THE INFLUENCE OF TANZANIA BUREAU OF STANDARDS MARK ON CONSUMERS’ PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) mark is a conformity mark of an accepted product standard. This paper examines consumers’ attention to TBS mark and whether their knowledge of the mark, attitudes towards TBS-certified products as well as the design and placement of the mark on the products affect consumers’ purchase decisions. The study used self-administered questionnaires to collect primary data from the general public in urban and cities where purchase of processed goods is relatively higher. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed high level of consumers’ knowledge about the TBS mark and positive attitude towards TBS-certified goods. However, the majority of consumers did not use it to make product choices claiming that the mark is not clearly noticeable. This suggests a need to re-design the TBS mark to make it more noticeable to attract quick consumers’ attention when making purchase.