Kerala being one of major consumer states in India, it is depending on neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to meet the vegetable requirements of its population. In the case of fruits and vegetables market with easy perishable products, a marketer should know what type of instruments he should apply in order to convince the consumer to buy the products in the right time, before their natural deterioration. Though the gap between Indian rural and urban consumer is decreasing, there is considerable difference between them in terms of geographic, demographic and psychographic aspects which is resulting in distinction in their consumer behaviour. For these reasons it is the need of the hour to identify and compare their consumer behaviour. The following study was conducted to analyze the consumer behaviour of vegetable consumers in Kozhikode district of Kerala during a period of 2017-2018. The comparison of urban and rural population of district with reference to their consumer behaviour in vegetable purchase and consumption was also done. Most of the consumer respondents exhibited favourable consumer behaviour in both urban and rural constituencies but exhibited variation in behaviour with respect to attitude and preferences. Urban consumers were quality or brand conscious, whereas rural consumers were price sensitive. A significant difference was also observed in behaviour of urban and rural vegetarians’ consumers in vegetable purchase.

Keyword: Consumer behaviour; Consumer attitude; Consumer preferences; Decision making; Consumer intentions;