Actual Purchase Behavior Research Articles

The Promising Effect of a Green Food Label in the New Online Market

Although public interest in sustainable and safer products have steadily risen worldwide, research has shown a difference between consumer’s willingness to purchase, and actual purchasing behavior, for which two main explanations exist, including a lack of accessibility and a poor knowledge of related attributes. Fortunately, the emergence of online food markets may improve this situation through convenient accessibility to sustainable food and detailed description about sustainability labels. This research uses a hedonic price analysis to compare the price premiums for the sustainability attribute in Chinese online and offline markets, using edible oil as a case. The specific objective is to test the different values of a sustainable attribute, a green food label, in two types of markets. Results show that the green food attribute could gain a price premium in the online market but not in the offline market, indicating the importance of the online channel for sustainable food sale in China. A big price mechanism difference between online and offline markets is also found, with regard to attributes of production method, variety, place of origin, packaging, and discount. These results provide a guide for firms’ pricing strategies in online and offline markets.

Unravelling the attitude-behaviour gap paradox for sustainable food consumption: Insight from the UK apple market

The remarkable progress made by the sustainable food industry as compared to the persistent small market share it holds, presents attitude-behaviour gap paradox which existing research is yet to address. The paper attempts to resolve this conundrum by addressing two key research objectives: Firstly, we draw on Campbell's paradigm to develop a sustainable product purchase behaviour model by conceptualising and measuring behavioural difficulties in terms of behavioural inhibitors/promoters, which includes Past Purchase, Premium Pricing, and Product Availability and Product Variety barriers. Further to this, we establish the exact role of purchase behavioural inhibitors/promoters from the point of view of Campbell's paradigm. This is achieved through analyses of actual behaviour data consisting of loyalty card data in the UK with a sample size of 1.8 million customers and supermarket shopper till receipt data in the UK. Evidence from the study established the existence of a sustainable product purchase inhibitor and promoter typology, which are critical to sustainable food purchase behaviour, but their degree of influence differ significantly. Our study subsequently, validates the Campbell's paradigm theory since we were able to establish using the actual purchase behaviour data that indeed, the purchase inhibitors are what causes the so-called gap between claimed purchase behaviour and actual purchase behaviour. The study further highlights theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.

Consumer Buying behavior of Organic food Products in India Through the Lens of Planned Behavior Theory

To investigate the consumer's decision making process for organic food products by empirically extending the theory of planned behavior for the organic food products consumption in India. Researchers surveyed 188 respondents from Delhi NCT region. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Partial Least Square-Regression, using SPSS, Jamovi, and Smart PLS.2 respectively in this study for analysis. The model explained in this paper had moderately significant coefficient of determination, high predictive relevance, and high goodness of fit index. This paper has practical as well as theoretical implication as it gives researchers a scope of extension and modification of Theory of Planned Behavior in organic food consumption behavior of Indian Consumers. This paper informs marketers that accessibility plays a key role in governing attitude towards purchase behavior and in turn indirectly to the actual purchase behavior. The study also studied the effect of age and income on the actual buying behavior.

Analyzing the Antecedents of Duty Free Consumption Behavior

Consumers’ duty free shopping represents an under-researched consumption behavior with far reaching economic and marketing implications. This study explores the extent to which personality trait impulsiveness, shopping enjoyment, and price prestige, mediated by shopping involvement and the perception of duty free shops influences buying intentions and actual buying in duty free shops. A convenience sample of 196 Israeli adults inIsrael’s Ben-Gurion International airport was used. A structural equation model was used to analyze the relationships among the model’s variables. The model supports the positive impact of trait impulsiveness, shopping enjoyment, and price prestige on shopping involvement and perception of duty free shops. In addition, shopping involvement and duty- free shops perception enhanced buying intentions, which, in turn, increased several indicators of actual buying behavior. This paper contributes to the socio-psychology and marketing literatures by developing and testing an integrative model. It further provides implications for marketing managers and salespeople.

Analysis on Consumers’ Purchase and Shopping Well-Being in Online Shopping Carnivals with Two Motivational Dimensions

The development of online shopping carnivals (OSCs) is in full bloom due to the support of logistics industry and information technology. More and more people are keen to participate in them. This study contributes to literature by exploring the role of motivational factors (based on utilitarian and hedonic shopping values dimension) of the intention to participate in the actual purchase behavior of consumers and their shopping well-being in OSC. A model is developed and tested to explain consumers’ shopping process in the context of OSC. Results show that hedonic shopping values are primarily influenced by entertainment construct, and utilitarian shopping values are positively related to monetary saving, selection, and convenience. Furthermore, the correlation between hedonic shopping value and intention to participate is higher than that between utilitarian shopping value and intention to participate. The findings indicate that intention to participate in OSC exerts a stronger influence on shopping well-being than the effect on actual purchases.

Consumers’ anti-consumption behavior toward organic food purchase: an analysis using SEM

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting anti-consumption behavior of the consumers toward organic food purchase: in particular, how do individual beliefs about trustworthiness of organic foods, normative structure of social pressure and self-efficacy affect individual intentions to make organic food purchases and actual purchasing behavior? To answer this question, a theoretical framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as its foundation has been established. Using measurement scales in order to measure different aspects of trustworthiness, normative structure, self-efficacy, attitude, perceived behavioral control (PBC) and subjective norms, a survey instrument has been developed to examine the several associations implied by the model of TPB.Design/methodology/approachIn doing so, data on a structured questionnaire were collected from various parts of a city based on convenience random sampling procedure. The respondents were interviewed face-to-face to collect information on a structured questionnaire. Data (n=337) were analyzed using a research framework formulated based on the TPB through the structural equation modeling procedure.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that among the seven independent variables of trustworthiness, normative structure, self-efficacy, attitude, subjective norm and PBC, only subjective norm has not been statistically significant to influence organic food purchase behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThe result implies that various sociopolitical forces and skewed monthly incomes are inhibiting the consumers (anti-consumption) to increasingly buy the organic food products.Practical implicationsIn this regard, government, policy planners, academia as well as media have profound roles to play to encourage people to buy more organic food for their health safety and overall consumer well-being.Originality/valueThis research is based on primary data collected from the respondents of a sub-urban areas of a metropolitan city. The findings will help formulate a sound food policy for ensuring social well-being of the consumers.

Environmental Sustainability in Consumers’ Food Choices: An Empirical Study

With growing concern about ecological safety and resource optimisation, both industry and consumers are becoming conscious in making sustainable decisions. Through integrated supply chain practices, ecologically safe product attributes, lean manufacturing practices and focussed sales and marketing strategies, a sustainable Agro-Food ecosystem can be established. Out of the three spheres of sustainability, environmental factors are prioritised over economic and social/ethical parameters and it has been widely recognised by now. As role of consumer is as critical as of industry, efforts are being made on both the parts to achieve environmental sustainability. Present study has been carried out to examine consumer understanding about environmental sustainability and what priority concerns of environment are taken into consideration by consumer while making sustainable food choices. For this purpose, survey data was collected from 369 Indian consumers thorough a structured questionnaire. Results indicated lower level of concern towards among consumers’ over-exploitation of marine resources whereas air pollution through carbon emission was regarded as most important concern in environmental concern parameter followed by scarcity of water. When product information is displayed, consumer purchasing behaviour showed that overall environmental friendliness of the products is preferred after single environmental attributes of recyclable and organic claim of the product. The results imply that environmental preference plays moderate role in consumer food purchasing decisions and future scope depends on the extent to which consumer general concern about environmental sustainability reflects in their actual buying behaviour. This study can support connecting the ecological concept more deeply with sustainability and can serve as a guide for environmental managers.

Does privacy assurance on social commerce sites matter to millennials?

Social commerce (s-commerce) has become increasingly impactful to e-commerce and has generated potential economic benefits. With the rise of online privacy concerns, we have seen the need to explain how concerns about privacy affect consumers’ social interaction behavior and purchase decision-making on s-commerce sites. Synthesizing the privacy-trust-behavioral intention (PTB) and consumer decision-making models, this study proposes a comprehensive model by specifically refining its privacy and trust from an institutional perspective and investigating the influences of social interaction on purchase intention and actual purchase behaviors. Our results found that institutional privacy assurance positively influences institutional-based trust, which, in turn, affects online social interactions, and consequently increases the likelihood of product purchases on s-commerce sites. Theoretical development of this research contributes to both marketing and information systems disciplines in the social media era.

Consumer familiarity, ambiguity tolerance, and purchase behavior toward remanufactured products: The implications for remanufacturers

AbstractRemanufacturing plays an important role in reducing energy consumption and material usage. The present research attempted to understand consumers' perceptions of remanufactured products in China and their resulting purchase behavior. The study uses the theory of planned behavior as its theoretical framework but extends it by incorporating two additional variables (consumer familiarity and ambiguity tolerance). Data was collected using a self‐administered questionnaire survey and analyzed with structural equation modeling. According to the survey findings, consumer familiarity positively affects consumer attitude but negatively affects consumer intention to purchase remanufactured products. Ambiguity tolerance positively affects attitude and purchase intention. Meanwhile, consumer attitude and perceived behavioral control are both positively and significantly related to purchase intention. However, the subjective norm has no significant effect on purchase intention. This study also demonstrated the positive effect of purchase intention on actual purchase behavior. Based on the research findings, practical guidelines are given for remanufacturers to motivate consumers to purchase remanufactured products.

Are green consumers really green? Exploring the factors behind the actual consumption of organic food products

AbstractThe increasing interest in sustainable consumption has lead several scholars to investigate the determinants that drive the consumption of organic food. Most of this research is based on consumers' self‐reports of their purchasing behavior by exploring declared behavioral intentions. There is a lack of understanding concerning the determinants of organic food consumption based on actual purchasing behavior. To fill this gap, this study is based on a combination of actual purchasing data and self‐reported data from a sample of 79 Italian consumers. The determinants of organic food consumption are explored by analyzing the effects of subjective norms, attitude, perceived behavioral control, intention to buy, organic knowledge, and health consciousness on actual purchasing behavior. Our results suggest that actual purchasing behavior is positively influenced by intention to buy and negatively by subjective norms. Although attitude towards buying organics is positively affected by health consciousness and perceived behavioral control, consumer knowledge about organics is found to influence purchase intentions. Theoretical and managerial implications, along with avenues for future research, are discussed.

Predicting Purchase Behavior of Website Audiences

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes a methodological framework that extends the advantages of behavioral targeting while preserving the privacy of the individual. Instead of profiling individual users according to their general interests, we profile website audiences according to their online purchase behavior. This presents a trade-off between looser, aggregate audience profiling and deeper understanding of actual purchase behavior, the holy grail of online advertising. Our framework is based on the analysis of raw clickstream data of Web users who explicitly agreed to participate in an online audience panel. We experiment with data collected by an online analytics company, SimilarWeb, which consists of 3,463,796 records of online purchases and 1.1 billion records of Website visits. We train a multilabeled classification model on the clickstream of panel members with distinctive online purchase profiles to predict the purchase potential of the entire panel. We aggregate the individual purchase behavior profiles (both ground-truth and predicted) into purchase behavior profiles of Web domain audiences and test the resulting methodology on 3,408 Web domains, with very promising results. If privacy-related regulation tightens up in the near future, the proposed panel-based, purchase-focused ad targeting mechanism might be the panacea for online advertisers.

Gender effects on consumers’ symbolic and hedonic preferences and actual clothing consumption in the Czech Republic

AbstractDuring the last decade or so consumer products have become more divided by gender than ever before. These changes in marketing practices are likely to introduce, alter or increase any existing gender differences regarding consumers’ product preferences and actual consumption. This is a very timely study examining how gender relates to consumers’ interest in clothing artefacts and their preferences for the self‐ and social‐symbolic and hedonic meanings of clothing. The influence of gender on actual purchase behaviour towards clothing is also explored. The proposed hypotheses are tested on a large‐scale sample of some 1,000+ respondents drawn in the Czech Republic. Using analysis of variance tests, gender differences were found with regard to all but one consumer behaviour phenomenon. No gender effect was found only regarding consumer preference for clothing affiliation symbolism. The study contributes to the theoretical development and empirical evidence in the field of gendered symbolic and hedonic consumption of clothing artefacts. Its findings also suggest possible actions by fashion marketers, as well as some interesting venues for future research.

Benefitting a few at the expense of many? Exclusive promotions and their impact on untargeted customers

It has been a widely held notion that firms can benefit from using preferential treatment in their customer relationship management strategies. For example, many firms provide select customers (i.e., recipients) with exclusive promotional offers that they purposefully do not extend to other customers (i.e., non-recipients). However, today’s empowered consumers are more socially aware than ever of such divisive practices (via social media, deal websites, etc.), and firms must now better account for the negative backlash from non-recipients that may ensue. In this research, we conceptually define exclusive promotions and outline how they differ from other more heavily-studied customer prioritization tools. We then take a divergent approach from the majority of the extant literature by focusing primarily on how and why non-recipients (rather than recipients) respond to exclusive promotions. Study 1a findings reveal that non-recipients have negative attitudes toward exclusive promotions, as well as negative attitudes and lower patronage intentions toward the firm using them. Perceived social exclusion was shown to underlie these unfavorable responses. In Study 1b, we rule out an alternative equity-based explanation of our findings by assessing loyalty to the firm as a potential moderator. We then extend our investigation to a field setting in Studies 2 and 3. There we replicate our Study 1a results, and assess consumers’ actual purchasing behavior in response to a real exclusive offer for enhanced generalizability. Lastly, in Studies 4 and 5 we empirically test two strategies that firms can potentially use to mitigate the negative effects of exclusive promotions documented here.

TESTING THE INFLUENCE OF INERTIA ON POST-RECOVERY BEHAVIOR

During the last decade, customer complaint management received considerable attention in marketing literature, e.g., researchers examined the consequences of a negative incident on customer attitudes towards the provider and the associated behavioral intention such as self-reported repurchase intentions ( e.g. Evanschitzky, Brock, and Blut, 2011; Smith and Bolton, 2002; van Doorn and Verhoef, 2008). However, this stream of research has not examined actual purchase behavior after the complaint (e.g., de Matos, Henrique, and Rossi, 2007). Hence, it is unclear whether service recovery only affects self-reported outcomes (i.e., purchase intention) or actual purchase behavior. Moreover, recent research has indicated that customer inertia explains a large proportion of the variance of a customer’s repurchase behavior (e.g. van Doorn and Verhoef, 2008). So far, no research has assessed the impact of inertia in the service recovery context. It is indicated that the relationship between the provider and the customer is strongly affected by the service failure (van Doorn and Verhoef, 2008), but as of now, the role of past behavior has not been investigated. This study contributes to the complaint management literature by (1) analyzing the effects of service recovery on actual purchase behavior after recovery and (2) by assessing the role of inertia in situations of service recovery. Results indicate that complaint satisfaction has a significant positive impact on post complaining purchase behavior while overall satisfaction has no such effect. Furthermore, past purchase behavior has the strongest impact; thus, inertia plays a substantial role in complaint management.

The Effect of a Political Conflict on Young Chinese Consumers’ Boycott Behaviour: The Case of U.S.-China Trade Dispute

본 연구에서는 중국의 젊은층 소비자를 대상으로 미국 의류-화장품 및 맥도날드 소비행위에 대한 설문조사 결과를 활용하여 미중 간의 무역정책 관련 정치적 갈등이 미국 제품 소비에 미치는 효과를 이중차이(difference-in-difference: DID) 방법을 통해 분석함으로써, 정치적 이슈가 중국 소비자의 미국 상품에 대한 구매거부 (boycott) 행위에 미치는 효과를 분석한다. 분석 결과 미중 간의 무역마찰은 중국의 젊은층 소비자들의 미국 의류-화장품 및 맥도날드에 대한 소비를 감소시키는 경향이 있음을 확인할 수 있었다. 또한 이러한 미국제품에 대한 소비감소는 단순히 중국 정부의 직간접적 소비규제에 의해서만이 아니라 자발적으로도 이루어지고 있다는 점도 확인할 수 있었다. 특히 미중 무역마찰이 전반적으로 맥도날드 구매횟수를 유의하게 감소시키지는 않지만 평소 미국에 적대감이 강했던 집단에 대해서는 평균구매금액을 감소시켜 미국 대표브랜드로서의 영향과 글로벌 브랜드로서의 영향이라는 이중성을 가지고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구의 결과들은 중국과의 정치적 갈등에 직면했을 때 대처할 방안을 제시할 수 있는 기초 자료를 제공한다는 점에서 그 의의가 있다. 무엇보다도 실제 소비행위와 관련한 응답자료를 통해 DID 분석을 수행함으로써 단순히 구매의도만을 활용하여 정치적 갈등의 구매거부 효과를 분석한 선행연구들 및 실제 거래자료만을 활용하여 분석한 선행연구들이 가지고 있는 정부 개입 효과 분리의 한계를 극복했다는 점에서도 그 학술적 기여를 찾아 볼 수 있겠다.In this study, we investigate the effect of a political conflict between U.S. and China around the trade disputes on young Chinese consumers’ purchasing behaviour of U.S. clothes and cosmetics. We find from a difference-in-difference (DID) analysis of their responses on actual consumption behaviour before and after the political conflict that the political conflict has significantly reduced the purchase of U.S. clothes and cosmetics even when the effect of the direct intervention of China government is controlled. This means that young Chinese are voluntarily willing to reduce consumption of U.S. commodities when China faces a political conflict with U.S. The results of this study could provide basic information on which one can build a way to minimize such a negative economic effect of political conflicts with China. Moreover, this study contributes to the literature in that the effect of political conflict has been investigated and confirmed with the reported actual purchasing behaviour data rather than purchasing intention data that most previous studies adopted, and with important factors affecting the behaviour (e.g., government intervention) being controlled.

Purchasing behaviour of ethnicities: Are they different?

This paper investigates actual purchasing behaviour of different ethnicities. Using a national representative sample of Chinese and Malay households in Malaysia, with their continuous purchases of toothpaste, body wash, packaged tea and plain sweet biscuits recorded over a two-year period of 2011–2012, we found that overall there is significant difference between purchasing frequency distributions of the two ethnic groups. However, after controlling for household size, we found mostly no significant differences between the two groups at small and medium household size, but a significant difference at large household size. We also found that the purchasing frequency distributions of the two ethnic groups are accurately modelled by the negative binomial distribution (NBD). The NBD also accurately predicts future purchasing behaviour of the different ethnic groups, highlighting a new application of Conditional Trend Analysis (CTA) in this context. Since both ethnic groups fit these models well, we suggest they follow the same underlying pattern of buying behaviour in consumer good categories and do not differ due to ethnicity.

Whole Grain Muffin Acceptance by Young Adults.

Adolescents and young adults in the United States do not consume recommended amounts of whole grains. University dining services have opportunities to inform students about whole grains and to offer foods containing blends of whole grains with refined flour to increase daily consumption of these healthful foods. An online survey of university students (n = 100) found that 70% of respondents did not know the proportion of servings of whole grains that should be eaten daily. Mini blueberry muffins containing 50, 75, and 100% white whole wheat flour were served to 50 undergraduate students who rated their liking of the muffins using a nine-point hedonic scale. Respondents liked all muffin formulations similarly for appearance, taste, texture and overall liking. After the whole grain content of each muffin was revealed, 66% of students increased their liking of the muffins containing 100% whole wheat flour. Only half of the students increased their liking for the 75% whole wheat flour muffins, and most students reported no change in liking for the muffins made with the lowest percentage of whole wheat flour. Labeling whole grain foods in university foodservice operations may increase consumption of this food group by some students. Further research with actual purchase behavior is needed.

Me, my family or the public good? Do inter‐role conflicts of consumer–citizens reduce their ethical consumption behaviour?

AbstractThis article examines role stress, especially inter‐role conflicts (IRC), against the background of the consumer–citizen duality. It tests whether consumer–citizen conflicts impair the purchase of ethical food in terms of the ethical intention–behaviour gap. Furthermore, this study examines the potential of eustress arising from citizen–consumer conflicts to enhance actual ethical purchases. Additionally, determinants and moderating conditions of both IRC are tested. A combination of observations of actual purchase behaviour and survey data in a field setting is used to gain insights into role conflict formation and manifestation, arising from the desire to fulfil the demands of two opposing roles: consumer and citizen. The quantitative data are analysed with structural equation modelling to test the hypothesized coherencies simultaneously. Results indicate that stress arises similarly from both IRC. While a positive impact of eustress on purchase behaviour was absent, consumer–citizen role conflicts impede the actual purchase of ethical groceries. The data show that this role conflict derives, for example, from economic demands sent by the consumer role set when a person has ethical buying intentions. Additionally, the identification with the consumer role further amplifies this conflict. The data indicate that consumers instead of citizens should be empowered by marketing practitioners and policy makers, for example by reducing the perception of stress by communicating positive outcomes referring to relevant consumer role set members (e.g., added value for children from purchasing ethically) to stimulate problem–focused coping.

College students' online purchase attitudes and intentions: gender, product type, and risk

This research explores the relationship between gender and hedonically-motivated shopping as well as the effects of product type (i.e., hedonic vs. utilitarian) and gender on online purchase attitudes and intentions. It also explores how consumers' online shopping risk perceptions influence the effects of the relationship between product type and gender on online attitudes and intentions. Results show that female college students in the USA are more likely than male college students in the USA to identify as hedonically-motivated consumers but that these differences do not carry over to product type. Conversely, males are more willing than females to purchase hedonic products online. Gender differences in willingness to buy hedonic products online are mediated by online shopping risk perceptions. Both males and females however view hedonic products as riskier than utilitarian products and are more willing to purchase utilitarian than hedonic products online. The results suggest that marketers need to continue to seek ways to convert females' enjoyment of shopping into actual purchase behaviour. Online marketers need to seek ways to mitigate the risk associated with purchasing hedonic products online.

Practice or preach? The actual purchasing behavior of responsible consumers in mass market

Purpose of the paper : To measure the gap between the propensity towards responsible consumerism and the actual behavior of Italian consumers in real settings. Methodology : We explored the responsible consumerism propensity-behavior gap, taking into consideration a sample of 5.098 Italian consumers and analyzing the most purchased products by the group of 766 consumers that declared a high propensity towards responsible consumerism in the initial part of the survey. Findings : Results confirm the existence of a responsible propensity-behavior gap in real scenarios, since only 37,2% of mostly-purchased products by responsible consumers has a social or environmental label. The analysis of the rationale highlights that purchasing decisions are mainly based on environmental and health-related values, whereas strictly socially-oriented characteristics receive limited attention. Research limits : The study collected data only on Italian consumers and therefore did not allow us to understand the impact of different national cultures on consumers. Practical implications : Since products with pure social or environmental contents target only well-informed consumers, managers should increase consumers’ knowledge around the social and environmental contents of products. If managers want to target a larger share of market, they should develop products that exploit social/environmental characteristics to enhance performance related to traditional attributes. Originality of the paper : The study is one of the first to consider both the propensity and actual behavior of consumers. Second, while previous researches had studied behaviors in experimental, hypothetical or ad-hoc setting, this one is the first that investigates behavior by using data on purchases in real settings regardless of the store.