Australian Consumers Research Articles

How big is too big? A qualitative study of discretionary food portion size norms among Australian consumers.

The high availability of energy-dense nutrient-poor discretionary foods in large serving and package sizes may have shifted portion size norms (described as a typical perception of how much people choose to eat from a given food at a single eating occasion) towards larger sizes. Few public health recommendations exist around appropriate discretionary food portion sizes. This qualitative study aimed to explore the underlying rationale of portion size norms of discretionary foods among Australian adults 18-65 years. Four focus group sessions were conducted. Collected data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Focus groups were held online via Zoom between September and October 2023. Thirty-four participants were recruited in the study (mean age 38 years, 19 females). The key themes raised from inductive analysis were personal factors, eating context factors, and food environment factors relevant to the portion size norms. A framework was established to illustrate the interaction across these themes during the conceptualisation of the norms. For serving size availability, consumers found that there were limited serving size choices when making portion size selections and lacked the knowledge and skills in portion control. These findings highlight the need to make positive changes to the current food environment and develop relevant public health guidelines around appropriate portion sizes to promote healthier portion size norms and enable better portion control.

Australian and United States Consumer Acceptance of Beef Brisket Cooked Using the Low and Slow Barbeque Method.

Meat Standards Australia (MSA) sensory protocols have been effectively utilized in beef for international consumers employing several cooking methods. Our objective was to compare the consumer response of Australian and American consumers to paired beef brisket samples utilizing a newly developed low and slow cooking method. Briskets were collected from Australian carcasses with diverse eating quality. Half of the briskets (n = 24) were retained in Australia and their pair was exported to Texas for consumer sensory testing. Naïve consumers (Australia; n = 240) and familiar consumers (USA; n = 240) evaluated paired barbequed briskets for tenderness, juiciness, flavor liking, and overall liking from 0 to 100 using a visual analogue scale, and a weighted composite meat quality score was later calculated. Australian consumers scored briskets lower for tenderness (-4.84 ± 1.70 points) and juiciness (-4.44 ± 1.55 points) and higher for flavor liking (3.48 ± 1.58 points); however, there was no difference between the countries for overall liking (p = 0.75) and combined meat quality score (p = 0.88). Differences between Australian and US consumers' evaluations indicate that there is an impact of cultural background, potentially driven by Australia's naivety to the low and slow barbeque cooking method.

The Last Bite: Exploring behavioural and situational factors influencing leftover food waste in households

Food leftovers are a major contributor to household food waste. However, the drivers of household food leftover management practices are less understood. This study analyses the leftover food management behaviour using the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability framework. A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis was used to empirically test the influence of motivation, opportunity, ability, and competing goals on self-reported leftover food management practices of Australian consumers. The results show consumers’ motivation is strongly associated with leftover food management practices. Particularly, consumers are motivated not to waste food because of negative feelings towards wasting food and understanding the consequences of leftover food waste. Consumer abilities in meal planning, efficient cooking, food inventory management, interpreting expiry dates, and food storage also significantly affected leftover food management in the home. The availability of time, information technology and lifestyle showed a relatively weaker impact on leftover food management. Competing goals of eating healthy, safe, and tasty food and having enough food lower the interest in leftover food management in the home. Understanding the drivers of leftover food management can guide designing interventions to promote behaviour change in preventing leftover waste.

Food provenance assurance and willingness to pay for blockchain data security: A case of Australian consumers

Blockchain technology has properties that improve supply chain transparency, traceability, and accountability, but how important are these security features to the consumer? This study investigates, consumers' willingness to choose and pay a premium for blockchain-certified food products. The major findings of this study are that consumers show positive receptiveness towards blockchain and disfavour unethical food production methods revealing sustainability consciousness guiding their consumption. We find that females place a greater value on food transparency and product labelling verification and are more willing to pay a premium. In addition, the results have important marketing implications according to our choice modeling findings.

Filling the Accountability Gap: Misleading Conduct Law in Business and Human Rights

Abstract This article examines the use of misleading conduct law to challenge false or deceptive business claims about their human rights practices and impacts. It does so in the context of recent developments in the field of business and human rights including the introduction of non-financial reporting, disclosure and human rights due diligence that have seen an increase in business communications about their human rights impacts. The article uses the Protect, Respect and Remedy framework of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to analyse the EU Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices (2005/29) and the Australian Consumer Law. Each prohibit misleading conduct by business. The article argues that, to differing extents, these legislations partially address the accountability gap that has emerged in the context of corporate human rights claims and practices.

Talking About Things Important to Me: Mental Health Consumers' Experiences of Consumer-Rated Measures.

Since 2002, National Outcomes and Casemix Collection of clinician-rated and consumer-rated outcome measures has become part of routine care within Australian clinical mental health services, aiming to ensure that services understand, improve and are accountable for effectiveness of treatment and care provision. Consumer-rated outcome measures, implemented well, support basic human rights of consumers to be asked, heard and included equally in their own care. However, their use has lagged due to clinician inertia, uncertainty about their value to clinical care, assumptions about consumers' capacity to complete the measures and organisational cultural issues that have hampered more holistic assessment, consumer inclusion and care collaboration. Much is known about negative, largely tokenistic use of such measures, poor uptake and dominance of clinical approaches to measurement that privilege clinical expertise; however, little is known about consumers' positive experiences of using consumer-rated measures, Therefore, our aims were as follows: to seek the views and experiences of mental health consumers of using consumer-rated measures in their encounters with clinicians; to understand better whether there were benefits (and if so what) of consumer-rated measures being used in routine mental health practice; to understand how feedback on the use of consumer-rated measures can inform training for mental health staff; and to promote their wider use within mental health services. In-depth interviews conducted with 10 Australian mental health consumers used interview questions co-designed with lived experience and clinical advocates. Descriptive thematic analyses produced four themes emphasising consumers' preferences for completing the measures, the importance of explaining their purpose, how the process validated their feelings and was an opportunity for self-reflection, sense-making, trust-building, and transparency in the encounter and empowerment. This research offers recommendations about the value of effective implementation of consumer-rated measures.

Parching for Principle: Hotel Boycotts in Regional Australia, 1901–20

This article serves as the first in-depth study of the nature, dynamics and growth of a set of consumer boycotts in early twentieth-century Australia. Labelled “beer strikes,” these targeted hotels over issues such as the price and quality of alcohol, food and accommodation, as well as the treatment of staff. The article examines how campaigners created and adapted a body of tactics and forms of organisation between 1901 and 1920, to the point where beer strikes became an established and recurring form of contestation. Identifying beer strikes as a primarily regional tactic, it also sheds new light on consumer activism outside of cities. It finds that beer strikes had continuities with other forms of working-class activism: making use of methods of organisation rooted in unions and in labour politics, and drawing on modern adaptions of ideas concerning “fair” prices and rightful compensation for work. It demonstrates that boycotts played a greater role in Australian working-class distributive and consumer struggles than has been previously acknowledged.

Exploring the factors impacting choice and quality of overnight private hospital stays and consumer perspectives on patient reported experience measures (PREMs) in Australia: a qualitative interview study

ObjectivesPatient reported experience measures (PREMs) are tools often utilised in hospitals to support quality improvements and to provide objective feedback on care experiences. Less commonly PREMs can be used to support consumers choices in their hospital care. Little is known about the experience and views of the Australian consumer regarding PREMs nor the considerations these consumers have when they need to make decisions about attending hospital. This study aimed to explore consumer awareness of PREMs, consumer attitudes towards PREMs and the utility of PREMs as a decision-making tool in accessing hospital care.MethodsQualitative study involving semi-structured interviews conducted over the phone. Participants (n = 40) were recruited from across Australia and purposively sampled according to key characteristics: holding private health insurance, > 30-years of age, may have accessed private hospital care in the past year, variety of educational and cultural backgrounds, and if urban or rural residing. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically.ResultsFour overarching themes and six subthemes were identified from the data. Major findings were that prior awareness of PREMs was limited; however, many had filled in a PREM either for themselves or for someone they cared for following a hospital stay. Most respondents preferred to listen to experience of self or family/friends or the recommendation of their physician when choosing a hospital to attend. Participants appeared to be more interested in the treating clinician than the hospital with this clinician often dictating the hospital or hospital options. If provided choice in hospital, issues of additional costs, timeliness of treatment and location were important factors.ConclusionWhile PREMs were considered a possible tool to assist in hospital decision-making process, previous hospital experiences, the doctor and knowing up-front cost are an overriding consideration for consumers when choosing their hospital. Consideration to format and presentation of PREMs data is needed to facilitate understanding and allow meaningful comparisons. Future research could examine the considerations of those consumers who primarily access public healthcare facilities and how to improve the utility of PREMs.

Sustainable food choices require product-specific environmental footprints: The case of packaged food in Australia

The current food system is a major driver of global environmental change. Despite significant research interest in the environmental impacts of alternative diets, most studies estimate the effects of dietary shifts based on assumed changes in the consumption of raw agricultural commodities instead of simulating changes in the actual food and beverages consumed. In response to increasing consumer demand for product-specific health and sustainability labelling on packaged food products, it is necessary to develop robust environmental footprinting approaches to estimate the environmental impacts of foods and beverages available through retail outlets. This study quantifies the environmental impacts of 63,926 packaged food products in Australian supermarkets across five indicators including greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, acidification, and eutrophication potential. We integrated cradle-to-retail environmental estimates from life cycle assessment databases with ingredient proportions derived through a linear programming algorithm to measure product-specific impacts. Meat products consistently showed the highest impacts across all environmental indicators, while fruits, vegetables, plant-based meat alternatives, and non-alcoholic beverages had the lowest impacts. This study also shows that the dietary environmental footprints of Australian consumers can be significantly reduced by switching from high-impact to low-impact products within the same food category (e.g., meat products). Transitioning from high-impact to low-impact products across all food categories could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 96 %, with synergies across all other environmental indicators. The comprehensive results of this study can empower consumers, producers, and governments to identify context-specific opportunities for improving food system sustainability in Australia.

The food you can trust: The moderating role of age in the relationship between consumer values and organic food trust

With no universal definition for organic or sustainability label claims on food products, it is challenging for shoppers to know which organic produce to trust. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of consumer trust is critical and instrumental in encouraging sustainable buying choices. We operationalize consumer trust in organic food as encompassing cognitive particularized trust and affective anonymous trust. We test how the relationship between consumer values and trust varies in conjunction with previous organic food consumption experience and consumer age on a sample of 1011 Australian consumers. The findings reveal that values related to self-symbolism and self-transcendence are positively associated with trust, whereas values related to security and openness to change show no relationship with trust. Furthermore, it was found that consumer age strengthens the consumer values–trust link in the case of self-symbolic and security values.

Health consumers' ethical concerns towards artificial intelligence in Australian emergency departments.

To investigate health consumers' ethical concerns towards the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in EDs. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with health consumers, recruited via health consumer networks and community groups, interviews conducted between January and August 2022. We interviewed 28 health consumers about their perceptions towards the ethical use of AI in EDs. The results discussed in this paper highlight the challenges and barriers for the effective and ethical implementation of AI from the perspective of Australian health consumers. Most health consumers are more likely to support AI health tools in EDs if they continue to be involved in the decision-making process. There is considerably more approval of AI tools that support clinical decision-making, as opposed to replacing it. There is mixed sentiment about the acceptability of AI tools influencing clinical decision-making and judgement. Health consumers are mostly supportive of the use of their data to train and develop AI tools but are concerned with who has access. Addressing bias and discrimination in AI is an important consideration for some health consumers. Robust regulation and governance are critical for health consumers to trust and accept the use of AI. Health consumers view AI as an emerging technology that they want to see comprehensively regulated to ensure it functions safely and securely with EDs. Without considerations made for the ethical design, implementation and use of AI technologies, health consumer trust and acceptance in the use of these tools will be limited.

Towards a causal link between food insecurity and buy-now-pay-later use by young Australians

Purpose This paper aims to understand if buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services, a digital type of credit that targets young consumers, acts as a protective or a risk factor for food insecurity among young consumers in Australia. Design/methodology/approach The study uses survey data from a representative sample of young consumers aged 18–24 from all internal states and territories in Australia. Propensity score matching is used to test two hypotheses: BNPL drives young consumers to food insecurity, and food insecurity leads young consumers to use BNPL. Findings There is evidence that BNPL use is driving young Australian consumers to experience food insecurity, but there is no evidence of food insecurity driving the use of BNPL services. Practical implications The evidence of BNPL driving young consumers to experience food insecurity calls for the adoption of practices and stronger regulation to ensure that young users from being overindebted. Originality/value Although the link with more traditional forms of credit (such as personal loans) and consumer wellbeing has been explored more broadly, this project is the first attempt to have causal evidence of the link between BNPL and food insecurity in a high-income country, to the best of the authors’ knowledge. This evidence helps to fill the gap about the protective or risky nature of this type of digital financial product, as experienced by young Australians.

Factors influencing green energy consumer behaviour in Australia

This research explores the factors influencing green energy consumer behaviour in Australia by examining Australian consumers' attitudes towards green energy from the Green Perceived Value (GPV) perspective, which integrates functional, emotional, conditional, and social dimensions. The data was collected through a survey of 380 participants on Amazon Mechanical Turk. This study employs factor analysis and structural equation modelling to report positive attitudes towards green energy. The positive perception is notably centred on its practical benefits, superior quality, and environmental advantages. These findings suggest that marketing strategies should highlight green energy's functional and environmental benefits to encourage consumer adoption. The study underscores the necessity of targeted educational campaigns aimed at younger demographics through digital media and the importance of emphasising green energy's economic and environmental benefits. Also, it recommends leveraging social and emotional value messaging and fostering community engagement to enhance the attractiveness of green energy solutions. Contributing to the discourse on green energy adoption in Australia, this research advocates for inclusive policies that ensure the accessibility and affordability of green energy for a diverse demographic spectrum. It calls for expanded research to further explore the GPV dimensions and include potential consumers in different cultural contexts. It offers a comprehensive framework to support strategies for increasing green energy adoption that are aligned with sustainability objectives.

Measurement properties of the Thai translation of the Recovery Assessment Scale - Domains and Stages (RAS-DS) and comparison of recovery experiences between Thai and Australian consumers living with serious mental illness.

Personal recovery, a western conceptualisation that focuses on hope and living meaningful lives of choice rather than focusing on symptom reduction, is a more recent concept in many Asian countries including Thailand. One way to promote recovery-oriented service delivery is to use outcome measures that capture self-reported personal recovery. This study aimed to evaluate a Thai translation of a self-report measure of mental health recovery, the Recovery Assessment Scale - Domains and Stages (RAS-DS). The study also explored the cultural similarities and differences between Thai (n = 190) and Australian (n = 301) recovery experiences by comparing Thai and Australian participant responses to RAS-DS items. Data were analysed using Rasch analysis. Analyses revealed that the Thai version of the RAS-DS had adequate measurement properties. Cultural comparisons suggested that most aspects contained within the RAS-DS appear to be applicable across both Thai and Australian contexts. Three findings suggest linguistic or cultural differences in Thai and Australian recovery experiences: (i) a ceiling effect for Thai participants, (ii) some items were "harder" or "easier" for one cultural group to endorse than the other, and (iii) a few items were "misfitting" for Thai participants.

Comparing motivations and barriers to reduce meat and adopt protein alternatives amongst meat-eaters in Australia, China and the UK

Motivations are central in determining consumer food choices and provide insights regarding barriers to change. Given the global need to transition towards more sustainable protein consumption patterns, understanding cross-cultural motivations is important. The present research aimed to address this knowledge gap by reviewing motivations to reduce meat and to adopt meat substitutes, edible insects and cultured meat amongst meat-eating consumers in Australia, China and the UK (n = 1,777). An online survey captured the importance of key motivations via closed-ended statements, with barriers to change collected via open-ended questions for extremely unwilling consumers. Results found food safety and environmental benefits to be the most important motives for meat reduction and protein alternatives adoption. Chinese and UK consumers were more motivated by these factors compared to Australian consumers who had the greatest proportion of consumers unwilling to reduce based on the belief meat consumption is necessary for health reasons. Relative differences in motivational importance were also apparent by protein alternative type. In general, the greatest proportion of unwilling responses amongst Australians (n = 245) related to the use of meat substitutes, whilst for Chinese (n = 160) and UK consumers (n = 97) it related to edible insects. Six key themes were identified amongst extremely unwilling consumers, with the protein alternatives being perceived as; Unhealthy, Unnecessary, Unsustainable, Unsafe, Unnatural and Unappealing. The prominence of themes differed between countries and across protein categories, but the perception that alternatives were unnecessary was a communal theme. Overall, the findings provide interesting insights and recommendations to support country-specific protein transitions.

Using Mutation Breeding to Improve the Eating Characteristics of the Fusarium Wilt-Resistant Banana Variety, ‘Goldfinger’ (AAAB)

Banana production in Australia is under threat from Fusarium wilt Tropical Race 4 (TR4), and the option of growing a disease-resistant variety is sought after by many farmers. Goldfinger is one such alternative; however, it was previously rejected by Australian consumers. In Phase I of this investigation, mutagenesis was employed as a practical method to generate large numbers of novel variants. In Phase II, 631 variants were established in a field trial where agronomic and postharvest assessments, including taste-testing, identified 20 improved selections. Phase III involved a replicated field evaluation of the selections with favourable mutations, where further taste-testing revealed five selections with the most promising eating characteristics. In Phase IV, the five selections underwent large-scale consumer and sensory evaluations where four of them performed as well as the industry standard controls ‘Williams’ Cavendish and Lady Finger. The sensory analysis revealed differences in the fruit flavour profile and textural attributes, and these features will play a key role in bringing a new banana variety to market and for promotion to consumers. Screening of the variants’ resistance to yellow Sigatoka was integrated into the project, but further work is needed to ensure these four selections have retained their TR4 resistance.

“The Vital Link”: British Print Media Export to Australia, 1853–1980

This paper uses the case study of Gordon & Gotch, media import/exporters, to explore how the transnational sale of British media contributed to a common cultural identity within the British World. Gordon & Gotch, founded as a media import firm in Australia in 1853, opened a London branch in 1866 which became independently owned and operated in 1890. This paper argues that the London and Australasian firms of Gordon & Gotch played an important and understudied role in tying Australia to Britain through lines of business that benefitted men in Melbourne and London, creating an “imagined community” of British readers that spanned oceans. The paper also explores how the divergent strategies of the London and Australasian Gordon & Gotches in the wake of the Second World War help us to understand the timeline of Australia’s cultural disentanglement with Britain. As new political economies developed in Britain and Australia, the London firm was forced to pivot to a European or more generally “global” strategy, while the Australian firm refocused its energies to domestic and American media. The consequence for Australian consumers was a reduced presence of British media and a greater preponderance of American, Australian, and locally printed multinational media in Australia. The long history of the British and Antipodean Gordon & Gotches reveals the contingency of British media saturation in Australia and the value of business historical approaches to studying change in cultural markets.

Health service and medication costs associated with common mental disorders and subthreshold symptoms in women: Findings from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study in Australia.

This analysis estimated 2013 annual healthcare costs associated with the common mental disorders of mood and anxiety disorders and psychological symptoms within a representative sample of Australian women. Data from the 15-year follow-up of women in the Geelong Osteoporosis Study were linked to 12-month Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme data. A Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Non-patient edition identified common mental disorders and the General Health Questionnaire 12 assessed psychological symptoms. Participants were categorised into mutually exclusive groups: (1) common mental disorder (past 12 months), (2) subthreshold (no common mental disorder and General Health Questionnaire 12 score ⩾4) or (3) no common mental disorder and General Health Questionnaire 12 score <4. Two-part and hurdle models estimated differences in service use, and adjusted generalised linear models estimated mean differences in costs between groups. Compared to no common mental disorder, women with common mental disorders utilised more Medicare Benefits Schedule services (mean 26.9 vs 20.0, p < 0.001), had higher total Medicare Benefits Schedule cost ($1889 vs $1305, p < 0.01), received more Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions (35.8 vs 20.6, p < 0.001), had higher total Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme cost ($1226 vs $740, p < 0.05) and had significantly higher annual out-of-pocket costs for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions ($249 vs $162, p < 0.001). Compared to no common mental disorder, subthreshold women were less likely to use any Medicare Benefits Schedule service (89.6% vs 97.0%, p < 0.01), but more likely to use mental health services (11.4% vs 2.9%, p < 0.01). The subthreshold group received more Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions (mean 43.3 vs 20.6, p < 0.001) and incurred higher total Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme cost ($1268 vs $740, p < .05) compared to no common mental disorder. Common mental disorders and subthreshold psychological symptoms place a substantial economic burden on Australian healthcare services and consumers.

Australian consumer perception of non-alcoholic beer, white wine, red wine, and spirits

The low- and no-alcohol beverage categories have experienced unprecedented and continued growth in major consumption markets. Although recent reports indicate that these alternatives could help reduce alcohol-related harm, few studies have focused on the no-alcohol category. This study draws from past low-alcohol research to explore consumer awareness, experience, willingness to try, liking, behavioural intention to consume, and willingness to pay for non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits. Data were collected from 679 Australian survey respondents and 32 tasting participants between 2020 and 2022. The results showed that, despite high awareness levels, many respondents were unwilling to try non-alcoholic options. However, prior experience led to favourable perceptions, particularly regarding the taste of non-alcoholic beverages. Additionally, experience with the no-alcohol category positively influenced the respondents' behavioural intention to consume and willingness to pay. However, the analysis showed that pricing structures in Australia remain well above consumer expectations. The findings highlight the importance of tasting to overcome consumers’ unwillingness to try. Future research is needed to understand consumer motivations and the influence of knowledge and packaging format in the acceptance of non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits to inform the beverage industry and policymakers.

Scoliosis and kyphosis in blue-spotted and marbled flathead fish associated with a Myxobolus acanthogobii-like parasite.

Spinal deformities in finfish have the potential to impact aquaculture industries and wild populations by increasing morbidity, mortality, and reducing growth rates. Myxobolus acanthogobii has been implicated in causing scoliosis and lordosis in various aquatic species in Japan. We investigated 4 cases of spinal deformity in 2 flathead (Platycephalus) species that were submitted to the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, between 2015 and 2021. Flathead are commercially significant species that are popular among Australian consumers, and are also sought-after species targeted by recreational fishers. Gross deformities are concerning to the community and may impact the quality and quantity of specimens available for consumption. Three blue-spotted flathead (P. caeruleopunctatus) and one marbled flathead (P. marmoratus) were submitted, all with marked scoliosis and kyphosis; 1-2-mm cysts were present on the dorsum of the brain, most often over the optic lobe or cerebellum. Cytology and differential interference microscopy of cyst material revealed numerous oval spores, x̄ 14 ± SD 0.75 µm × x̄ 11.5 ± SD 0.70 µm, with 2 pyriform polar capsules, the morphology of which is consistent with a Myxobolus sp. PCR assay and 18S rDNA sequencing of the cyst material identified a Myxobolus sp. with 96% identity to M. acanthogobii. The identification of this Myxobolus sp. confirms the presence of parasites with the potential to cause spinal deformity in significant aquatic species in NSW waterways.