Determinants of the Demand for Healthy Food: Does Stress Suppress Health Orientation in On-the-go Consumption?

Abstract

Changes in eating habits comprise two major trends: The increasing demand for healthy products, and a stressful pace of life that leads to a growing convenience orientation. We link these trends by investigating whether stress, operationalized as time pressure and irregular daily routines, suppresses health orientation in on-the-go consumption. Based on current literature and qualitative research a structural model was developed and empirically tested. Our results surprisingly show that time pressure fosters health orientation regarding on-the-go consumption. Implications for industry and retailers are derived. The contribution of our re-search is to advance the understanding of consumer behaviour regarding on-the-go consumption.