Reduced‐fat foods: the shopper’s viewpoint

The inclusion of reduced‐fat foods in the daily diet affords consumers the potential to reduce overall dietary fat. Nevertheless, despite an increased range of these food products throughout the market, there has remained a lack of widespread consumer acceptance. The aim of the study was therefore to understand why consumers choose or reject reduced‐fat foods. Ninety consumers were interviewed by means of a qualitative approach within food retail outlets in the United Kingdom. Thematic content analysis indicated that uptake or rejection of these products is influenced by health concerns, ‘goodness of fit’ with individual dietary health strategies, the preferences of different household members, perceived sensory properties and scepticism towards these products. The results imply a need to explore and innovate ‘natural’ fat substitutes and to improve the sensory quality of reduced‐fat products. Further research is required to determine how these foods are used within the household and incorporated within the overall diet. Policy must seek to restore consumer trust in reduced‐fat food products and the food supply generally.     

Budget over health unless overweight: A Solomon four‐group study

Budget and health motivations for food purchase (e.g., discounts and health consciousness, respectively) affect consumer choice while shopping and well‐being afterward. However, not all findings from research have suggested that discounts/taxations on healthy/unhealthy food encourage health‐conscious food choice. On the other hand, the consumer behaviour line of research on the influence of front‐of‐package health messages has mostly echoed similar results that such communication leads to overconsumption; thus, obesity. We examined the influence of market practices targeting consumers’ budget and health‐related motivations for food purchase in a 2 (price: recommended retail price, discount price) × 2 (product: regular potato chips, potato chips with ‘75% less saturated fat’) experiment using six Solomon four‐group designs. Our results indicate that overweight consumers are not prone to discounts, unlike their normal‐weight counterparts. A price cut nullifies the influence of health messages on purchase intentions among normal‐weight buyers when the regular and healthier packaged foods are both on discount.     

Product attributes and consumer acceptance of nutritionally enhanced genetically modified foods

Using data from a national survey, this study analyses US consumers’ acceptance of genetically modified foods that provide additional nutritional benefits. Using an ordered probit model, this study examines the relation between the willingness to consume genetically modified foods and consumers’ economic, demographic and value attributes. Empirical results suggest that despite having some reservations, especially about the use of biotechnology in animals, American consumers are not decidedly opposed to food biotechnology. Consumers’ economic and demographic variables are only weakly related to their acceptance of food biotechnology, especially when technology involves plant‐to‐plant DNA transfer. However, public trust and confidence in various private and public institutions are significantly related to their acceptance of food biotechnology. Overall, consumer acceptance of bioengineered foods is driven primarily by public perceptions of risks, benefits and safety of these food products.     

Young Chinese and Functional Foods for Mobility Health: Perceptions of Importance,Trust, and Willingness to Purchase and Pay a Premium

Consumers’ desire to enhance diet and health has become a driver for the development of functional food products. China, with one of the largest markets in the world, offers huge potential for these foods. In the context of functional foods, specifically related to mobility health, this study aimed to understand Chinese consumers’ perceptions of the importance of these foods, trust, and willingness to purchase and pay a premium for such foods. A mixed-methodological approach using both focus groups and a survey was used to collect data from Chinese living in New Zealand. Findings show Chinese consumers place a high level of importance on their mobility health. Level of importance increased when asked about the believed importance of this area later in life. Key factors influencing Chinese consumers’ willingness to purchase functional foods were also identified: the carrier/nutrient combination; trust in the product’s country of origin and in the various institutions that may be involved in the production of functional food products; trust in both the product brand and how it is advertised; health motivation; and price. The study offers the food industry insights into the development and marketing of mobility-related functional foods targeted to this market.     

Organic consumers’ preferences and willingness‐to‐pay for locally produced animal products

In Germany, a large share of organic animal products is being produced with imported protein feedstuffs. Products labelled as ‘local’ are also often produced with imported feed. At the point of purchase, animal products are not usually labelled with any information on the feed that was used to produce it. Therefore, it remains unclear what consumers think about the use of imported feed, in particular in the case of products labelled as ‘local’. The aim of the present research study was to analyse whether the use of local feed represents an option for successful product differentiation in the organic animal products market. Discrete Choice Experiments and computer assisted personal interviews were conducted with 597 organic consumers in Germany to investigate their preferences and willingness‐to‐pay for local organic animal products produced with local feed. The choice experiments revealed a strong preference for local feed. The outcome of our investigation also shows that the provision of information on feed imports into Germany can be an important tool for promoting organic animal products produced with local feed. The results suggest the use of local feed could be an option for successful product differentiation in the organic animal products market, especially if effort is put into raising consumer awareness of current organic feed importation practices.     

Exploring the relationship between consumer knowledge and purchase behaviour of value‐based labels

Despite an increasing market presence, little research has been conducted regarding consumer‐purchase behaviour of food products bearing ‘value‐based’ labels. Moreover, as the effectiveness of these labelling formats is dependent upon consumer's knowledge of their existence, this paper aims to explore the relationship between knowledge, openness to experience (i.e. validated personality trait related to intellectual capability) and purchase behaviour upon consumer behaviour in this context. Using structural equation modelling techniques, causal influences on purchases of fresh meat bearing ‘value‐based’ labels are identified and three multi‐attribute attitude models are proposed. The paper concludes that these labels are of value to consumers and that product knowledge plays a significant role in aiding purchase decisions. Consequently, marketing communication implications arising from the proposed multi‐attribute attitude models are discussed.     

Every ending is a new beginning: Poignancy increases consumer preferences for self-made products

Retailers and brands such as IKEA, Home Depot, and Build-a-Bear encourage consumers to ‘make’ their products rather than be passive recipients. While a growing literature explores ‘why’ consumers purchase self-made products, it is less understood ‘how’ marketers can develop effective advertising and marketing communications to promote such products. Building on the functionalist framework of emotion, the present research explores the potential of a mixed emotional appeal – poignancy – that may be useful in enhancing consumer preferences for self-made products. Notably, this effect is mediated by a fresh start mindset and openness to learning. The effect is also attenuated among consumers with a low personal control. In addition to having substantive practical implications to marketers in developing effective communication strategies, this research offers a novel perspective on the effect of poignancy on consumer decision making.     

Promoting Vegetarianism through Moralization and Knowledge Calibration

This research extends the theories of moralization and knowledge calibration to vegetarianism. In two studies involving interviews with vegetarians, and meat-eaters; we investigated consumer attitudes toward vegetarianism. Our text analysis results revealed that emotionally calibrated consumers are ‘moral vegetarians’ who find meat repulsive, and make ethical food choices. In contrast, cognitively calibrated consumers are ‘health vegetarians’ who scan the nutrition information, avoid meat due to health restrictions, and embrace vegetarianism for healthy life. Finally, we provided insights into how faux meat companies can promote their products and transform consumer behavior toward vegetarianism by advertising ethical and environmentally friendly foods, and healthy and anti-obesity foods to moral and health vegetarians, respectively.     

“Seize the Deal,or Return It Losing Your Free Gift”: The Effect of a Gift‐With‐Purchase Promotion on Product Return Intention

The current article sheds light on an important issue in marketing: how marketers can prevent consumers from returning previously purchased goods. This research examines the relationship between a gift‐with‐purchase promotion and consumer product returns, hypothesizing that consumers who purchase products that come with a free gift will be less likely to return the products. Evidence shows that a gift‐with‐purchase promotion reduces consumer product returns and that this relationship is mediated by perceived loss in returning a product. Then, the results indicate that the choice of free gifts reduces product return intention and that this relationship is serially mediated by perceived ownership and perceived loss. The findings further suggest that when consumers with high product involvement can select free gifts among alternatives, they tend to perceive more ownership and loss and thereby are less likely to return the promoted product. Overall, the current research proposes that consumers prefer to seize the deal rather than to return it when they get a gift‐with‐purchase, have a chance to select a free gift, and are highly involved with the product.     

Willingness to act and environmentally conscious consumer behaviour: can prosocial status perceptions help overcome the gap?

Green marketing has not shown expected results in recent years in terms of real changes in behaviours, products and market structures as had been anticipated. Consumer behaviour plays an important role in making these changes happen, and drivers of environmentally conscious consumer behaviour still need to be examined. Concepts of ‘concern’, ‘information about environmental impact’ and ‘willingness to act’ are seen as the key predictors of environmentally conscious consumer behaviours. Although green marketing has been able to address genuinely concerned consumers, additional insights are needed regarding how to appeal to more mainstream consumers. Thus, this paper proposes an extended model of environmentally conscious consumer behaviour in which the gap between willingness to act and actual environmentally friendly consumption is addressed by the moderating role of ‘prosocial status’ perceptions. In the model, ‘concern’ is positively related to ‘willingness’ and both ‘willingness’ and ‘information’ are positively related to ‘behaviour’, while ‘prosocial status’ perceptions moderate ‘behaviour’. The model was verified using a quota sample of 319 general population respondents from a Central European country. According to data, ‘prosocial status’ perceptions increase the positive association between ‘willingness’ and ‘behaviour’ and could be incorporated into green products and advertising to signal personality traits like kindness and intelligence. One possible implication for marketers is that women have a higher average representation in groups of people with high prosocial status perceptions.     

Socio‐demographic basic factors of German customers as predictors for sustainable consumerism regarding foodstuffs and meat products

An important step in promoting sustainable purchase behaviour is to explore the understanding of responsible consumerism from the consumers’ point of view. For this purpose, a study among 1040 German consumers was carried out using a two‐pronged approach. First, open‐ended questions were used to explore the characteristics of sustainable food consumption in general as well as the willingness and meaningfulness of a low‐meat diet from the consumers’ point of view. After that the interactive structure behind the term was studied using a quantitative empirical method. As standard of evaluation the four underlying socio‐demographic factors gender, age, wealth and education are used. Apart from the consumers’ financial situation, the applied statistics show significant correlations of the propensity for sustainable consumerism to each of the above factors. Women, middle‐aged and well‐educated consumers show a greater tendency to purchase environmentally and socially sustainable products. Accordingly, the suitability of socio‐demographic factors is confirmed in this study. The open‐ended questions fathom what attributes consumers connect with sustainable food consumption, in particularly with regard to the consumption of meat. It is clear that attributes that affect consumers directly and attributes which can be directly influenced by their actions are better perceived by the consumer. Altruistic factors or abstract aspects of food consumption (e.g. climate protection) are generally of less significance. Conversely, factors which concern the value added chain, like for example, origin and processing, have priority. To conclude, the findings enable the identification of the variables determining the sustainability construct. This allows policy makers to develop customized incentive systems. Similarly, private sector stakeholders are enabled to adapt marketing activities and their product mix to consumer demands.     

Vaping Viewpoints: A Multi‐Segment Understanding of E‐Cigarette Risk Perceptions

Electronic cigarettes (e‐cigarettes) are battery‐operated devices used to deliver nicotine by vapor and are positioned as a safer alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes. As a recent entrant to the market, little is known about how consumers perceive the health risks of these devices, raising the question of whether consumers are making informed product adoption and use choices. Study 1 evaluates different consumer usage segments (vapers, smokers, dual users, and nonusers) in terms of their level of perceived risk. Study 2 examines how different groups of consumers' risk perceptions are influenced by on‐ad warning labels. Results show that vapers operate as a distinct consumer segment with lower perceptions of harm than other segments, although illustrate greater likelihood to respond to health messaging and on‐ad warning information.     

Green intentions under the blue flag: Exploring differences in EU consumers’ willingness to pay more for environmentally‐friendly products

Recent research on consumer social responsibility highlights the need to examine psychological drivers of environmentally‐friendly consumption choices in a global context. This article investigates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) more for environmentally‐friendly products across 28 European Union (EU) countries, using a sample of 21,514 consumers. A multigroup structural equation modeling analysis reveals significantly different patterns and relationships, in how (a) subjective knowledge about the product's environmental impact, (b) environmental product attitudes, and (c) the perceived importance of the products’ environmental impact influence consumers’ WTP more for environmentally‐friendly products across countries. The hypothesized model predicts WTP for 20 out of 28 countries and the findings show that a “one‐size‐fits‐all” approach is inadequate in capturing the heterogeneity of EU consumers. Hosfstede's cultural dimensions of uncertainty tolerance and individualism explain differences in WTP for environmentally‐friendly products across EU countries. Business, marketing communications, and policy making implications are discussed.     

Dialectical mind can be sweet toward crisis‐associated products/brands

Consumers’ thinking style (e.g., dialectical thinking), which is fundamental to cognition, has been paid inadequate attention in the consumer literature. This research explores the impact of dialectical thinking on Chinese consumer responses toward crisis‐associated products/brands. Findings in three experimental studies indicate that, in comparison to those primed with nondialectical thinking, consumers primed with dialectical thinking report higher levels of purchase intention and trust for a crisis‐associated product/brand. This is the case not just for products with Chinese cultural background, but also for products with western cultural background. Consumers’ perceived severity of crises moderates the impact of dialectical thinking, with a stronger impact in a highly severe crisis situation than in a less severe one. A survey study indicates a similar pattern. These findings are important in suggesting ways of encouraging Chinese consumers to be insistent on quality standard in order to better protect their consumer rights, and moreover, for multinational corporations on how best to respond and formulate strategies of handling product‐harm crises in the Chinese market.     

With the best of intentions: a large sample test of the intention‐behaviour gap in pro‐environmental consumer behaviour

Many consumers intend to make pro‐environmental purchases; however, this is not always what occurs. A gap exists between consumer intentions to purchase environmentally friendly products and their actual purchase behaviour. The current study uses a large sample of Australian consumers (N = 772) to test Carrington, Neville and Whitwell's (2010) conceptual model of the intention‐behaviour gap. Responses showed that implementation intentions mediated the relationship between intention and pro‐environmental consumer behaviour. Behavioural control and environmental involvement were found to moderate the relationship between implementation intentions and behaviour. Shopping context was found to moderate the relationship between intention and implementation intentions. The findings have theoretical implications for furthering understanding of pro‐environmental consumer behaviour, and practical implications regarding how to generate socially beneficial behaviours.     

Effect of consumer self‐confidence on information search and dissemination: Mediating role of subjective knowledge

Consumers search for information about products to make a satisfactory purchase decision and gain knowledge about new features and updates. Consumers also use this knowledge to be vocal about their product experience because several consumers seek interpersonal recommendations. This phenomenon has contributed to the emergence of information search (IS) and information dissemination (ID) as a key research area in the field of consumer behaviour. However, the role of personal factors such as consumer self‐confidence and subjective knowledge has received little attention in the extant IS and ID literature. The major argument of this study is that information acquisition confidence and social outcome confidence enhance subjective knowledge and consequently increase the will of consumers to search and disseminate information in the context of smartphone buyers in India. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the proposed hypotheses using a convenience sample of 259 consumers obtained through a cross‐sectional survey. The study shows that subjective knowledge is crucial in strengthening the association between consumer self‐confidence and consumer intention for IS and ID. Additionally, enhancing consumer’s social outcome confidence contributes towards high subjective knowledge and consequently accelerates information dissemination. Results suggest that firms could focus on enhancing the social outcome confidence and subjective knowledge of consumers to motivate them to disseminate information. The results also show that consumers with high confidence in information acquisition ability have the high subjective knowledge and are more likely to search for information. Overall, this study contributes to the emerging literature regarding the role of personal factors in IS and dissemination behaviour.     

Revised CSI and Australian consumers: incorporating ‘innovation’ and ‘automobile purchases’

The first objective of this study was to identify Australian consumers' decision-making styles for automobile purchases. Second, adding an innovation consciousness scale to the original consumer styles inventory (CSI) to assess Australian consumers' car purchase behaviour. Based on a sample of 214 respondents from Australian automobile consumers, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on Sproles and Kendall's (1986) CSI adapted for automobile purchases. As such, the validity of the CSI in the context of high-involvement purchases was tested. The results found that only two factors, ‘brand’ and ‘habitual consciousness’, of the original model were retained and other factors such as ‘investigation process’, ‘information search’, ‘value within budget’ and ‘innovation consciousness’ factors were confirmed for automobile purchase decision-making styles. ‘Innovation consciousness’ was proven to be one of the most reliable and valuable scales for automobile purchase decision-making styles in relation to Australian consumers. The paper also discusses suitable marketing strategies for automobile consumers in Australia. The current research should prove valuable not only to academic researchers but also to automobile companies/managers. The findings will also provide insight into how automobile companies could position themselves with respect to their marketing strategies in Australia.     

Decision Making by Low‐Literacy Consumers in the Presence of Point‐of‐Purchase Information

Low‐literacy consumers face disadvantages when making product choices. This article presents the results of two studies designed to explore differences in decision‐making behavior across consumer literacy levels, focusing on consumers’ ability to evaluate information in print ads and product packaging. The authors demonstrate that the presence of a visual decision aid at the point of purchase can improve choice for low‐literacy consumers.     

Effects of Lightness‐Location Congruency on Consumers’ Purchase Decision‐Making

A considerable body of psychological and neuroscientific research has demonstrated the existence of robust sensory correspondences between various features, attributes, or dimensions of experience in different sensory modalities. Despite findings indicating the importance of sensory correspondences to human information processing, research on purchase decision‐making has not to date focused sufficiently on this phenomenon. The present study examines how the lightness of packaging colors, and the location of products on a display shelf interact to affect consumers’ purchase decision‐making via perceived visual heaviness. As predicted, a display with light (dark) colored products positioned in the upper (lower) shelf positions increases shoppers’ perceptual fluency and facilitates their visual search, thus leading to the suggestion that “light” (heavy) locations are most appropriate for light (dark) colored products. Moreover, the lightness‐location congruent display is shown to influence people's choice behavior positively as well. This research also demonstrates that when consumers consider the lightness (in terms of their weight) of the products, they are more likely to choose light (vs. dark) colored products located in the upper shelf positions. These results therefore demonstrate that consumers’ purchase decision‐making may be promoted by in‐store environments designed to be congruent with their sensory correspondences.     

Foods produced using biotechnology: how does the law protect consumers?

This paper addresses the following subjects: biotechnology and consumers, concern about risks, consumer acceptance, labelling of foods produced using biotechnology, the legal approach to consumer protection, and consumer protection policies relating to biotechnology products in the European Union, the United States, Turkey and global institutions such as the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It is likely that biotechnology will gain ground much more rapidly in the twenty‐first century than in the past. Despite rapid, detailed and precise advances in gene technology, its applications have not been the received with a great deal of consumer enthusiasm. Consumers have approached genetically modified foods with considerable apprehension and opposition. Consumer concerns about bioengineered food products focus on the questions of human health, environmental and social risks and benefits. The most important stages in the process of marketing new foods produced using biotechnology are to demonstrate user need and consumer acceptance. Generally, the technical complexity of biotechnology makes it difficult for consumers to understand details of the product and the specific attributes of biotechnology applications. Scientific uncertainty, the nature of consumer concerns and general reluctance to accept biotechnology products, increase the importance of consumer protection. Legal protection is a very important factor in the solution of new social problems related to technological advances. More specifically, consumer and environmental law support consumer protection related to foods produced with biotechnology. The basic principles of consumer law can be re‐formulated as consumer rights. Environmental law is a new phenomenon, but precautionary principles and public participation in decision‐making for environmental law are relevant to consumer protection relating to bioengineered food products.