Systematic Distortion:

Most marketers of food products feel that they know their target market in terms of how customers evaluate their product. Unfortunately, marketers may not know as much as they think the do! For some product groups, consumers may evaluate products and their characteristics differently from what is expected. Consumers may actually distort or bias their evaluation of food products in the marketplace. This article identifies a problem that may be costing marketers of food products thousands or even millions of dollars a year without their knowing it. The results of this study suggest that consumers may distort their evaluation of cereal products on the basis of beliefs about how certain product attributes should go together. Important implications and recommendations are discussed to aid marketers of food products address what is referred to as "systematic distortion."     

Feeding Fido: Changing Consumer Food Preferences Bring Pets to the Table

Consumers increasingly demand premium foods that satisfy particular lifestyle requirements. Simultaneously, premium pet foods lead the $18 billion U.S. pet food market. Using a Heckman two-stage decision model, we investigate the relationship between consumers’ food choices for themselves and food choices for their pets. Premium human food consumers with higher education and incomes are more likely to purchase premium pet food. This study also reveals a surprising age cohort effect: younger consumers are more likely to purchase premium pet food, despite budget constraints. The findings have implications for pet food marketing strategies. They also suggest an expected increase in demand for pet food ingredient transparency and pet food safety policy.     

Understanding consumers’ perceptions of competitive tiers—can perceived risk help?

A review is presented showing the increasing power of multiple grocery retailers from which an argument is developed questioning whether consumers perceive packaged grocery product fields in terms of brands versus own labels versus generics. Consumers’ perceptions of risk are reduced through information search and it is thought that the different search activities between the high and low risk perceivers may explain perceptions of the competitive structure of product fields. For six packaged grocery fields, separately, qualitative research was undertaken to elicit the dimensions consumers use to evaluate competing items. Data was then collected from 829 householders and was subsequently subjected to cluster analysis. Consumers’ perceptions of the competitive structure of product fields differed from marketers’ expectations and brands were always perceived as being distinct from retailer labels. The result did not appear to be influenced by consumers’ perceptions of risk. Reasons for the result are considered, and managerial implications explored.     

Information search behaviour and its determinants: the case of ethical attributes of organic food

Daily decisions on food purchase are known to be undertaken using limited information search. However, when confronted with ‘ethical’ products, consumers often become more involved, and this results in a more extensive search for information. This research focuses on the information search behaviour of European consumers with regard to ethical attributes like animal welfare or environmental aspects of organic food by means of an Information Display Matrix. Row‐wise information search by product characteristics (attributes) was widely preferred over information search by product alternatives (column‐wise). Therefore, information (e.g. in the Internet) should increasingly be provided by attributes. The majority of consumers use simplifying and selective search strategies when looking for information on organic food with additional ethical attributes. Consumers tend to start information search in the top, left hand corner and move towards the bottom, right hand corner. Thus, principal attributes should be placed in the upper left corner and be followed by the next most important and so on when presenting information on an array of different products. Our results show that information search patterns of consumers depend on socio‐demographic characteristics like gender and age and, to a lesser extent, also on attitudes regarding environmental or social aspects of food production. Thus, marketers, particularly those using the Internet, should revise their systems of information provision and focus increasingly on consumers' needs.     

The influence of eco-label knowledge and trust on pro-environmental consumer behaviour in an emerging market

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the negative environmental implications of purchasing goods, which in turn shape their behaviour. Yet, there are indications that consumers do not always act on these concerns, causing an attitude–behaviour gap. For consumers to make ecologically responsible purchases, they need relevant product environmental information. Therefore, marketers and firms are increasingly integrating more detailed environmental information in their offerings, including eco-labels with externally validated information. This study integrates consumers’ knowledge and trust in eco-labels with their environmental knowledge to determine how these affect pro-environmental consumer behaviour (PECB). The findings suggest environmental and eco-label knowledge is positively associated with attitudes towards the environment, and that positive environmental attitudes and trust in eco-labels affect PECB. This implies that firms, policy-makers and accreditation organisations (i.e. labelling) can educate consumers about eco-labels and the environment to increase PECB. Such strategies will also build consumer knowledge and trust in eco-labels, necessary for facilitating PECB.     

Factors affecting farmers market produce prices in Missouri

Produce marketers who participate as farmers market vendors or otherwise directly market their goods should understand not only the location-related characteristics that affect consumer selection of local, fresh produce but also the product attributes that consumers prefer to find in local products. Understanding attribute-price relationships will allow marketers to better plan for value-added marketing opportunities. Using a hedonic pricing model, this study analyzed the influence that product attribute levels have on prices for seven types of produce: sweet corn, tomatoes, cantaloupe, cucumbers, green beans, bell peppers, and zucchini. Based on data collected from Missouri farmers markets, multiple attributes affect produce price variation. In the dataset, one of the strongest effects was exerted by sale location. The importance of this finding is that prices can be collected in a single location and extrapolated to other farmers market locations, which implies reduced search and reporting costs in collecting representative farmers market produce prices. Additionally, a higher weight may increase prices for some types of produce but decrease prices of others after a certain point. Farmers market vendors, as well as other direct marketers, can use attribute pricing information to identify the quality attributes that consumers prefer.     

Perceived preservation format and food preference

The same (chilled) food product was presented to 77 consumers with either a frozen or chilled label. As predicted, liking for the food product was found to be in line with consumer expectation of liking for the different preservation format labels. For example, consumers that expected chilled foods to taste better than frozen reported higher liking for the product with the chilled label, even though actual quality of all products tasted was the same. Contrary to our prediction that tasting similar quality products perceived to be from different preservation formats would bring expectation of liking for those formats closer together, we found consumers who expressed no preference before tasting the products had developed a preference afterwards. We discuss the implication of these results and similarities between the concepts of conditioning, attitude, expectation and preference.     

Do green packages lead to misperceptions? The influence of package colors on consumers’ perceptions of brands with environmental claims

Consumers need accurate information about brands’ environmental impacts to guide their purchase decisions. Researchers have studied consumers’ perceptions of green products and marketers’ environmental claims. Policy makers provide guidelines to minimize deceptiveness of environmental claims. Yet, little attention has been paid to what contextual cues can influence consumers’ judgments of environmental claims and green products. Drawing on conceptual fluency theory, the current research proposes that a color that matches the content of a message makes the information easier to process, thereby increasing the appeal of the message. The authors demonstrate that using the color green on a product’s package can enhance consumers’ perceptions of the brand’s environmental impact. Ironically, this positive effect of green can also lead to consumers’ misperceptions of the brand’s environmental impact if green is used for brands that are not environmentally superior. Implications and suggestions for policy makers, marketers, and consumers are provided.     

Understanding consumption behaviours for fair trade non‐food products: focusing on self‐transcendence and openness to change values

Using the Schwartz value system, this study explored the personal values of consumers related to fair trade product consumption. This study further investigated how the values determine beliefs, attitudes and purchase intentions associated with fair trade non‐food products. Data were collected using an online survey from a random sample of 1824 nationwide consumers. The results of this study revealed that fair trade purchasers show a higher level of self‐transcendence (universalism, benevolence) and openness to change values (self‐direction, stimulation) than non‐purchasers. These values also have positive effects on the formation of beliefs, attitudes and purchase intentions pertaining to fair trade non‐food products. Fair trade purchasers were also found to possess distinctive socio‐demographic characteristics concerning age, education and income. Findings can offer marketers specific information regarding consumers' motivations to purchase fair trade goods, which can improve targeting of products and ultimately increase the business and benefits of fair trade.     

Retailing institutions in developing countries: Determinants of supermarket patronage in Istanbul,Turkey

The extent to which supermarkets can provide solutions to the shortcomings of a developing nation's food retailing system depends on their success in increasing store patronage. This study was designed to identify the determinants of supermarket patronage in Turkey. Consumers who primarily patronized supermarkets were compared with consumers who primarily patronized other food stores in terms of their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, grocery shopping habits and characteristics, and life-style orientations. Some differences between the two groups emerged with respect to their patronage motives, life-style orientations, and product purchase patterns.     

The Color of Choice: The Influence of Presenting Product Information in Color on the Compromise Effect

Consumers often find themselves challenged by the conflicting desires to seek uniqueness versus conformity, and thus seek some degree of balance. In a series of six studies we show that presenting each options’ product-related information in a unique color, as opposed to all product-related information presented in black-on-white, partially satiates the desire for uniqueness, thus amplifying the compromise effect. Consumers facing color presentation formats choose the middle, conforming option more often, yet perceive their choice as more unique. This color effect is not realized if each option's attributes are presented in different colors, but all options use a consistent color scheme, as is often the case in on-line retailing sites such as Amazon.com. Having to justify one's choice moderates the color effect. The practical take-away is that consumers’ choices can be influenced by using unique colors to present option-related product information, a variable that is entirely independent of the options’ performance characteristics. Two field studies confirm this finding, one using a plain background versus a colored background in a product display and the other using product containers that are either in plain white or wrapped in unique colors.     

In the eye of the beholder: Communicating CSR through color in packaging design

Consumers have become much more attentive and demanding about corporate social responsibility (CSR), and companies are now gradually becoming aware that receiving consumer favor could depend on conducting business in a sustainable manner. Moreover, in order to gain returns from their CSR investments, such as company reputation, customer loyalty and customer–company identification, firms must also provide effective communication of their CSR efforts to the consumers. This study explores the potential of packaging color for conveying CSR to consumers, focusing in particular on consumer packaged goods. For this purpose, a quantitative study was conducted on a representative sample of consumers (n = 2000) in the form of a structured questionnaire, administered using face-to-face interviews. Three different stimuli were created through fictitious images of a non-existent brand product. Only the color of the packaging varied, while all the other graphic elements were left unchanged. The results show that, despite the prevailing association of green with the concepts of sustainability and CSR, it is not the most suitable color to clearly and credibly convey a CSR message to consumers. Thus, it is important to examine whether different colors could serve better to improve the clarity and credibility of CSR claims.     

Study of Consumer Preferences in Regard to the Blonde Orange Cv. Washington Navel “Arancia Di Ribera PDO”

Consumers’ attitude and preferences in regard to food ingredients, country of origin, social corporate responsibility toward the environment, and work conditions have changed over the last 10 years. Consumers are getting more educated and therefore more sensitive around cultivation practices in agriculture and food processing, which increases concerns in regard to production practices in agriculture. Several studies have been conducted on consumers’ preferences about quality food, but not with regard to blonde oranges cv. Washington Navel cultivated in southern Italy. This quality fruit is a niche product that achieved the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) certification for high organoleptic properties and fine taste. In this study, by a survey of 400 Italian consumers, we discovered preferences in regard to the cv. Washington Navel PDO (Riberella) attributes and revealed variables that may influence consumers’ purchasing behavior. Cluster analysis, based on respondents’ rates on 20 attributes, revealed preference segmentation. Freshness, taste, and origin were the most important attributes for consumers, following visual appearance and quality/price ratio. In responding to the demands of consumers for quality fresh fruit, information about quality standards and about the Riberella PDO is poor. Therefore, there may be potential to develop specific policies and marketing strategies to product the position in the international market.     

Analysis of Snack Food Purchasing and Consumption Behavior

This exploratory research examines the purchasing and consumption behavior of snack food consumers. A structured questionnaire and intercept interviews were used to collect quantitative data from respondents inside supermarket stores. For marketers, a key contribution of this study is the importance of the price attribute and certain product claims. Sugar and total fat were found to be the most important nutritional factors that consumers consider when making a purchase decision, but it was also found that only around one half of all consumers actually read product labels when purchasing snack foods. Matters of particular concern that are highlighted by this study are that one third of consumers do not consider their snacking behavior to be healthy, and one quarter of consumers choose to snack in secret. This study addressed a number of gaps in current knowledge by identifying the snack food products that are most frequently consumed, the reasons for consuming snacks, whether consumers read snack food product labels, the importance of various attributes and product claims, whether consumers regard their snacking behavior to be healthy, and whether they snack in secret.     

Core Organic Taste: Preferences for Naturalness-Related Sensory Attributes of Organic Food Among European Consumers

Consumers’ preferences for organic food have evolved in recent years, moving from altruistic values to more egoistic buying motivations, such as health promoting or nutritional aspects and sensory properties. Hypothesizing that organic consumers have peculiar preferences for naturalness-related sensory attributes, we developed the concept of the “core organic taste” based on the principles of a wholesome nutrition. This article investigates to what extent the “core organic taste” is relevant across different European countries and its potential relevance for food marketing. A sample of 1,798 organic food consumers was interviewed during 2010–2011 in six European countries. Explorative factor analysis, correlation analysis, ANOVA, and post hoc tests were applied to analyze the data. Results show that the “core organic taste” is not applicable for all countries. Indeed, for most countries only single elements seem to be relevant. However, for Germany and Switzerland the “core organic taste”—representing the first “taste style”—has proven its potential value and points at the need for more research in this field. Depending on the country, product developers and marketers could potentially use different elements of the “core organic taste” to better meet organic consumers’ wishes and expectations. Finally, recommendations and suggestions for practitioners and academia are provided.     

Bernstein,Sidney R. This Makes Sense to Me: An Opinionated Editor Speaks Out. Chicago: Crain, 1976

Abstract

Process tracing data help researchers understand how yellow pages advertisement characteristics influence consumer information processing behavior. In a laboratory experiment eye movement data were collected while consumers chose businesses from telephone directories. Consumers scan listings in alphabetic order. Their scan is not exhaustive. As a result, some ads are never seen. Consumers noticed more than 93% of the quarter-page display ads but only 26% of the plain listings. They perceived color ads before ads without color, noticed more color ads than noncolor ads, and viewed color ads 21% longer than equivalent ads without color. Also, they viewed 42% more bold listings than plain listings. Consumers spent 54% more time viewing ads for businesses they ended up choosing, which demonstrates the importance of attention for subsequent choice behavior.     

Domain-Specific Consumer Involvement in the U.S. Wine Market

An 18-item multidimensional scale was developed to measure wine consumer involvement level impact on behavior and consumption dynamics. Data were collected at wine tasting events in Portland, Oregon, U.S., yielding a final sample size of 101 respondents. Male wine consumers do not display a higher level of involvement with wine as a product than females, and neither do consumers 45 years and older in comparison with younger consumers. Consumers with high education and income levels do not use these as a basis of their involvement level with wine. Price is not more frequently used by low involvement wine drinkers in the wine purchasing decision.     

Brand and consumer engagement behaviors on Facebook brand pages: Let's have a (positive) conversation

This paper examines consumer-brand engagement on social media, focusing on the dynamic interplay between brands and consumers as well as among consumers themselves. In addition to liking and sharing behaviors, we look at what influences consumers to provide feedback to brands by commenting on brand posts, connect with other consumers by replying to their comments and agree with other consumers by liking their comments and replies. Drawing on a large longitudinal dataset from 2740 Facebook brand pages across 25 industries, a multilevel multivariate autoregressive zero-inflated negative binomial model is used to examine how brand post and response behaviors are related to specific consumer engagement behaviors. Results show that the amount of brand posts indirectly affects consumer comments through increased liking and sharing, but with diminishing returns. Liking is key as it increases positive and attenuates negative feedback, whereas sharing is associated with both positive and negative consumer-brand comments. Posting photos and videos encourages liking, with photos having increasing returns. Videos are the only format with a direct positive influence on consumer-brand comments, though with decreasing effect. Brand replies to consumer comments, even delayed ones, have little effect on negative conversations but prompt replies would be more beneficial as they bolster positive consumer comments. Moreover, our findings provide evidence for both a “positivity spiral” and “negativity spiral”, with the negativity spiral stronger than the positivity one. Taken together, these findings shed light on how marketers can stimulate positive conversations between brands and consumers on social media.     

The Impact of Moral Emotions on Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns: A Cross-Cultural Examination

This research was focused on investigating why some consumers might support cause-related marketing campaigns for reasons other than personal benefit by examining the influence of moral emotions and cultural orientation. The authors investigated the extent to which moral emotions operate differently across a cultural variable (US versus Korea) and an individual difference variable (self-construal). A survey method was utilised. Data were collected from a convenience sample of US (n = 180) and Korean (n = 191) undergraduates. Moral emotions significantly influenced purchase intention for a social-cause product. The influence of an ego-focused moral emotion (i.e., pride) on purchase intention was greater for US than Korean participants. The influence of another-focused moral emotion (i.e., guilt) on purchase intention was greater for high-interdependent participants than for low-interdependent participants. The findings of this research provide important and relevant implications to marketers and policy makers in developing persuasive messages and customer relationship programmes.