Educating young consumers – a food choice model

It has been acknowledged that it is only by obtaining a more detailed understanding of food choice that people’s diets can be improved. In Northern Ireland, research into food choice has been limited yet the Province has the second highest rate of heart disease in the world, indicating the need for change. This study investigated the food choices of 9‐ to 17‐year‐olds in Northern Ireland and the influential factors. A range of research techniques were employed incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, namely observations, focus groups, picture associations, dietary case studies and questionnaires. The research indicated that the dietary patterns adopted by this group are characterized by a high consumption of fat, yet the reduction of fat tends to dominate the overall strategy for the prevention of obesity and lowering the risk of coronary heart disease. In addition, a high consumption of sugar products was evidenced along with a distinct dislike for healthier alternatives such as fruit and vegetables. The ‘skipping’ of meals, especially breakfast and a high prevalence of snacking was also apparent. However, these eating habits were found to be affected by various factors such as age and gender, emphasizing the complex nature of food choice. The findings from this research enabled the development of a model relating to the food choices of 9‐ to 17‐year‐olds in Northern Ireland, highlighting the influential factors and subsequent health implications.     

Brakes to organic market enlargement in Spain: consumers’ and retailers’ attitudes and willingness to pay

In Spain, consumption of organic products has not kept pace with production. Up till now, foreign markets have been a natural destination for excess supply. However, world trade liberalization might cause important commercial problems to Spanish producers that could be partially solved by enlarging the domestic market. The goal of this paper is to assess the opportunity for such enlargement focusing on two main aspects: consumers’ and retailers’ attitudes and willingness to pay for organic products. Concerns about health, natural diets or environmental issues could stimulate consumption, while retailing dynamism and competition to gain new market segments might favour distribution. Both aspects are investigated through two surveys addressed to consumers and retailers in two Spanish towns. The results confirm that only a small proportion of consumers and distributors show attitudes that might favour demand expansion. The most sensitized segments are willing to pay more for organic products, but this premium is still very far from the prevailing gap between conventional and organic food products.     

The “Young” Consumer Perception of Functional Foods in Italy

We analysed the role of acceptance of functional foods (FFs) focusing on the preferences expressed by three distinct groups of young Italian consumers. FFs represent an innovation both in terms of technology and marketing for Italian food companies, and the segment of young consumers would appear especially interested in them. Our results showed that a different cultural education, hence the degree of knowledge cumulated by young consumers, is a key element in the preference for, and perception of FFs. This implies the need to identify differentiated marketing strategies for firms seeking to reach this segment of FF demand in Italy.     

中国绿色食品消费群体市场细分研究——基于修正的食品相关生活方式量表

在中国频繁发生食品安全问题的大环境下,食品安全消费的研究就显得十分重要。文章对西方背景下开发的食品相关生活方式量表进行适合中国市场和文化的修正,并基于修正量表对中国食品消费者进行市场细分,经过两步骤聚类分析得出5个细分市场,分别是“传统居家型”（7.5%）、“保守节约型”（16.6%）、“现代都市型”（19.5%）、“享乐探险型”（23.8%）、“淡漠便利型”（32.6%）,并从中识别出“享乐探险型”“保守节约型”“传统居家型”三个细分市场为绿色食品消费群体,“现代都市型”为潜在绿色食品消费群体,“淡漠便利型”为非绿色食品消费群体,最后根据不同细分市场的特点为绿色食品企业提供营销建议。     

Back to the Future:

Changes in the nation's social climate, the proliferation of different consumer life styles, and changing the consumer needs and expectations explain a good deal about the evolution of store formats-but not all of it. Technological, economic, and competitive factors also play a role. Fortunately, marketing theory provides a number of useful analytical tools for tying these factors together, and this can lead to a better understanding of food retailing's past-as well as future.     

Chinese Luxury Consumers: Motivation,Attitude and Behavior

This study examines Chinese consumers’ motives, attitudes toward luxury brands (ATLB), and the impact of ATLB on consumer behavior. Specifically, Chinese luxury consumers were segmented into three groups: the elitist, the distant, and the democratic. Compared to the democratic group, the more one believes luxury is of good quality, the less likely one will belong to the distant group; the more likely one buys luxury for others, the more likely one belongs to the distant group. The more one buys luxury for self-actualization, the more likely one belongs to the elitist group. The more one consumes luxury for social comparison reasons, the more likely one belongs to the elitist. The more often one buys luxury for special times, the more likely one belongs to the elitist. Results show that the elitist on average bought more pieces of luxury products than the distant and the democratic.     

绿色食品的网络销售探析

文章针对绿色食品网络营销的现状,提供相应的对策。     

消费者绿色食品购买行为分析

绿色食品代表健康、优质的食品,越来越引起消费者的关注。本文运用合理行为理论,分析影响消费者绿色食品消费的主要因素。首先对成都市消费者绿色食品购买行为的实证调查进行描述性分析,然后运用Logistic模型,对影响消费者购买行为的因素进行回归分析。模型回归结果表明,消费者家庭是否有6周岁以下儿童和消费者对绿色食品的安全感知是决定消费者是否购买绿色食品的主要因素。     

The ethical and policy implications of profiling ‘vulnerable’ customers

In the shadow of the global financial crisis, the issue of the marketing of credit has become an increasing concern in the past 12 months. Outstanding personal debt in the UK currently stands at £1479 billion and is rising by £1 million every 10.6 min. In Australia, there is currently $44.6 billion worth of outstanding credit card debt, and in the US, $2596 billion was owed on credit cards in 2008. At present, the banking sector utilizes sophisticated research methods to profile consumers, including those who might be considered financially vulnerable. However, the policy frameworks in most industrialized countries do not account for this form of target marketing when considering how to protect vulnerable groups. This paper is an initial attempt to examine the different methods by which profiling is conducted and the policy implications of this sophisticated form of segmentation and targeting. We argue that current consumer policies are inadequate in protecting vulnerable consumers from these marketing techniques, and recent recommendations from the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, and the Australian Law Reform Commission to allow banks and lenders to ‘pre‐screen’ potential customers will exacerbate personal debt levels, rather than reducing them.