Place is what influences my decision the most. The farthest I have to go to obtain a product, the less likely it is that I will buy it. The price I am willing to pay depends on how much I need or value the product, as any other consumer. I don’t care how much I pay for the cereal I need. At first sight the marketing strategy used by the producer has a great impact on my decision. Colors, texture, and appearance is what dictates my election.

My feelings toward food in part come from my mother’s own buyer behavior and others from my own experience. Not buying products that I don’t need or that may only use once, if I have the opportunity, is one of my mother’s saying. That’s wasting money. However, in my experience buying extra stuff, like another can of corn, is always a good idea. You never know when you will need it and not have the time to go to the supermarket.

The fact that I am a woman shapes the way I look for things in the supermarket. I tend to buy products that offer a greater variety of usage. A product that I can use in many different ways will always win over one that doesn’t have that advantage. As Latin American, I tend to buy foods that are more spicy and flavored and don’t pay much attention to how long it will take to prepare them.

As a consumer I tend to be very cautious and usually buy items that I either know or that someone I trust recommended me. What influences my decision the most is the financial risk that buying a certain product imposes, if the product is really worth the risk. Then culture, as Latin American I tend to by foods that are more spicy and flavored.