CONSUMER BEHAVIOR OF INHABITANTS OF KALININGRAD DISTRICT IN THE POLISH-RUSSIAN LOCAL BORDER TRAFFIC ZONE

Abstract

Local Border Traffic (LBT) established on the Polish and Russian border in 2012 created new market opportunities for Russian consumers from the Kaliningrad District, which led to a question of how the changing political, economic and social conditions impacted consumer behavior of Russians in the border market of LBT. The study aimed to answer this question based on a survey of 1,022 respondents from Kaliningrad District, carried out in 2012–2016. Findings show that Russian consumers benefitted from cross-border shopping and trade and contributed to local development on both sides of the border until administrative and economic barriers appeared. The unfavorable border crossing regulations, ban on the import of agri-food goods from Poland to the Russian Federation, and increasingly unfavorable ruble exchange rates changed the behavior of Russian consumers significantly, decreasing their purchase and consumption of goods and services bought in the LBT zone in Poland.