Analysis of the impacts of social class and lifestyle on consumption of organic foods in South Korea

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of social class and lifestyle on the consumption of organic foods in South Korea. Consumer behavior regarding organic foods is influenced by lifestyle, as well as income-level and education. This study provides a new perspective on the socio-economic structure of organic food consumption patterns in urban areas by extracting information from big data. The organic food consumption patterns are then analyzed through visualization of the geographical distribution of organic food stores. In addition, this study estimates the effects of social class and lifestyle variables on the consumption of organic foods based on survey data. This study finds that social class characteristics are factors that influence the consumption of organic foods. However, individual lifestyle plays a more important role in actual buying behavior.

Keywords: Data science; Eco-friendly food consumption; Lifestyle; Organic foods; Social class; South Korea.