Consumer multihoming predisposition on food platforms: Does gender matter?

Although food platforms are witnessing greater competition and shrinking margins in emerging markets, consumer multihoming remains an underexplored phenomenon. Previous studies highlight the inverse relationship between consumers' commitment to service providers and their multihoming behaviour. Also, behavioural studies confirm the relationship between consumers' commitment and gender. In this vein, we ask a fundamental question: whether gender is associated with user multihoming predisposition? Based on the questionnaire survey of 493 food platform users and the Kruskal–Wallis H (K–W–H) analysis used, we establish a direct association between gender and multihoming. The probit analysis suggests higher multihoming promiscuousness among male consumers than among female consumers. Moreover, we conclude that the frequency of platform usage positively affects multihoming behaviour among female consumers, while education affects multihoming in males. The study thus builds upon existing food platform literature and provides an epistemological connection between gender and multihoming. Further, it outlines strategies that platform firms can use to restrain their clientele from multihoming.