Fijian food shopping behaviour: implications for policy makers and smallholder farmers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Johns ◽  
Wendy J. Umberger ◽  
Pamela Lyon ◽  
Rio Maligalig

PurposeThe study aims to identify different consumer groups to better understand changes in urban Fijian food shopping behaviour and the implications for the local food industry.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a Latent class (LC) cluster analysis of survey data from 1,000 urban Fijian households to identify unique consumer segments based on household food shopping behaviour.FindingsFive distinct urban household clusters were identified based on food shopping behaviour. The cluster with the highest income level spent significantly lower amounts on fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV) at the main traditional market, preferring to buy their FFV from modern supermarket outlets. Considering the vast majority of local smallholder farmers rely on traditional market channels to sell their produce, the growth and dominance of Fijian supermarkets are of some concern.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should consider repeating these types of detailed consumer surveys to better understand the implications of changes in shopping behaviour over time, and the role that key stakeholders can play in ensuring smallholder farmers is not excluded from the market.Social implicationsSmallholder-driven agriculture accounts for a significant share of Fiji's gross domestic product (GDP), so understanding how the retail food industry is transforming and how this is affecting smallholder farmers is critical to Fiji's social structure.Originality/valueResearch on food retailing and the role of the consumer is rare in small island developing states (SIDS), such as Fiji. Fiji has a somewhat unique set of circumstances. In the absence of significant foreign investment in food retailing, key factors such as urbanisation and rising urban income mean consumer preferences are important drivers of changes in shopping behaviour. The study provides insights into Fiji's changing food industry with implications for other SIDS, while contributing to the global literature in this field.

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 840-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoti Vohra ◽  
Pavleen Soni

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to comprehensively uncover antecedents of food shopping behaviour of children in retail stores in India. Children form the pivot of food marketing. They accompany parents on food shopping trips and assist food purchases. Their extent of participation varies with the frequency with which they accompany parents, the presence of food promotions and other demographic variables. The present paper attempts to comprehensively uncover the variables that help in cumulatively predicting food shopping behaviour of children in retail stores. Design/methodology/approach – Data have been collected from 473 mothers of children in the age category 4-11 years. For the aforesaid purpose, a structured, pre-tested and non-disguised questionnaire has been prepared. Binary logistic regression has been applied to analyse the data through SPSS 19. Findings – Shopping behaviour of children in retail stores significantly depends upon food promotions in retail stores, frequency with which children accompany mothers on shopping trips and demographic variables such as age of mother and father and education status of mother. Practical implications – This study attracts attention of parents, food retailers and policy makers towards impact of food promotional strategies on food buying behaviour of children in retail stores. Originality/value – This piece of research is important as no such study (to the best of researchers’ knowledge) has been conducted in India even when food retailing is an important component of total retail in India and also growing tremendously.


2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 450-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoti Vohra ◽  
Pavleen Soni

Purpose – Marketers try to influence food shopping behaviour of children through various in-store food promotional strategies (FPS). These in-store FPS comprise of attractive packaging, accessibility, availability of foods in wide varieties and presence of helpful and friendly sales personnel. However, little is known about how children buy and the extent to which these marketing strategies are successful. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate food shopping behaviour of children in retail stores and to study the effectiveness of in-store FPS and demographic factors (age and gender of child and monthly family income) on food shopping behaviour of children. Design/methodology/approach – Data have been collected from 473 mothers of children in age category four to 11 years. Data have been analysed through descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations), bivariate correlations, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. Findings – The study explores and validates four factor structure of food shopping behaviour of children in retail stores in Indian settings. These factors include children’s active assessment of foods, impact of availability and variety on children’s purchases, influence of TV food ads on children’s purchases and influence of packaging on children’s food purchases. Further, the findings also reveal that in-store FPS are truly effective in influencing food shopping behaviour of children. Practical implications – Marketers may highlight packaging attributes in food advertisements as they can help escalate food purchase requests of children in retail stores. In addition to this, food advertising is strongly associated with assessment of foods in retail stores and looking for availability of advertised foods in retail stores. This suggests that food advertising as a medium of communication should not be ignored. However, sales personnel can also be used more effectively as they are seen to help children in identifying availability and variety of foods in retail stores. Originality/value – As no such study has been conducted so far (to the best of researcher’s knowledge), this study potentially helps in bridging gaps in literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 560-576
Author(s):  
Meike Rombach ◽  
Nicole Widmar ◽  
Elizabeth Byrd ◽  
Vera Bitsch

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insights for flower retailers, horticultural practitioners and marketing managers into the prioritisation of cut flower attributes by German residents.Design/methodology/approachApplying a best–worst scaling approach, this analysis identified the relative ranking of importance amongst product attributes relevant to German consumers when buying fresh cut flowers. A latent class analysis determined four flower consumer segments for further study. The study builds on a sample of 978 consumers and is consistent with the most recent German census in terms of age, gender, income and federal state.FindingsThe best-worst analysis showed that intrinsic flower attributes, in particular appearance, freshness and scent were found to be more important to German consumers than the extrinsic attributes studied, namely, price, country of origin and a certification indicating fair trade. The latent class analysis determined four consumer segments that desire either budget, luxury or ethical flowers or more information about flowers. For all identified consumer segments, appearance was the attribute of greatest importance. The segments that desired luxury or ethical flowers, as well as the segment that desires more information were interested in appearance, but also had relatively large shares of preferences dedicated to flower freshness guarantees. The preference for freshness guarantees in addition to appearance may be interpreted jointly as a desire for not only beautiful and aesthetically pleasing flowers, but for sustained beauty.Originality/valueInternationally, the study fills a research gap by exploring consumer’s relative preference for cut flower attributes. In contrast to existing studies on consumer preferences for flowers in Germany, the present study builds on a sample that was targeted in terms of age, gender, net household income and federal state to the most recent German census.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Massaglia ◽  
Valentina Maria Merlino ◽  
Simone Blanc ◽  
Aurora Bargetto ◽  
Danielle Borra

PurposeIn Italy, the craft beer (CB) market has undergone a trend of exponential growth in recent years, showing, at the same time, differences among different geographical areas. This research aimed to define the consumer preferences towards different CB attributes by involving a sample of individuals from Piedmont (from North-West Italy). Furthermore, the experimentation was designed to distinguish heterogeneous individuals' consumption profiles each characterised by different CB preferences, drinking habits and socio-demographic characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThe exploration of individuals' preferences towards 12 CB quality attributes was made throughout a choice experiment based on the Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) methodology approach. In addition, the BWS results were employed in the latent class analysis to identify the best sample segmentation in relation to attributes preferences.FindingsThe “Brand knowledge”, “I have already tried it” were the most important attributes for CB choice. On the contrary, the “Type of packaging” and “Price” were the least important for CB choice. The “Loyal”, “Attentive to quality composition” and “Territorial brand” clusters were defined in function of CB consumers preferences and described in terms of individuals consumption habits and socio-demographic characteristics.Originality/valueThe BWS methodology allowed the definition of a preference index for each selected CB attributes. These indications could have concrete importance on production and marketing choices in an increasingly extended and globalised market, also at large-scale distribution level. Furthermore, the definition of different consumption profiles allowed to highlight the heterogeneity of consumption (preferences and habits) towards CB.


2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 1215-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ou Wang ◽  
Simon Somogyi ◽  
Sylvain Charlebois

PurposeThis study associated consumers' food choice motives and socio-demographic characteristics with their attitudes and consumptions towards food shopping with four e-commerce modes: business-to-consumer (B2C), online-to-offline delivery (O2O Delivery), online-to-offline in-store (O2O In-store) and New Retail. It also explored consumer preferences for specific food categories within the four e-commerce modes.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was administered to 954 participants from three Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Descriptive analysis and linear regression were used in the data analysis.FindingsThe following food choice motives (FCMs) and socio-demographic characteristics had a significant effect on food e-commerce attitudes and/or consumption, with some or all of the four e-commerce modes: Taste Appeal, Value for Money, Safety Concerns, Quality Concerns, Processed Convenience, Purchase Convenience, Others' Reviews, City, Gender, Household Size, Age, Income, Occupation and Marital Status. Consumers also have different consumption preferences for food categories in the four e-commerce modes.Originality/valueThis is the first study to associate consumer FCMs and socio-demographics with their e-commerce attitudes and consumption regarding food in four e-commerce modes: B2C, O2O Delivery, O2O In-store and New Retail.


2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (8) ◽  
pp. 2551-2567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Dominici ◽  
Fabio Boncinelli ◽  
Francesca Gerini ◽  
Enrico Marone

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate preferences for wine made from hand-harvested grapes, and the interactive effect between this attribute and organic certification. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via an online choice experiment involving a sample of 408 Italian wine consumers. A random parameter logit was performed to estimate consumer preferences for wine attributes: harvest type, organic and the interaction between these. The experiment also includes geographical indications and price. Furthermore, a latent class model (LCM) is performed to investigate taste heterogeneity for the included wine attributes. Findings On average, consumers prefer the wine produced with hand-harvested grapes. The hypothesis of an interaction between organic and hand-harvested attributes is rejected. Using the LCM, the authors identify three segments with significant taste heterogeneity in terms of the magnitude and the sign of the parameters. Moreover, consumer attitudes towards food naturalness differ according to their belonging to the segments. Originality/value The novelty of this article is twofold. First, this study investigates, for the first time, the impact of the hand-harvested method on consumer wine preferences. Second, hand-harvesting and organic have independent values.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao Ding ◽  
Awudu Abdulai

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine smallholders’ preferences and willingness to pay for microcredit products with varying attribute combinations, in order to contribute to the debate on the optimal design of rural microcredit. Design/methodology/approach Data used in this study are based on a discrete choice experiment from 552 randomly selected respondents. Mixed logit and latent class models are estimated to examine the choice probability and sources of preference heterogeneity. Endogenous attribute attendance models are applied to account for attribute non-attendance (ANA) phenomenon, focusing on separate non-attendance probability as well as joint non-attendance probability. Findings The results demonstrate that preference heterogeneity and ANA exist in the smallholder farmers’ microcredit choices. Averagely, smallholder farmers prefer longer credit period, smaller credit size, lower transaction costs and lower interest rate. Guarantor collateral method and installment repayment positively affect their preferences as well. Moreover, respondents are found to be willing to pay more for the attributes they consider important. The microcredit providers are able to attract new customers under the current interest rates, if the combination of attributes is appropriately adjusted. Originality/value This study contributes to the debate by assessing the preference trade-off of different microcredit attributes more comprehensively than in previous analyses, by taking preference heterogeneity and ANA into account.


2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (9) ◽  
pp. 2013-2026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liran Christine Shan ◽  
Áine Regan ◽  
Frank J. Monahan ◽  
Chenguang Li ◽  
Fiona Lalor ◽  
...  

Purpose In response to increasing public health concerns about processed meat consumption, many innovations in meat technology focus on health-oriented product reformulations. Processed meat is not a homogeneous food category. The purpose of this paper is to explore consumer perception of the “healthier” reformulation of different processed meat products using two approaches: salt and fat reduction; and enrichment with healthy ingredients. Design/methodology/approach Seven focus group interviews were carried out with 40 Irish regular meat consumers (30 female, ten male) who were solely or jointly responsible for food shopping. Two rounds of card sorting procedures were employed to reveal perceptions on reformulation of 20 different processed meat products. Thematic analysis was used for analysing transcripts. Findings Health and flavour concerns and product popularity were the main factors influencing participants’ perceptions. Some participants were unsure or had misconceptions about the healthiness of certain meat products. Participants suggested reducing salt and fat content in processed meat products they perceived as the least healthy ones (theme 1) and improving the healthiness of products which were favoured by children (theme 2) and those meat products which people consumed regularly as a source of protein (theme 3). Participants were not in favour of any reformulation of speciality-type products (theme 4). Originality/value Consumer insights identified in this study can inform future approaches to making processed meats healthier.


2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (12) ◽  
pp. 3869-3884
Author(s):  
Alice Stiletto ◽  
Elisa Giampietri ◽  
Samuele Trestini

PurposeThe present study aims at analysing consumer preferences for the pomegranate fruit, focussing on the effect of ready-to-eat format (i.e. packaged arils) on the purchasing choice, together with several products’ attributes as the origin, the packaging typology and the price.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a choice experiment (CE) among 626 Italian consumers from Veneto region through an online survey. The study estimates both a conditional logit (CL) and a latent class logit model (LCM).FindingsBy segmenting the sample based on the heterogeneous preferences of consumers, it can distinguish “eco-friendly consumers”, “time-saving lovers”, “nationalists” and “price sensitive” subjects. Interestingly, the marginal willingness to pay for ready-to-eat arils is positive for the “time-saving lovers” that are mainly young consumers. The Italian origin has always a positive effect on the choice, whereas a negative effect is found for the price. Finally, the eco-friendly package has both a negative and a positive effect.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample of this study is not representative of the population and the CE has a hypothetical nature. It follows that further research will link the economic analysis to a consumer test on a more representative sample.Practical implicationsThis study can be useful for the pomegranate producers and the industry because it provides original evidence that could drive their business and marketing strategies, for instance, the preference for ready-to-eat arils.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first seeking to determine the factors that affect consumers' preferences for pomegranate arils.


2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 328-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Jürkenbeck ◽  
Achim Spiller ◽  
Stephan G.H. Meyerding

Purpose Vegetables are an important component of a healthy diet. Given that tomatoes are the most purchased vegetable in Germany, the purpose of this paper is to focus on how consumers evaluate tomatoes during their food choice. Each consumer has different preferences and, in order to target them, it is necessary to identify consumer groups. The study segments tomato consumers into homogenous target groups. Design/methodology/approach A choice experiment was used to simulate the buying situation in a supermarket. The data were analysed using latent class analysis, as well as principal component factor analysis to measure food-related lifestyles. The sample consisted of 1,027 consumers and was representative of the characteristics of gender, age, educational level and income for the German population. Findings Consumers perceive air transportation and plastic wrapping as most climate damaging in tomato production. Six different tomato consumer groups were identified and named according to the attribute they found most important, i.e. “Balanced consumers”, “Price-conscious consumers”, “Taste enthusiasts”, “Colour-sensitive consumers”, “Price-conscious consumers with a taste preference” and “Colour- and price-sensitive consumers”. In three clusters, colour was the most important attribute. However, green and yellow tomatoes were rejected by all segments, indicating communication problems. Originality/value The results of this study provide breeders and marketers with valuable insights into the factors driving tomato choice. The information was based on a large sample and will help breeders to select the types of tomatoes that are in demand by consumers.


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