*3.3. Purchase Attributes*

The most highly valued attribute was the origin, followed by the price, place of purchase, size of the packaging, the protected designation of origin (PDO) label, the type of packaging, and the organic certification of the food. The brand proved to be less important. The attributes that show significant di fferences between the consumer segments were the price, brand, and organic nature of the product. Consumers in segmen<sup>t</sup> 1 valued the price less and the organic nature slightly less, whereas, regarding the brand, they were in line with the rest of the population. Segment 2 consumers valued the organic nature and brand more, whereas those in segmen<sup>t</sup> 3 stood out for assigning greater value to the price, and less to the brand (Figure 2).

\*\*\* and \* significant differences with a 1% and 10% margin of error. 

**Figure 2.** Attribute value by consumer segments.

Regarding the direction of the change in importance assigned to the attributes, segmen<sup>t</sup> 1 has not been considered, as it did not modify the value it assigns to the attributes (Figure 3). In general, in segmen<sup>t</sup> 3 there was a greater decrease in the importance assigned to purchase attributes.

If we analyze them individually, the brand is the attribute that most decreased in importance, especially for segmen<sup>t</sup> 3. However, regarding the designation of origin, although its decrease was also majoritarian, there was a 24.7% of consumers in segmen<sup>t</sup> 3 who assigned it greater importance after the lockdown. This also happened with organic certification.

The place of purchase was the attribute with the most significant increase. In segmen<sup>t</sup> 2, there was a high percentage of people who maintained its importance, and in segmen<sup>t</sup> 3, compared to the other attributes, its importance decreased for a smaller percentage of consumers.

The size of packaging is the second attribute for which a greater proportion of consumers increase its importance. Regarding the origin, there was a large percentage of people in segmen<sup>t</sup> 3 who said its importance decreases. However, in segmen<sup>t</sup> 2, the percentage of people who assigned it the same level of importance was very high.

The price is the attribute that most decreased in importance for segmen<sup>t</sup> 2, whereas for segmen<sup>t</sup> 3, there was a greater percentage of people who maintained its importance compared to the other attributes.

\*\*\* and \*\* notes significant differences with a 1% and a 5% margin of error. 

**Figure 3.** Change in the value assigned to the attributes.

### *3.4. Level of Concern for COVID, Impact, and the Search for Information*

The level of concern was very high and there were no significant di fferences in this variable (Table 6). Regarding the impact, it was fairly negative for all segments, especially for segmen<sup>t</sup> 3. Consumers in segmen<sup>t</sup> 1 were more optimistic.


**Table 6.** Level of concern and impact of the COVID-19 crisis in Spain.

1 Size of the segment; \*\*\* notes significant differences with a 1% margin of error; Different letters in the same row mean significant differences for the segments (*p* < 0.05).

The results reveal a high concern for the pandemic, and only 1.5% of consumers were not interested in the information. Consumers in segmen<sup>t</sup> 3 were more concerned and also spend more time seeking information, especially through the news programs on TV and o fficial sources. The opinion of friends and family and social networks are less important, although they are taken into account by segmen<sup>t</sup> 2 (Table 7),


**Table 7.** Time spent seeking information on COVID-19 (h/day) and preferred sources of information.

1 Size of the segment; \*\*\* notes significant differences with a 1% margin of error; Different letters in the same row mean significant differences for the segments (*p* < 0.05).

### *3.5. Socio-Economic Characteristics of People Polled by Segments*

Only the socio-economic characteristics with significant di fferences among segments are shown (Table 8). Only di fferences in age and family size emerged. Regarding age, in segmen<sup>t</sup> 3 there was a larger of percentage of younger consumers (aged 18 to 34). The segmen<sup>t</sup> of people whose

behaviour did not change has a smaller family size. Regarding gender and work activity there were no significant differences.


**Table 8.** Age and family size of the consumer segments by their assessment of the purchase attributes.

1 Size of the segment; \*\* and \* note significant differences with a 5% and 10% margin of error, respectively; Different letters in the same row mean significant differences for the segments (*p* < 0.05).
