Consumer segmentation and drivers of egg purchasing behavior among emerging consumers in central Chile: The role of...

Egg consumer preferences are increasingly shaped by attributes beyond price, including perceived quality, nutritional value, and characteristics of the production system and production-related attributes. However, limited evidence is available on how these factors interact to define consumer profiles in Latin America. Therefore, this study examined egg purchasing and consumption behavior among surveyed consumers in central Chile (n = 412) by integrating purchasing habits, nutritional knowledge, perceptions of egg quality, and attitudes toward production systems. Given the marked predominance of young respondents (82.8% between 18 and 29 years old) and the digital channel through which the survey was administered, this study places particular emphasis on an emerging consumer segment characterized by greater exposure to information, higher familiarity with technology-mediated communication, and increasing awareness of nutritional and production-related attributes. Egg purchasing and consumption behavior was shaped by the interplay among sociodemographic characteristics, level of knowledge, and the importance assigned to both product- and production-related attributes. In addition to conventional quality cues, such as freshness and shell characteristics, respondents showed high familiarity with production systems and sustainability-related concepts, including animal welfare (86.9%), cage-free systems (82.8%), free-range systems (70.9%), and carbon footprint (64.3%), while fair trade practices, as an ethical/value-chain certification attribute (35.7%), and access to pasture, as a production-related certification attribute (33.0%), were among the most relevant certification-related aspect. The Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) retained three dimensions explaining 78% of the total inertia. Cluster analysis identified four consumer profiles, representing 8.3%, 60.4%, 22.8%, and 8.5% of respondents, ranging from lower-involvement consumers with limited interest in differentiated attributes to more informed and demanding consumers who placed greater importance on nutritional, sensory, and ethical aspects. Discriminant analysis correctly classified 93.9% of respondents. The results suggest the presence of an emerging consumer profile associated with youth, digital information exposure, and greater knowledge of nutritional and production-system attributes. These findings highlight the heterogeneous nature of egg consumer behavior and suggest that knowledge and perceptions of egg quality and production systems are important drivers of market differentiation. The results may support the development of targeted communication, certification, and marketing strategies for differentiated egg products.