can get the complete view of the consumers’ perceived wellbeing by the measurement of these components. The objective of this article is to explore how the young people have the evaluation mechanism to their perceived quality of life and how they evaluate their health. According to the aim of this research, first we gain insight into the literature of the topic and after then we analyse the results of the empirical research. Unfortunately in respect of the evaluation to health our hypotheses were justifiable. The health does not have of high priority value for the members of 14-18 years old pupils. According to our research results we conclude that health and healthy lifestyle as an approach can be strengthened within the public and higher educational sectors. But it must become clear, that dissemination of knowledge, information is not sufficient, as without actively involving those of concerned, the problem can not be solved.

• Purchasing Patterns of Prescription (Rx), over the Counter (OTC) Medicines and Food Supplements among Hungarian Consumers

  23-34

  Balázs Kertész

  Péter Balogh

  Klára Bíró

  Views:

  114

  Over-the-Counter (OTC) medicines and food supplements plays an important role in healthcare. It is generally accepted that, when used properly, OTC medicines save consumers time and money. In this paper we looked into the purchasing behavior of the Hungarian population regarding OTC drugs and food supplements, highlighting the significance of self-medication. Using a quantitative online survey in March 2022 with a national representative sample, the research aimed to measure the out-of-pocket health expenditures, focusing on OTC drugs and food supplements. The analysis showed that the population spends more money on OTC drugs and food supplements than the co-payment of prescription (Rx) drugs, and the combined expenditures on OTC drugs and food supplements significantly contribute to the household's total healthcare costs, representing 45% of this budget. Three hypotheses were formulated to investigate the relationships between the spending on Rx medications, OTC drugs, food supplements, and various demographic factors. The analysis showed significant correlations, indicating that as expenditures on Rx medications increase, so do the purchases of OTC drugs and food supplements. Demographic analysis indicated that the younger demographic age group (18-35 years) tends to spend the least on both Rx, OTC drugs and food supplements, while the 36-50 age group exhibits the highest expenditure on food supplements. However, no significant difference in OTC drug purchases was found among those older than 36 years. The study raises further questions regarding the purchasing behavior of chronic patients, the differentiation between OTC drugs and food supplements by consumers, the influence of minors in the household on purchasing decisions, and whether the primary target demographic for these products should be expanded beyond the 35-50 aged women as it is defined nowadays.
  
  JEL Codes: I11, I12, M31