US Consumers Research Articles

Consumer willingness to pay for production attributes of cotton apparel

AbstractWe investigate US consumers' willingness to pay for cotton apparel production and country of origin attributes. Using a choice‐based conjoint experiment and information treatments, we examine the preferences of 727 US shoppers for the attributes: cotton fiber production systems and country of manufacture of the cotton fiber. Random utility theory is the basis for the survey's responses analysis to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) values for the attributes. Choices made by consumers are modeled using a mixed logit model in WTP space estimated using simulated maximum likelihood procedures. Results show that consumers are willing to pay more for cotton apparel from the United States than apparel from other countries, and more for apparel made from fiber produced in organic systems than in conventional systems. Only some subgroups of consumers were found to be affected by exposure to an information treatment regarding potential labor exploitation in cotton farms and textile mills. [EconLit Citations: D12].

Popular diets as selected by adults in the United States show wide variation in carbon footprints and diet quality

BackgroundCarbon footprints of vegetarian, pescatarian, and other popular diets have been studied previously, but mostly as idealized versions modeled to meet dietary recommendations. Less is known about the footprints of popular diets as they are consumed by US adults, and thus the potential trade-offs with diet quality for free-living individuals. ObjectivesThis study estimated the carbon footprint and diet quality of popular diets as selected by a nationally representative sample of US consumers, including the recently trending keto- and paleo-style diets. MethodsThe 2005–2010 NHANES 24-h recall data were used to categorize individual adult diets (n = 16,412) into 6 types: vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, paleo, keto, and all other diets, referred to here as omnivore diets. Average daily greenhouse gas emissions in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents per 1000 kcal (kg CO2-eq/1000 kcal) were calculated for each diet by matching our previously developed database to NHANES individual diet data. Diet quality was determined using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and the Alternate Healthy Eating Index. Survey-weighted ordinary least-squares regression was used to assess mean differences in diets. ResultsThe average carbon footprints of vegan (0.69 ± 0.05 kg CO2-eq/1000 kcal) and vegetarian (1.16 ± 0.02) diets were lower (P < 0.05) than those of the pescatarian (1.66 ± 0.04), omnivore (2.23 ± 0.01), paleo (2.62 ± 0.33), or keto (2.91 ± 0.27) diets. Mean HEI scores were highest for pescatarian diets (58.76 ± 0.79) and higher (P < 0.05) for vegetarian (51.89 ± 0.74) than for omnivore (48.92 ± 0.33) or keto (43.69 ± 1.61) diets. ConclusionsOur results highlight the nuances when evaluating the nutritional quality of diets and their carbon footprints. On average, pescatarian diets may be the healthiest, but plant-based diets have lower carbon footprints than other popular diets, including keto- and paleo-style diets.

Monetary policy announcements, consumers’ inflation expectations, and readiness to spend

AbstractCan monetary policy stimulate consumption through inflation expectations? We study how US consumers revise inflation expectations and readiness to spend in response to monetary policy shocks using a structural vector-autoregressive model, where we identify exogenous policy shocks with interest rate surprises around FOMC announcements. Based on survey data, we construct measures of changes in consumers’ readiness to spend conditional on how consumers update their inflation expectations. Expansionary policy shocks tend to increase readiness to spend conditional on higher expected inflation outside the zero lower bound (ZLB), but the effect is small. At the ZLB, consumers increasingly reduce their readiness to spend if they expect higher inflation. Overall, we find only limited evidence suggesting that policy-induced variations in inflation expectations are associated with adjustments that are in line with the predictions of standard macroeconomic models.

Quantifying the Impact of the Latest US Tariff Sanctions on Russia: A Sectoral Analysis

In addition to the existing import ban on energy products (oil, gas, coal), the United States recently announced a new sanction package that imposes significantly higher import tariffs on 570 product groups from Russia. These tariff increases affect more than USD 2 billion in US imports from Russia. Using a sector-specific partial-equilibrium (PE) model, we quantify the impact of these US tariff increases. We find that the new tariffs affect 8.7% of total US imports from Russia and may decrease Russian welfare by USD 181 million per year, while imposing annual costs of USD 90 million on US consumers. Our sectoral analysis shows that the US’ choice of target sectors produces mixed results. On one hand, the sanctions cover dozens of sectors whose inclusion produce particularly large welfare losses to Russia and/or high welfare gains to the US Yet, for several target sectors higher tariffs result in zero harm to Russia, and/or greater harm to the US than to Russia. For example, higher tariffs for several selected sectors result in zero harm to Russia, and/or greater harm to the United States than to Russia. These and other insights may provide guidance for the design of future tariff sanctions by the European Union (EU) and other Allies. International trade, war in Ukraine, economic sanctions, import tariffs, economic impact, partial equilibrium, sectoral analysis, welfare analysis, pass-through, tariff revenue, Russia, United States, European Union

Coping with the 2022 infant formula shortage

To estimate the proportion of US consumers who sought formula during the shortage, what coping mechanisms they used, and public support for formula policies, we conducted an online survey of approximately 1,000 US consumers in August 2022 via Qualtrics. Approximately 35% of consumers attempted to purchase formula during the shortage, for their own household or on behalf of someone else, and the most common coping mechanisms were focused on searching different outlets (e.g., multiple stores, online). During the shortage public health agencies published recommendations for consumers – some were highly utilized (e.g., searching multiple stores), however, some were utilized less frequently (e.g., brand switching, breastfeeding). Additionally, despite warnings, some consumers still attempted to make their own formula. Understanding what coping mechanisms were and were not utilized, and their related risks has important implications for improving public health outreach in the future. Finally, we find considerable public support for regulation to ensure adequate supply of formula in the future, in particular regulation allowing imported formula and increased government involvement in the number of firms producing formula.

Will consumers give us another chance to bounce back? Effects of precrisis commitments to social and product responsibility on brand resilience

Purpose Merely being known as a highly ethical or strong performer cannot shield a company from every kind of crisis. From product failures to environmental and social issues, a brand’s ability to manage crises and rapidly regain consumer trust is essential. This study aims to explore whether consumer perceptions of a brands’ prior commitments to two different areas of corporate responsibility (social and product responsibility) alleviate the postcrisis attribution of accountability and further build brand resilience, examining differences between two types of crisis situations – values versus performance crises. Design/methodology/approach A scenario-based online survey on product versus ethical labor issues was conducted. The data were collected from a highly valid, nationwide sample set of more than a thousand US consumers. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used as the primary data analysis method. Findings A brand’s precrisis commitment to social responsibility was found to decrease attribution of accountability across both types of crises. It also strengthened brand resilience, but this effect was more prevalent in a performance than a values crisis. The effects of precrisis commitment to product responsibility on brand resilience were minimal or insignificant across crisis types. Originality/value Previous research underexplores which types of corporate responsibility commitments provide a firm with a better protection against crises. This study significantly advances the knowledge regarding the type of commitments that can substantially increase brand resilience, which supports the rationale of making stronger commitments to social responsibility than to product responsibility. Practical insights are provided into how investments in corporate social responsibility help alleviate consumers’ negative perceptions during the outbreak of a brand crisis and build more brand muscle that enables resilience against future crises.

Consumers' willingness to pay for safer, more environmentally friendly smoke flavored chicken breasts

AbstractBoneless, skinless chicken breasts comprise almost 30% of total poultry sales and poultry remains US consumers' protein of choice. This research sought to determine whether consumers of chicken would pay a premium for a smoked chicken breast that was healthier and produced with less of a negative impact on the environment. Two balanced consumer panel groups were presented with information on the two value prospects of smoked chicken prepared with liquid smoke. The order of presentation of the health claims and the environmentally friendly claims were reversed to measure the impact of the order of presentation on consumers' willingness to pay. An Nth type auction showed that health claims elicited a greater premium; the highest average premium was approximately $7 including the baseline price following the health claims for the liquid smoked chicken. The order of presentation of the information did not affect the results.Practical applicationsConsumers are willing to pay more for chicken that is deemed healthier and prepared with environmentally friendly ingredients.

The impact of product defect severity and product attachment on consumer negative emotions

AbstractConsumers often experience negative emotions when confronted with a product defect. This is especially true when the product is integrated into many aspects of the consumer's life, such as the case with automotive vehicles. In this research, we draw on the consumer expectations and attachment literature to explore the impact of defect severity and product attachment, operationalized via both ownership length/usage (mileage) and the psychological construct of object attachment, on the negative emotions consumers experience. Using sentiment analysis of archived data of consumers' complaints from the Defective Product Administrative Center in China and a controlled experiment among US consumers, we find that defect severity and mileage/attachment interact in a novel curvilinear manner to influence the amount of negative emotion consumers experience. When defect severity is low, our results indicate a U‐shape relationship between mileage/attachment and negative emotions. However, when defect severity is high, an inverted U‐shaped relationship emerges. Furthermore, we link the specific emotion of anger to consumers' downstream perceptions (loyalty, quality, satisfaction, and more) of their vehicle, manufacturer, and retailer.

Does plant-based milk reduce sales of dairy milk? Evidence from the almond milk craze

AbstractIn recent years, there has been significant growth in the sales of plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products. However, it remains unclear whether these alternatives are actually reducing sales of livestock-derived products. This paper examines the relationship between the sales of one particular livestock-derived product – unflavored dairy milk – and its plant-based alternative – nondairy milk. Using data from a panel of US consumers between 2004 and 2018, I find that a 1-gallon increase in nondairy milk sales is associated with a 0.43–0.60 gallon reduction in dairy milk sales. The inverse relationship between dairy and nondairy milk purchases is strongest among households with high initial expenditure on dairy milk. Despite the inverse relationship between dairy and nondairy milk purchases, the rapid increase in nondairy milk sales between 2009 and 2018 explains little of the concomitant decline in dairy milk sales.

Data privacy laws in the USA

Technological advancements over the last couple of decades have changed the world as we know it. As consumers increasingly adopt digital technologies, they end up sharing their personal data with companies that power these technologies, including sensitive personal data, and implicitly trust the companies to honour their privacy. A growing number of data breaches, especially those involving blatant disregard for customer privacy by large tech companies such as the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica incident of 2016, have led to an erosion in customer trust. Several countries across the world have taken cognisance of the seriousness of data privacy protection and have enacted comprehensive data privacy laws, however, the USA still relies on a concoction of statewide and sectoral laws, which are not adequate. There is a need for the enforcement of a comprehensive data privacy law in the USA to provide adequate data protection rights to US consumers. This paper explores the various current federal, sectoral, and state data privacy laws in place in the USA and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. A comparison of the various data privacy regulatory models employed across the world is then provided followed by a proposal of a suitable model for the USA to adopt.

How US Consumers without Bank Accounts Make Payments

How US Consumers without Bank Accounts Make Payments

Responsible antibiotic use labeling and consumers' willingness to buy and pay for fluid milk.

Concerns about antibiotic resistant infections in the United States have called for reduction of antibiotic use in livestock, including dairy cattle. Although effective in curbing antibiotic use, universal organic dairy farming would be impractical and unattainable due to its high land and premium demands. The US Department of Agriculture's organic certification, which completely eliminates antibiotic use in milk production, also raises animal welfare concerns, as it could discourage the use of antibiotics even to treat indicated diseases. Therefore, a proposed alternative for US consumers is a label indicating the responsible antibiotic use (RAU) - not complete elimination - that would minimize antibiotics more than conventional (unlabeled) milk and maximize animal welfare more than organic milk. Our goal was to determine consumers' (1) self-reported preference and (2) willingness to pay for this hypothetical RAU label of milk relative to existing substitutes in organic and unlabeled fluid milk. We conducted (1) a nationally representative survey of US adults and (2) a randomized non-hypothetical experimental Becker-Degroot-Marschak auction with real money and real milk. Although almost half of the survey participants (48.5%) responded that they would buy a RAU-labeled milk, consumers in the experimental auction refused to pay a significant premium for the milk compared with unlabeled milk (mean willingness to pay (95% confidence interval) per half-gallon: $1.92 ($1.65-$2.19) for RAU-labeled milk versus $1.86 ($1.58-$2.13) for unlabeled milk). These results suggest that consumers' survey-identified preferences for RAU-labeled milk could reflect either social desirability bias or a genuine preference for which, however, consumers simply will not pay a significant premium. The study provides preliminary data for future exploration of marketability of the proposed RAU label in the United States and demonstrates the benefits of using complementary survey and experimental auction approaches to understand the potential market for a new dairy product.

An evaluation of the role of US consumer's institutional trust for food eco‐label preferences

AbstractDemand for sustainable food products has continued to grow in the past decade. Consumers have not only expressed more interest in environmentally friendly products, but producers have been willing to expand and market sustainable products. As a signal, eco‐labels are intended to communicate about specific environmental product properties from producers to consumers. Because eco‐labels communicate credence properties, trust plays a significant mediating factor, as information asymmetry is present. Consumers must rely on producers acting in good faith to provide accurate claims while consumers must simultaneously avoid misinterpretation of the label. Building upon previous research on the role of trust in eco‐label preferences, this exploratory study seeks to evaluate how US consumers' level of trust in three major institutions (US government, corporations, and non‐profit organizations) to protect the environment shapes their preference for six major eco‐labels in the market (Fairtrade, local, natural, non‐genetically modified organism [GMO], organically grown, and certified organic). The analysis utilizes 2016 survey data obtained from the Natural Marketing Institute. The aim is to provide a basis in which to further examine institutional mechanisms for improving label signaling, which could minimize consumer skepticism and potentially increase environmentally conscious consumerism. In addition to confirming the profile for typical eco‐label consumers, the results demonstrate that trust in non‐profit organizations is positively associated with expressed preferences for certified Fairtrade and certified organic foods. Trust in government is a significant explanatory factor for natural labeling preferences whereas those that express very high interest in organic labels indicated trust in corporations.

Consideration of nutrients of public health concern highlighted in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025 among a large sample of US primary shoppers

The objective of this research is to estimate the proportion of consumers who consider nutrients identified in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 (DGA) as being of public health concern during food choice using a large, population-weighted sample of U.S. residents. A question was included in a bi-monthly survey of consumer scanner panel members, asking whether respondents considered each of eight nutrients in a check-all-that-apply format. Four of these nutrients are under-consumed nutrients, while three are nutrients to avoid. Calories was additionally included, as over-consumption of calories causes weight gain. Weighted mean proportions and 95% confidence intervals were estimated. The survey was administered to a population-weighted sample of 42,018 US consumers participating in a consumer scanner panel in May–June 2021 by an online survey firm that maintains the consumer panel. Over one-quarter of respondents considered none of the nutrients. Each under-consumed nutrient of public health concern was considered by less than 30% of respondents, ranging from a low of 14.5% for potassium (95%CI = 14.3–14.7%) to a high of 28.9% for dietary fiber (95%CI = 28.7–29.1%). Nutrients to be avoided were considered by higher percentages of the sample, ranging from 31.8% for saturated fats (95%CI = 31.6–32.0%) to 46.1% for added sugars (95%CI = 45.8–46.3%). Respondents considered an average of just over 2.4 total nutrients, with a greater focus on nutrients to avoid, including calories (weighted mean = 1.55), than under-consumed nutrients (weighted mean = 0.89). Over one-quarter of consumers considered no nutrients of public health concern. Consumers focused more on nutrients to avoid rather than under-consumed nutrients. Promoting increased awareness of important under-consumed nutrients may improve public health.

Fruit Vending Machines as a Means of Contactless Purchase: Exploring Factors Determining US Consumers’ Willingness to Try, Buy and Pay a Price Premium for Fruit from a Vending Machine during the Coronavirus Pandemic

During the coronavirus pandemic, buying and consumption patterns of US consumers shifted towards contactless buying. While the topic of online buying is well explored within the existing literature on this topic, purchasing fruit from a vending machine is still yet to be investigated. This exploratory study used quantitative data to examine the factors driving US consumers’ willingness to try, buy and pay a premium for fruit from vending machines. An online survey of 391 US consumers was conducted to fill this research gap between 7 July and 10 July 2022. This survey was distributed via Amazon Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing platform which is widely used for consumer research. Smart PLS 4 facilitated the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis, as this method well suited for testing exploratory models with complex relations between the latent variables. Results indicated that COVID-19 pandemic-related benefits, quality benefits, value-related benefits and experiential benefits were the most important predictors that determined willingness to try, buy and pay a price premium when purchasing fruit from a vending machine.

Falling Prices: Does This Cause Purchases to Be Delayed or Speed Up? Evidence From the Gasoline Market

When teaching macroeconomics, students intuitively know why macroeconomists stress the dangers of inflation, but question why economists will say deflation is worse. To explain macroeconomists will almost always point to Japan’s “Lost decade”, a spiral of declining economic activity intertwined with declining prices. Their claim is that the deflation was a principle driver for the deepening recession as declining prices could cause consumers not to purchase more (as the law of demand would normally expect) but rather less in anticipation of even lower prices to come. This paper looked at the empirical evidence from the energy sector, specifically gasoline sales during the 2013-2015 time period and verified that there is evidence that some US consumers did indeed delay purchases even if they ultimately bought more.

The value of additional calf–mother contact in milk choice: an analysis of US consumers

AbstractIn recent decades, there has been an increase in public concerns about the animal welfare impacts of many farm practices. The transition to systems that are perceived to increase animal welfare is however, hampered by the lack of transparency regarding farming practices, information gaps and poor value signaling. Using the case of milk choice, this study investigates US consumer (N= 1020) preferences for systems that allow for additional calf-dam (mother) contact, dehorning and the role of different formats of information (i.e., text and images). The study applies a multi-profile (Case 3) best-worst scoring approach. Data were analyzed using mixed logit and latent class models. The results indicate that consumers signal significantly higher values for production systems that allow for more calf-dam contact. These preferences differ by consumer segments. Consumers also expressed positive values for dehorning with pain mitigation. The results further show that a seemingly small addition to textual information treatment, i.e., providing consumers with pictures associated with calf-dam contact practices generates statistically significant premiums. Sensitivity to additional information was high amongst female and urban consumers. The findings of this study highlight the demand incentives for the creation of niche markets for calf management practices in the dairy industry.

Ensuring a Sustainable Hospitality and Tourism Industry in the COVID-19 Era: Using an Open Market Valuation Technique

Tourism has always been one of the most profitable service industries. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry is facing some big problems. As a result, the tourism industry lost a lot of money. This paper aims to find and rank recovery solutions to help the tourism industry. This article investigates two key areas: firstly, how government aid can best be prioritised among the various subsectors of the hospitality and tourism industry, and secondly, whether public assessment of the measures the US government took against the pandemic is related to the outlook for recovery, including the role played by perceptions of government performance and efficacy at handling the crisis and self-efficacy in terms of avoiding infection. Two studies were conducted among US consumers, using different methods of data collection and analysis. The first study utilised an open market valuation technique to explore how governmental aid might be prioritised among the tourism and hospitality industries. The second study used AMOS/SEM to examine travellers’ positive perceptions of the likelihood of hospitality and tourism industry recovery. Study 1 found that all six industry subsectors investigated (hotels, airlines, restaurants, car rentals, casinos and cruise lines) had been influenced negatively by COVID-19, with the heaviest impact felt by hotels and cruise lines. Study 2 indicated that the level of public satisfaction with the US government’s performance in addressing the pandemic was positively related to expectations of hospitality and tourism industry recovery. The findings could guide policymakers in deciding how best to allocate public funds between the different subsectors of the hospitality and tourism industry.

Reforms Needed to Modernize the US Food and Drug Administration’s Oversight of Dietary Supplements, Cosmetics, and Diagnostic Tests

This JAMA Forum discusses long-awaited reforms that could modernize the US Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory processes, promote innovation, and provide US consumers greater assurance that the products they use are safe and reliable.

The Impact of Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Exchange Rate and Consumer Sentiment Index on Carbon Emissions

The objective of this study is to examine, over the last 20 years, the short-run and long-run effect on global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the stock returns, exchange rates and consumer confidence. Stock markets contribute to environmental degradation; as a result, we employed, for the first time, Dow Jones Sustainability World Index to use stock returns of socially responsible companies. The euro to US dollar exchange rate is used, as the forex market is the largest financial market and considers it as the largest major pair. The Consumer Sentiment Index is used as a proxy to consumer confidence, since consumer behavior is, also, considered as a major factor linked to environmental degradation. The basic testing procedures employed include the Augmented Dickey–Fuller stationarity test, cointegration analysis and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The results establish that stock returns of companies listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index exert a significant negative (positive) impact on the global CO2 emissions in the short (long) term. The inverse, i.e., a significant positive (negative) impact on the short (long) run holds for the both other variables, i.e., US consumers’ confidence and euro to US dollar exchange rates. From the outcomes obtained, policy initiatives that could assist companies to mitigate environmental degradation are recommended.