CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND DECISION-MAKING DETERMINANTS FOR THE PURCHASE OF SHEEP'S MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS

When observing consumer behaviour, we find that the consumer carries out the process of purchasing decisions under the influence of several factors. These factors come from the external environment, from its individual characteristics, and also from the specific purchasing situation. The above facts show that consumer preferences and understanding of the behaviour is a very demanding process. This is mainly because consumers may behave differently, i.e. they may have different consumer behaviours that depend on their needs and desires. Therefore, it is necessary to know the factors that influence consumer behavior or the purchasing decision for certain market commodities. The presented research document is focused on the issue of consumer behavior and decision-making in sheep's milk and its products. Sheep's milk has a long tradition and is one of the basic building elements of human food. Consumer behaviour is constantly evolving, their needs and desires are changing as well as factors that influence their shopping behaviour. The main goal of the research is to draw attention to the personality of the consumer, to selected personality characteristics and social factors, and, subsequently, to evaluate their impact on purchasing behaviour and making purchasing decisions on the market of sheep's milk products. Primary data were obtained from a survey conducted on a sample of 796 respondents. Most of the respondents were classified in the sanguine group based on temperament - an emotionally stable extrovert. When buying sheep's milk and its products, they make emotional decisions (57.17%). The most important factor in buying these products was their quality (47.16%). Assumptions were formulated for deeper analysis, which was subsequently verified by the means of a statistical test - Chi-square of the square contingency. The degree of dependence between the examined variables was determined by the means of the Cramer contingency coefficient.