Consumer Preference for Sustainable Attributes in Plants: Evidence from Experimental Auctions

Abstract

ABSTRACTExperimental auctions were employed to investigate U.S. and Canadian consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainable attributes in plants. The results show consumers are willing to pay a price premium for energy and water savings in plant production of $0.15 and $0.12, respectively. Consumers are only willing to pay $0.08 more for sustainably labeled product. Latent class segmentation analysis identifies three distinct consumer segments: Import‐Liking, Mainstream, and Eco‐local. Mainstream Consumers were the largest segment and willing to pay only modest premiums for eco‐friendly attributes. Eco‐local consumers comprised 14% of consumers and they were willing to pay the highest amount for the improved production methods and container types, while having the highest willing to pay for local and domestic products. [EconLit citations: D44, M31].