Chinese Urban Consumers Research Articles

Impact of COVID-19 on Chinese urban consumers’ food safety knowledge and behavior – A comparative study between pre and post pandemic eras

The COVID-19 pandemic caused notable changes to the food-related habits of consumers worldwide due to their concerns about the risk of infection and the requirement to follow government mandates. To investigate the impact of the pandemic on Chinese consumers’ food safety knowledge, food safety behaviors, and their most recent food poisoning experiences, we compared the results from an online survey (n = 583, Dec 2019) conducted before the pandemic was officially announced with an identical survey (n = 599, Aug 2023) conducted seven months after the Chinese government downgraded restrictions related to COVID-19. Post-pandemic there was a significant decrease in consumers’ food safety knowledge and self-reported food safety behaviors and a significant increase in their self-reported experiences of food poisoning. Despite respondents stating that their food safety knowledge and behaviors had improved since the start of the pandemic, the data obtained from the two surveys and the respondents self-reporting of foodborne illness suggest that in fact their safety knowledge and behaviors had decreased. These findings highlight the need to reinforce food safety education and behaviors during times when the food system is disrupted, and consumers are focusing on what they perceive to be more immediate issues.

What does it take to revolutionize Chinese diets: evidence from a choice experiment on urban Chinese consumers

PurposeThe purpose is to understand the factors affecting Chinese diet selections and propose strategies for revolutionizing Chinese diets toward healthy ones.Design/methodology/approachThis study implemented an online discrete choice experiment to identify the factors affecting diet selections among urban Chinese consumers. Four different diet patterns were used to label each of the product alternatives in the experiment, which varied in taste and cost. Specifically, implying the healthiness and sustainability of a diet, the diet alternatives included the average diet, the Chinese Food Guide Pagoda diet, the EAT-Lancet diet and the Flexitarian diet. Using consumer data from six provincial capital cities, we used random parameter logit models to estimate their preferences.FindingsDiet type and diet cost were found to be more important in urban Chinese consumers' diet selections than the ability to customize taste. The average diet, although not healthy and sustainable, was preferred most by respondents, signaling the challenges of shifting the consumer diet in China. Increasing the cost of the average diet can significantly promote sustainable healthy diet choices among urban Chinese residents. In other words, improving the affordability of sustainable healthy diets would have the potential to fuel the diet revolution in China.Originality/valueInstead of choices of a single food item, this paper focused on the individual selection of a diet, where different food products can act as substitutes or as complements for one another. We also proposed a way to assess individual preferences and valuations for several different diets.

The role of information in nudging Chinese consumers from choosing sugar to alternative sweeteners

This study investigates consumers' beliefs and valuations toward added sugar and sugar substitutes and assesses the impacts of information intervention in nudging individual healthy food choices, in the context of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in China. Using a between-subject design, a discrete choice experiment, and a sample of 1800 urban Chinese consumers, we find a positive preference among Chinese consumers for sugar-sweetened beverages with low-sugar content, compared to zero-sugar and high-sugar alternatives. Chinese residents dislike sweeteners mainly due to concerns about their safety. However, individual valuations for sweeteners in both zero-sugar and low-sugar food products are significantly improved after providing information about the function and safety of the sweeteners. Policy implications for reducing sugar consumption in China are discussed in light of these findings.

Effectiveness of front-of-pack nutritional labels: evidence from Sugar-sweetened beverages in China

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effectiveness of various front-of-pack labels in influencing individuals’ healthy food valuations, in the context of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in China. Using a between-subject design and an online discrete choice experiment, we test six nutrition labels categorized as nutrient-specific FOP labels (traffic light label, warning label, nutrition claims) and summary FOP labels (health-tick label, physical activity labels), and non-interpretative labels (nutrition facts panel). Empirical results from a sample of 1,800 urban Chinese consumers revealed that the most effective front-of-pack nutrition label is the warning label, followed by traffic light labels and health-tick labels. Warning label treatment yields the greatest decline in consumer willingness to pay for both high-sugar and excessive-sugar beverage products. In contrast, physical-activity labels and nutrition claims have lower effectiveness in discouraging the valuation of high-sugar beverages, but the two labels still outperform the conventional and back-of-pack nutrition facts panels. Policy implications for promoting healthy food choices are discussed in light of these findings.

Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for High-Quality Vegetable Oils: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Chinese Residents.

The consumption of edible vegetable oil is an important source of essential fatty acids and vitamin E for the human body. Guiding residents to consume scientifically and reasonably control the intake of edible oils is an important part of promoting the construction of a healthy China. Currently, Chinese residents have an insufficient understanding of the scientific consumption of edible oils, leading to an intake exceeding the dietary recommendations, resulting in excessive fat intake and increasing the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), this study analyzed the cognitive preferences and willingness to pay a premium for edible vegetable oils among urban consumers in China. The survey included 1098 Chinese urban consumers of vegetable oils. The research found that attitudes, health value, monetary value, and environmental endowment of urban residents are the main predicting factors of the intention to purchase high-quality vegetable oils. This study confirms the applicability of the Theory of Planned Behavior in the consumption of high-quality vegetable oils and provides theoretical contributions and insights for Chinese enterprises and policymakers in formulating marketing strategies for vegetable oils.

Chinese urban consumers' experience and consumption behavior with edible non-wood forest products

Consumers globally have a long history engaging with edible non-wood forest products in both rural and urban settings, and involving diverse consumption practices. While edible non-wood forest products offer critical provisioning and cultural ecosystem services, current literature primarily emphasizes the conventional economic significance in rural areas, neglecting urban consumption patterns. This thesis aims to investigate the forms and drivers behind urban consumers’ experience and consumption behavior with edible non-wood forest products in the regional Chinese market. It explores urban consumer behavior around three key aspects: consumer purchasing, foraging, and pro-environmental consumption behavior of wild/cultivated non-wood forest products. Building upon the theoretical background of ecosystem services and the Motivation–Opportunity–Ability model, supported by the Theory of Planned Behavior model, this thesis lays out a conceptual framework of the driving factors of the consumption behavior. A mixed methods approach was employed methodologically, including the logistic regression analysis, a qualitative thematic analysis, and the structural equation model. The findings reported in three articles I-III reveal diverse patterns in urban consumer consumption behavior concerning edible non-wood forest products, emphasizing the urban-rural nexus around these products. Motivation, opportunities, and abilities emerge as key drivers of consumption behavior. Pragmatism and sustainability dominate self-consumption purchases for tea, while Chinese mianzi and renqing motives prevail in gift-giving (I). A greater diversity of motivation exists in berry-picking, particularly among younger urban families (II). Social norms and culture are influential in shaping consumer attitudes (I, II, III). High-quality product availabilities, convenience, services, and social media marketing channels offered by producers and distributors constitute vital consumption opportunities (II, III). Additional actors such as local networks will be supportive (II). Personal knowledge and consumer habits also shape consumption behavior (III). These findings provide managerial implications for farmers, marketers, and policy makers, encouraging further research in this area.

Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Certified Wood Products

Abstract While environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been active in China in promoting forest certification, Chinese consumers’ perceptions of certified wood products in the marketplace are unclear. A survey focused on consumers’ wood-product consumption patterns was conducted in three cities—Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai—from July to August 2015. This study used data from the survey to assess urban Chinese consumers’ attitudes toward certified wood products and the demographic differences affecting these attitudes. Regression analysis was conducted to test whether consumers’ social-economic characteristics link with their attitudes toward certified wood. We found mixed correlations between these consumers’ attitudes and their demographics and positive correlations between their attitudes and exposure to environmental campaigns and environmental education. The results from this study will improve the understanding of Chinese consumers’ attitudes toward certified wood products and help producers and marketers better understand the market potential for certified products and more efficiently meet consumers’ needs. This study will also help NGOs interested in conservation to develop their future programs in China.

How information affects consumers' attitudes toward and willingness to pay for cultured meat: evidence from Chinese urban consumers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of providing information on Chinese consumers' attitudes toward and willingness to pay (WTP) for cultured meat, and to further focus on the heterogeneous effect of prior awareness.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected by interviewing 1,004 consumers through a face-to-face survey conducted in 2019. Repeated measures ANOVA, ordinary least squares and maximum likelihood estimation were employed for data analysis.FindingsWhether consumers have heard of cultured meat before is not an important determinant for their attitude, but whether they know it well is. Consumers' attitudes and WTP all improved after the provision of information, but knowledgeable consumers' attitudes were less influenced by information than those without prior knowledge. Unlike attitude, prior awareness does not affect the effect of information on WTP.Originality/valueDespite extensive studies on the impact of information on the acceptance of cultured meat, few have analyzed the heterogeneous effect of prior awareness. In the research on prior awareness of cultured meat, firstly, no consistent conclusions about the effect of prior awareness on attitude; secondly, previous studies only considered heterogeneous effects of prior awareness on attitude toward cultured meat, while ignored WTP. This paper provides new insights in these areas. Further, this paper provides the first evidence on the heterogeneous impact of prior awareness in developing countries; most previous research has focused on consumers in developed countries.

Gene‐edited or genetically modified food? The impacts of risk and ambiguity on Chinese consumers' willingness to pay

AbstractThis study investigates consumer preferences for newly introduced gene‐edited (GE) food. We focus on how risk and ambiguity aversion affect consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid genetically modified (GM) food or GE food and whether the impacts of risk and ambiguity aversion differ between GM and GE food. We collected the data in 2020 through a nationwide online survey in China. The multiple price list method is used to estimate the premiums that consumers are willing to pay for conventional rice to avoid GM/GE rice. Our results show that Chinese urban consumers are more concerned about the health, environmental, and ethical impacts of genetic modification than gene editing technology. They are willing to pay lower premiums when the alternative is GE rice than when it is GM rice. We further find that both risk aversion and ambiguity aversion have significant negative impacts on respondents’ WTP for food derived from gene technologies, with ambiguity aversion being more influential than risk aversion for both GM and GE rice. However, there is no significant difference in how risk aversion and ambiguity aversion affect the respondents’ WTP to avoid GM or GE rice.

Would consumers help achieve sustainable development in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau with a forage–livestock balance certification label?

PurposeThe contradiction and conflict between grassland conservation and economic development are prominent in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) with its fragile environment and ecosystem. How to promote sustainable grazing in the plateau without hurting the economic welfare of local residents is a key challenge facing the Chinese government. This study explores the potential of market-based grassland conservation policies by evaluating consumer preferences and valuations for forage–livestock balance certification labeled yak products.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a choice experiment with four attributes of yak meat, including forage–livestock balance certification, feeding type, age at slaughter and price. A sample size of 2,999 respondents from Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Chengdu was collected by a professional online survey company.FindingsThe result reveals that urban Chinese consumers are willing to pay highest price premiums for forage–livestock balance certified yak meat, followed by grass-fed claim labeled meat. Consumers on average place negative valuations for grain-fed claims, meat from yak slaughtered above 2 and 4 years old. Heterogeneous analysis indicates that individuals who are female, younger, married, and better educated, and with above median income, Tibet travel or yak consumption experience, are more receptive to the forage–livestock balance certification.Originality/valueIt is the first study to explore demand-driven mechanisms for grassland conservation by focusing on consumer valuation for the forage–livestock balance certification.

ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AND CONSUMER PREFERENCE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY BEVERAGE PACKAGING: THE ROLE OF INFORMATION PROVISION AND IDENTITY LABELING IN INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

<List> <ListItem> <ItemContent> ● Consumer preference for environmentally-friendly beverage packaging was investigated. </ItemContent> </ListItem> <ListItem> <ItemContent> ● Consumers are willing to pay a premium for post-consumer recycled materials. </ItemContent> </ListItem> <ListItem> <ItemContent> ● Environmental information and green identity labels have synergistic effect on consumer willingness to pay. </ItemContent> </ListItem> <ListItem> <ItemContent> ● Product unit size seems irrelevant in most consumer decisions. </ItemContent> </ListItem> </List> This study examined whether urban Chinese consumers with stronger environmental values have higher valuations for plastic beverage bottles that are made of post-consumer recycled material (rPET) or that come in large sizes that use plastic more efficiently. It also assesses the effectiveness of environmental information provision and green identity labeling in increasing consumer willingness to pay for environmentally-friendly packaging. The results suggest that urban Chinese consumers are willing to pay a premium for rPET bottles, indicating that there is a potential market for rPET food and beverage packaging in China that calls for manufacturing guidelines, safety standards, or regulations. Providing environmental information and attaching green identity labels increases consumer valuations of rPET bottles, with their joint use exerting the largest effect. Pro-environmental consumers are more responsive to environmental information and green identity labeling and thus are willing to pay a higher premium for rPET bottles. However, in terms of choosing large bottles as a means to reduce plastic use in product packaging, consumers were found to be indifferent about plastic bottle sizes even after receiving environmental information. It is suggested that the inconvenience of carrying or storing large bottles might have offset their perceived environmental benefits.

Influencing Factors and Group Differences of Urban Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Low-Carbon Agricultural Products in China.

Developing low-carbon agriculture has become a development goal for low-carbon economies in various countries, and consumers' awareness and willingness to pay (WTP) for low-carbon agricultural products is an important link in achieving the sustainable development of low-carbon agriculture. The theory of planned behavior is a widely used framework to explain consumers' food choices. Considering the intrinsic norms of consumers, their perceptions of low-carbon agricultural products, and shifts in consumer behavior, our study adds the influence of environmental awareness and consumer preferences to the theoretical framework of analysis. We choose the contingent valuing method (CVM) and use 532 consumer questionnaires in Shanghai to validate Chinese urban consumers' WTP for low-carbon products and its influencing factors. The findings show that Chinese urban consumers have a high overall awareness of low-carbon agricultural products and, after strengthening the conceptual information of consumers, most consumers agree that low-carbon vegetables are more conducive to ecological environment protection, quality, and safety guarantees than conventional vegetables. The existing analysis showed that some variables such as bid price, behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and consumption preferences significantly influenced consumers' willingness to pay for low-carbon leafy greens, while the effect of the environmental awareness variable was not significant. Further research found that consumers' WTP for low-carbon leafy greens showed significant group differences across income, gender, age, and education. Therefore, to promote the consumption of low-carbon agricultural products in China, we should attach importance to the publicity and guidance of low-carbon vegetables and strengthen the certification of low-carbon vegetable products. This study can provide policy reference for reasonably regulating and subdividing China's low-carbon agricultural products market.

Slow Fashion Is Positively Linked to Consumers’ Well-Being: Evidence from an Online Questionnaire Study in China

The environmental price of fashion has been heavily scrutinised in recent years. Slow fashion, with its emphasis on quality, design, sustainability, ethicality and local craft heritage, represents an alternative to the harmful environmental and social impact of fast fashion. Equally important, some initial evidence from qualitative research suggests that slow fashion could enhance consumers’ well-being. The present study aims to quantitatively evaluate the relationships that fast and slow fashion may have with different domains of well-being, utilising Seligmen’s influential PERMA model from positive psychology. In addition, it explores characteristics from slow fashion that may enhance garment lifetimes. An online questionnaire successfully surveyed 763 urban Chinese consumers. Results showed that consumption of slow fashion, in particular ‘customised/bespoke clothing’ that allows consumers to be actively involved in the creation process, positively predicted three well-being domains—engagement, meaning and achievement. Fast fashion, on the other hand, negatively predicted these domains. Classic/timeless design, ease of maintenance and ease of matching with other clothes emerged as the three most important characteristics that may encourage consumers’ long-term use of fashion items. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of promoting slow fashion to enhance sustainability.

Identity labels as an instrument to reduce meat demand and encourage consumption of plant based and cultured meat alternatives in China

The rise of meat consumption in China has increased attention on efforts to mitigate the various environmental, health, and animal welfare consequences of animal agriculture. Plant-based products and cultured meat substitutes are emerging as alternatives to meat. Yet, little is known about consumer preferences for these products and approaches to increasing their consumption in the world’s largest consumer market. This study uses a food choice experiment to provide evidence from a survey of 3015 urban Chinese consumers on preferences for plant-based and cultured alternatives relative to a traditional pork product. We test the effectiveness of food identity labels at increasing demand by randomly assigning respondents to treatments that connect the animal welfare, environmental, and health benefits of the product to the purchaser’s identity. Given the prevalence of consumption away from home, we also assess the effects of consumption location on preferences. Results show that traditional tofu products can capture approximately 26% market share, new-generation plant-based alternatives 21%, and cultured pork 11% of the market. Food identity labels effectively reduced demand for traditional pork products while increasing relative demand for plant-based and cultured pork. We did not find significant differences in preferences between at-home and away from home consumption settings. We discuss the potential of plant-based and cultured meat alternatives to reduce the consumption of meat products in China and the use of identity labels as an instrument to achieve government and policy objectives.

Consumer perception, mandatory labeling, and traceability of GM soybean oil: evidence from Chinese urban consumers

ABSTRACT Consumer preference for the mandatory labeling of genetically modified (GM) foods promotes public support for the implementation of GM food policies. This study analyzes consumers’ preference for the traceability of GM soybean oil. Survey data were collected through a self-administered survey covering 804 randomly sampled urban residents in the eastern, central and western regions of China. Using a logit model, this analysis examines the impacts of influential factors on consumers’ preference for traceability. The results show that about 56.5% of the respondents have a positive preference for the traceability of GM soybean oil. Factors increasing the preference for traceability include a better perception of the attributes of nutrition benefit and potential health risk, perceived inadequacy of simple mandatory labels, more attention paid to food labels, and distrust in the agencies overseeing GM food safety. Enhancing consumers’ perceptions of GM-related attributes and awareness of food labels will help improve the mandatory labeling management of GM foods.

Chinese urban consumers' preferences for white shrimp: Interactions between organic labels and traceable information

Organic certification and traceable information systems are important ways to alleviate information asymmetry and to improve food safety levels. In this study, 996 consumers in China's Shandong Province were surveyed about their preference for white shrimp (slang for Litopenaeus vannamei) in a choice experiment that varied three product attributes: organic labels, traceable information and price. Using a generalised mixed logit model, the results revealed that, compared to conventional white shrimp, consumers preferred white shrimp with organic labels and/or traceable information. Provision of organic and traceable knowledge generally improves consumer willingness to pay (WTP) but weakens the complementary relationship between an organic label and traceable information. In fact, it can turn the complementary relationship between European Union (EU) organic labels and traceable information into the substitution relationship. In the Chinese market, introducing EU organic certification and providing knowledge introduction increase average total consumer WTP by 84.06% and 120.16%, on an average, respectively. These conclusions provide a reference for relevant organic certification policies and traceable food system management by the Chinese government, in addition to providing a reference for business decision-making by aquatic product suppliers and certification service providers.

Love of nature as a mediator between connectedness to nature and sustainable consumption behavior

Abstract Despite the importance of having a love of nature, it is unclear as to how this love affects the different dimensions of sustainable consumption behavior (SCB). Drawing on love of nature and connectedness to nature, we propose that this love, consisting of passion for nature, intimacy with nature, and commitment to nature, is beneficial to SCB. Furthermore, we suggest that connectedness to nature is the driving factor of love of nature. We employed survey data collected from 856 Chinese urban consumers to empirically investigate this theoretical framework. Our findings showed that passion for nature, intimacy with nature, and commitment to nature have positive influences on green purchasing, reusability, and recycling. In addition, connectedness to nature inspires direct positive effects on green purchasing and recycling, and exerts indirect positive effects on SCB. These findings have theoretical and policy implications for understanding how the different dimensions of the love of nature function to influence SCB.

Estimation of the True Cost of Living Index of food consumption for Chinese urban consumers

This paper studies the True Cost of Living Index (TCLI) of food consumption for all income groups of urban households in China from 1997 to 2012. Based on the Generalised Fechner-Thurstone direct utility function, this paper estimates the TCLI under variable preference assumptions, and also decomposes the total bias of the traditional Laspeyres Price Index (LPI) estimation of TCLI into substitution bias and preference variation bias. For all income group households, the estimated preference variation bias is found to be quite substantial. According to the finding, when it is necessary to apply the cost of living adjustment clause in any public welfare programmes, the TCLI calculation compatible with preference variation may be more appropriate than the usual Laspeyres Consumer Price Index estimation.

Urban Chinese Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Pork with Certified Labels: A Discrete Choice Experiment

The paper aims to investigate Chinese consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for pork characterized by four attributes, namely food safety certification labels, location-of-origin, “free from veterinary drug residues” label, and price, based on a choice experiment conducted among 844 consumers from Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, China. A Random Parameter Logit model was estimated to elicit consumers’ WTP. The results showed that Jiangsu consumers’ WTP for pork with a “Organic Food” certification (26.78 Yuan) was the highest among all attributes, followed by “Green Food” certification (20.22 Yuan), “free from veterinary drug residues” label (23.18 Yuan), and location-of-origin (12.77 Yuan). However, there was only a moderate preference for “Safe Food” certification (8.10 Yuan). In addition, respondents from the more developed region (i.e., Jiangsu) had significantly higher WTP for all attributes than respondents from Anhui, a less developed region. The Random Parameter Logit model shows that better educational attainment and higher income were two factors that were associated with a higher WTP. The main policy recommendations are that public awareness of the different types of verifications should be improved and that authorization of certification logos should be enforced strictly so that food with certification logos are always reflective of the standard being followed.

Factoring Chinese consumers’ risk perceptions into their willingness to pay for pork safety, environmental stewardship, and animal welfare

Consumers in China have grown increasingly concerned with the safety of their food as evidenced by the numerous media reports of foodborne illness outbreaks in recent years. Consumer confidence in food purchases can be improved through better labeling on food packaging. Chinese consumers' risk perceptions and how it impacts the valuation of a product's attributes in terms of price premiums are explored in this study. As pork is a staple meat in China, a choice modeling approach was used to quantify the economic value of labeling on pork for food safety, country of origin, environment practices, and animal welfare. Risk perceptions of becoming ill from imported or domestic pork were incorporated and willingness to pay (WTP) values were quantified. Results reveal that food safety has the greatest premium among all of the attributes, and incorporating risk perceptions leads to generally higher WTP values. We find evidence that Chinese urban consumers in large cities show a genuine preference for animal welfare and environmental stewardship, independent of the believed better taste and safety of meat from such production practices. Results imply that consumers not only gain the greatest utility from this labeling but also suggest that there is a latent demand for this product characteristic from which foreign and domestic pork producers can benefit.