Customer behavior analysis in the home meal replacement industry: An application of the recency, frequency, monetary framework

This study examines consumer behavior in the home meal replacement industry by applying the recency, frequency, and monetary framework to predict market outcomes such as sales and market share. Drawing on household production theory and the theory of habitual behavior, we develop hypotheses linking recency, frequency, and monetary indicators to the market performance of three home meal replacement categories—ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat, and ready-to-cook—and examine the moderating role of household size. Using scanner panel data from 6500 Korean households and point-of-sale data from 1400 retail stores over 36 months, findings reveal that consumer penetration consistently drives market performance across all home meal replacement categories, yet the effects of price and purchase frequency diverge sharply by category, challenging the assumption that uniform pricing and promotion strategies are effective across home meal replacement product types. These category-dependent mechanisms, grounded in the differing levels of household production effort, offer both theoretical and practical implications for differentiated marketing strategies in the home meal replacement industry.

JEL Classification: D12, L81, M31