Fond of Fish? Count Data Analysis of Seafood Consumption in France

This article examines seafood consumption in France by analyzing household demand for five seafood categories: fresh salmon, frozen Salmonidae, fresh cod, frozen whitefish, and all other seafood. To this end, an infrequency of purchase model is applied to an almost ideal demand system. First, a negative binomial count data model with theory-consistent homogeneity and symmetry restrictions is used to estimate purchase frequency. Second, an almost ideal demand system adjusted for the probability of purchase and the relationship between purchase frequencies and quantities is used. While the price elasticities from the first estimation stage may be used to design a price strategy aimed at increasing store traffic, those from the second one could inform a more traditional approach to stimulating demand. The results reveal heterogeneous consumer preferences for different seafood types and indicate that purchase frequency alone can provide enough information to identify various consumer segments in the seafood market.