Muslim Consumers’ Halal Product Choice Behaviour: An Eye-Tracking Investigation on Visual Choice Process

Abstract

Halal labelling of a product signals permissibility of the product for Muslim consumers to satisfy Islamic religious dietary prescription and helps choice decision making. Muslim consumers’ product choice decision making is complex because all products are not Halal certified, and some Halal-certified products are manufactured in non-Muslim countries. How Muslim consumers treat these alternatives in their product choice decision making process is hardly reported in the marketing literature. This paper reports preliminary findings of an eye-tracking investigation on Muslim consumers’ visual information processing in product choice behaviour. Findings indicate that Malaysian participants’ eye fixation was more concentrated on Halal logo than other alternative heuristic cues on the product packages, which significantly influenced their buying intention. In contrast, Australian participants’ gaze fixation was more on brand and ingredients over Halal logo, but their buying intention was influenced by Halal labelling. Findings challenge Halal brand categorization in the literature and found Halal labelling as more reliable heuristic cue than other alternative information cues in Muslim consumers’ visual product choice decision making.