DOI - Mendel University Press

DOI identifiers

DOI: 10.11118/ecos2026_021

INCOME, ATTITUDES, AND FOOD WASTE: SEGMENTATION OF CZECH HOUSEHOLDS

Anna Martinková1, Veronika Antošová1, Lucie Veselá1
1 Department of Marketing and Trade, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Household food waste is a significant environmental and economic problem in the Czech Republic — it is estimated that households generate a significant portion of total food waste. The present article examines whether household income affects the level of food waste and attitudes towards it, and complements this survey on consumer segmentation based on purchasing and consumption behavior. The empirical basis is a questionnaire survey conducted in January and February 2025 among the population of the Czech Republic (n = 294), supplemented by semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 6). The statistical dependence between the monitored variables was verified by Pearson‘s chi-square test of independence, and the strength of the dependence was verified by Cramer‘s coefficient; hierarchical cluster analysis using the Ward method was used to segment respondents. The results showed that the proportion of food thrown away per month was not statistically dependent on income, while attitudes towards waste did depend on income and age. A significant predictor of lower waste was the frequency of checking the refrigerator. Cluster analysis identified three household segments with different purchasing, waste and perception approaches. The findings suggest that quantitatively measured waste levels and attitudes towards the problem may diverge, which has implications for the development of targeted communication strategies.

Keywords: food waste, households, income, consumer behavior, segmentation, cluster analysis, attitudes, Czech Republic

pages: 211-219, online: 2026



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