Nutrition Labels: An Exploratory Study of Consumer Reasons For Nonuse

Studies of consumer usage of nutrition labels required by the Food and Drug Administration have found that usage levels are low. A mailback survey of food shoppers in Madison, Wisconsin was conducted to determine who uses nutrition labels as well as reasons for nonuse. Multiple regression analysis revealed that compared to users, nonusers did not rate themselves as highly on nutrition knowledge, were less likely to plan meals in advance, and were not as highly educated. When asked why they did not use labels, most nonusers said they did not need them, and a sizable group reported their shopping practices pre-empt label usage. Nonusers also felt that a sample label had too much information. When asked to perform computations from sample label information, nonusers were less successful than users. The implications of these findings for nutrition education efforts are discussed.     

Quantity Surcharges on Groceries

A quantity surcharge exists when the unit cost of a given brand is higher for a large package than for a small one. This paper examines some product and household characteristics that influence observed quantity surcharging practices. Results indicate that the propensity to buy a large package of a product is positively influenced by the extent of a household's usage of that product, procurement cost, and carrying capacity and is negatively influenced by the propensity to price search. A retailer's decision to levy a quantity surcharge is, in turn, influenced by demand for the product, the propensity to buy large packages, and to some extent the product's carrying cost.     

Selecting Pesticides and Nonchemical Alternatives: Green Thumbs' Rules of Thumb Decision Tools

This study of a sample of home gardeners indicates that rules of thumb, or heuristics, are used to select between chemical pesticides and nonchemical alternatives. Such rules of thumb serve to simplify otherwise complicated choice decisions. Heuristics commonly used to choose pesticides include how safe, effective, efficacious, and economical they are, whereas for alternative products consumers more often take into account convenience, efficiency, competency, and handiness. Generally, in an overall ranking of 24 individual choice attributes, pesticies rank low on these attributes where alternatives rank high and vice versa. Gender, age, and years using pesticides are significantly correlated with pesticide selection.     

Consumer satisfaction with shopping experiences and clothing products in the children's wear market

This study, utilizing a model of the satisfaction process in retail settings, analysed the relationship between problem disconfirmation and satisfaction with (i) shopping for children's clothing and (ii) the quality of children's clothing. In addition, the effect of shopping satisfaction on product satisfaction was also examined. The sample comprised 957 children's wear consumers from one mid-western state. Factor analysis and ordinary least-squares regression were the statistical techniques used to analyse the data. The results indicate that sizing and fit problems are significantly related to satisfaction with the shopping experience. Product attributes related to the lasting ability of a garment, as well as those specific to infants' wear, were significantly related to satisfaction with product quality. Satisfaction with the shopping experience was also found to affect product satisfaction. These results have tangible implications for apparel marketers.     

The Leasing Puzzle

Prevailing theories in finance and economics suggest that leases and debt are substitutes; an increase in one should led to a compensating decrease in the other. In particular, there are three views on the magnitude of the substitution coefficient. Standard finance theory treats cash flows from lease obligations as equivalent to debt cash flows, thus describing the tradeoff between debt and leases as one-to-one. Others are willing to use a tradeoff of leases for debt which is less than, but close to, one. The rationale for a dollar of leases using less of debt capacity than a dollar of debt obligation is based upon the differences in the terms and nature of lease and debt contracts. Finally, there are some who argue that since leased assets may be firm-specific, the risk of moral hazard may be great, resulting in a tradeoff of greater than one-to-one; that is, a dollar of a lease obligation uses more of debt capacity than a dollar of a debt obligation. A series of empirical tests are performed in this study on samples of approximately 600 firms, covering the years 1976 through 1981, with none of the three views supported by the results. Instead, the results indicate that leases and debt are complements; greater use of debt is associated with a greater use of leasing. This finding reappears consistently for each year, each definition of leverage ratios, and each approach to analysis. This complementary relationship persists even after refinements are made to the estimation technique.     

The children's wear consumer: an investigation of store patronage patterns in the U.S.A.

With a 1991 sales volume of over 820 billion. and recent annual sales increases ranging from 3 to 7%. understanding the patronage patterns of the children's wear consumer is becoming increasingly important to apparel retailers. This study. using responses from 953 midwestern households, analysed differences between shoppers and non-shoppers of seven different types of retail institution: discount store, mass merchandiser, department store, specially store. factory outlet, catalogue order, and used clothing store. Results from t-tests and logistic regression indicated that appearance. performance and functional factors. as well as marital status, education and income are important determinants of store choice. The results suggest the importance of recognizing the benefits sought by consumers when devising marketing strategies targeted towards the children's wear consumer.     

Shelf Registrations and Shareholder Wealth: A Comparison of Shelf and Traditional Equity Offerings

This study examines the effect of issuing common stock on shareholder wealth under two alternative methods of registration, shelf registration under the Securities and Exchange Commission's Rule 415 and the traditional method of registering shares for immediate sale. The stock price reactions accompanying security registrations and offerings over the period from March 1982 through November 1983 are examined for over two hundred issues. A negative price reaction is observed for traditional and shelf registrations for both utility and non-utility issuers. No statistically significant difference is observed between shelf and traditional registrations. Further negative price reactions precede the offerings of these securities.     

Alien finance and the development of the English economy, 1285–13111

The contribution of alien, particularly Italian, investment to the development of the medieval English economy has provoked opposing views which hitherto have had to rely chiefly on customs records and evidence of Italian loans to the state for statistical evidence. These, though, vary in their coverage and do not record the inland trade. This article uses the Statute Merchant certificates of debt from 1285 to analyse changing levels of commercial investment by alien and denizen merchants throughout all areas of the kingdom. It shows that Italian investment was declining from the 1280s in line with falling imports of foreign silver. It discusses the causes of this decline, and the effect on alien and denizen credit of imports of counterfeit sterling coins produced by European mints. It relates these financial developments in England, France, and Flanders to the sequence of events which led to English merchants increasing their numbers and mercantile capital at the beginning of the fourteenth century when they were first able to establish their domination of the country's export trade in wool.