Shifting Consumer Evaluation Criteria in Online Food Markets -An Analysis of Structured and Unstructured Data from Frozen Food Products-
This study investigates the structural drivers of consumer evaluation in the mature Korea online frozen food market. Using web-crawled data from a major retail platform, we integrate structured variables (price, ratings, review volume) with unstructured review text to examine how price, social proof, experiential value, and logistics reliability jointly shape consumer satisfaction. Results indicate that unit price is negatively associated with ratings, while review volume functions as social proof that reduces perceived uncertainty. A moderation analysis reveals a standardization effect : consumers purchasing highly processed convenience foods exhibit greater price sensitivity than those purchasing less processed frozen ingredients. Text mining grounded in the Kano Model further differentiates experiential motivators(e.g., taste and convenience), which increase ratings, from logistics-related complaints, which exert a comparatively stronger negative influence. Grouped regressions suggest greater information reliance in the high-price segment, consistent with an information maturity pattern. Overall, the findings demonstrate that consumer evaluation in online food markets extends beyond price-utility trade-offs toward experience-and information-based value formation. Methodologically, this study advances consumer research by integrating transactional and textural data to model multidimensional satisfaction mechanisms.