Consumer Behavior on Beef Purchasing Decision in West Java

. The aim of this study was to determine consumer behavior in making beef purchasing decisions. The study was carried out for 3 months from April to June 2021. Research data were obtained from 300 respondents who used to buy beef from several areas in West Java. Sampling was carried out by convenience sampling method and data collection techniques using questionnaires. The analytical method used was descriptive analysis. The results of the analysis concluded that some respondents bought meat to meet family needs (as side dishes), with an average consumption requirement of less than 1 kg per week. Purchases of beef have been planned and most of them buy meat from traders in traditional markets who have become customers. Information related to meat prices was obtained by respondents from relatives or close neighbors. Even so, the respondent has no influence from other people in making their meat purchasing decisions. The portion of beef that often purchased was tenderloin, and if the price of beef rises the respondent will buy chicken as a substitute. The beef usually purchased in the form of fresh meat with a custom cut based on the needs. Mornings and weekends are the most preferred time for consumers to buy beef. Most purchases were made in cash. Only a small part is done in non-cash (debit). Most of the respondents also already trust the existing regular meat traders and willing to recommend them to their relatives/others. The reason was that the meat sold fit to the price and quality.


Introduction
Beef is one of very popular food in Indonesia, this can be seen from the increasing demand for beef in Indonesia. The Ministry of Agriculture noted that beef production centers in Indonesia with an average beef production in 2016-2020 are in 3 (three) provinces, namely East Java with a contribution of 20.00% (100.91 thousand tons), West Java contributing 15 .45% (77.97 thousand tons), and Central Java contributing 12.43% (62.73 thousand tons). During the last five years (2016-2020) household beef consumption increased by 3.98% per year [1].
Household consumption of fresh beef in 2019 was 0.485 kg/capita/year, an increase of 4.48% from 2018 of 0.464 kg/capita/year. There are various reasons why Indonesians consume beef, one of that is beef tastes better than other meats. Seen from the aspect of the nutritional content of beef and the change in Indonesian people's awareness of animal protein for health, beef become the second position after poultry meat in meeting the animal protein needs of the Indonesian people [2]. Then, another thing that happens to the behavior of beef consumers is the culture inherent in the people of Indonesia where the demand for beef increases, especially during religious holidays such as Eid Fitri, this makes the presence of beef not replaced with other meats so that it affects the price increase [3].
In 2020 there was a Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia which had an impact on changes in consumer behavior, especially in purchasing beef. Changes in consumer behavior will certainly affect the demand and supply conditions for beef, especially in beef production centers. Consumer behavior that occurs in Indonesia, especially West Java as the province with the second largest beef production and consumption in Indonesia, needs to be analyzed further, the dynamics of consumer behavior will show how consumers are in the process of making beef purchasing decisions. Based on this description, the aim of this study is to determine consumer behavior in making beef purchasing decisions.

Methods
The research was carried out for 3 months, from April to June 2021. The research data was obtained from 300 respondents who used to buy beef from several areas in West Java. The sampling technique was carried out by the convenience sampling method where the sampling carried out by the researcher was free to choose individuals as respondents based on the author's criteria so that they could be used as samples [4]. Data were collected using a questionnaire. The analytical method used was descriptive analysis.
The analytical method used was the stages of consumer decision making. There were 5 stages that consumers went through when decided to buy a product: problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decisions and post-purchase evaluation [5].

Motivation and Introduction
Respondents in deciding the purchase of beef were mostly already planned. But some were done based on the situation. The purchase of beef was generally used to welcome certain moments such as the fasting month and Eid Fitri. While the purchase depends on the situation made when there were events in the family.

Fig. 1. Percentage of respondents' answers related to how to decide to buy beef
Respondents in buying beef were intended for family consumption. This is also because most of the respondents are housewives. Only a few respondents answered for business (restaurants). The family is also the biggest external factor in purchasing beef, where the desire to consume beef becomes the respondent reference to buy the product [6]. The purchase of beef was usually done at certain moments and for family consumption, so the reason for consuming beef was as a food menu or family side dish [7]. Several respondents answered that beef has a distinctive and delicious taste, and as a source of animal protein. Taste was also the biggest driver for sustaining meat consumption, even in situations of uncertainty [8].

Fig. 3. Percentage of respondents' answers about the reasons for consuming beef
The frequency of respondents in consuming beef was categorized as rare. Most of the respondents consume 1-2 times a week. Even so, there are 12 percent of respondents who stated that they often consume beef. Respondents who often consume beef often do not only processing it themselves, but also from buying side dishes at food stalls. The average consumption of beef for most respondents was less than 1 kg per week. Consumers who consume between 1-2 kg a week are usually consumers who process beef not only for their own consumption, but also for sale. Likewise with respondents who consume 2 kg of beef per week.

Information Search
The process that was carried out after the identification of needs is information seeking. One source of respondent's information was promotion/advertising. Respondents who have seen beef promotion/advertising were 71 percent. Although 71 percent stated that they had seen advertisements/promotions related to beef, most of the sources of beef information came from other people. The second source was electronic media, especially advertisements on social media. Only a small proportion of respondents get their source of information from the print media. In making the decision to buy beef, respondents decided on personal influence. This means that the sources of information obtained by respondents both from advertisements and other people were used as consideration, but the decision remains in the hands of the respondent.

Evaluation of Alternatives
The next stage after the information search was the evaluation of alternatives. In conducting the evaluation, the thing that becomes the evaluation material was related to the part of the meat to be purchased. The meat that many respondents were looking for is the tenderloin portion, where tenderloin was also one of the attributes that were consumer preferences in buying beef [9]. The search results were based on previous buying habits, that the portion of beef that the respondents often buy was shown in Figure 10.

Fig. 10. Percentage of respondents' answers related to the part of beef that is often purchased
Tenderloin is a part of beef that is tender, dense but tends to be a little fat, so it is suitable for processing to various kinds of dishes. There were also some respondents who buy beef bones (ribs). It was very suitable for making soup or gravy for dishes such as meatballs.

Fig. 11. Percentage of respondents' answers related to obstacles in buying beef
The price of meat was the main factor that is considered by respondents to buy meat [10] as shown in Figure 11. Especially during the pandemic where people's purchasing power were low [11]. However, this does not apply at certain moments. This means that even though the price of beef is expensive, consumers will still buy it as before fasting or Eid Fitri even though the quantity of purchases was reduced. This condition occurs due to the high demand to meet consumption needs at the beginning of the fasting month and before Eid Fitri [12][13].

Purchase
Traditional markets were the places most respondents visit to buy beef. The reason was because the beef sold in the market is fresh meat. Apart from traditional markets, some respondents also buy from modern markets, online and mobile traders. The reason consumers bought meat in these places was that the quality of the product is guaranteed. This showed that although there are traditional markets, consumers already believe in the quality of the products sold. The second reason was the location where the purchase is near their home. The third most common reason was the lower price. More information related to this information can be seen in Figure 13. The beef purchased is usually in the form of fresh meat, while the size of the pieces is adjusted to the needs. Some consumers also buy meat in the form of cuts. In this regard, consumers usually buy meat in traditional markets where the cuts can be adjusted. In contrast to the modern market where the meat is sold already in the form of pieces. The amount of meat purchased by consumers in one purchase is 1-2 Kg. Even so, the purchased meat didn't seem to be consumed all at once. necessities. Respondents usually buy beef at the end of the week to make dishes for family holidays.

Result and Post Purchase
The results showed that consumers will repurchase to the same place as shown in Figure 18. Only some of the consumers will not buy again at the current place. The reason respondents bought from this place was the quality of the meat in line with expectations. Another reason was cheap price. Expensive was the main reason for consumers not to repurchase at the current place. Fig. 19. Percentage of respondents' answers related to reasons to buy back beef at the current place Respondents also willing to recommend the current place to family and friends. The main reason was that the taste of the meat matches the price with the quality. In this study, it is also known that if the price of beef increases, the respondents will buy chicken meat as a substitute as shown in Figure 21. The second option was fish. The surprising thing was buffalo meat where only a small number of people choose it as a substitute for beef. This was contrary to the government's policy to import buffalo meat as an alternative to beef.
In the process of buying beef, there are 5 stages that are passed, namely need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase, post-purchase evaluation. In the need recognition stage, it was found that 54% of respondents in deciding whether to buy beef had planned and 42% were done based on the situation, while 4% were done suddenly. One of the respondents' sources of information was through promotions/advertising, 71% of respondents stated that they had seen beef promotions/advertising and 29% had never. Then, in conducting the evaluation, it was found that the thing to be evaluated was related to the part of the meat to be purchased. At the purchase stage 76% of respondents made purchases in traditional markets. Furthermore, in the post-purchase evaluation stage, it was found that 89% of respondents would repurchase to the same place and the other 11% would not. If the price of beef goes up, 86% of respondents will replace it with chicken. The remaining 11% replace it with fish, buffalo meat or pork.