Alicia Rihn

Does Nutrition Information Contribute to Grocery Shoppers’ Willingness to Pay?

ABSTRACT An experimental auction and the eye-tracking technology are used to detect the relationship between consumers’ understanding of the nutrition information and their willingness to pay for food items. Additional attention is given to health-conscious individuals. Salad mix and apple juice are selected for the experiment. A Tobit model is used for the analysis. The results show that nutrition information has some effect on consumers’ purchasing decision. Shoppers are willing to pay less for fat and mineral information, but more for ingredient, protein, sodium, and carbohydrate information of salad mix. As for apple juice, shoppers care only for energy and other nutrient information, as well as the health claim “vitamin C naturally high.” Further, health-conscious individuals are more responsive to the nutrition claims, such as “high in fiber” (salad mix) and “vitamin C naturally high” (orange juice). A possible limitation of the conclusion exists due to the small sample size.

Defining U.S. consumers’ (mis)perceptions of pollinator friendly labels: an exploratory study

Declining pollinator insect populations is an important global concern due to potential negative environmental and economic consequences. However, research on consumer perceptions of pollinator friendly traits is limited. Understanding consumer perceptions is important because they impact behavior and product selection. In turn, this affects the effectiveness of relevant policies and pollinator insects’ access to beneficial plants. This manuscript quantifies consumers’ perceptions of plant traits that aid pollinators. U.S. consumers (n=1,243) were surveyed to identify their perceptions of pollinator friendly traits. Binary logit models and marginal effects were estimated using 22 plant traits and consumers’ purchasing interest, existing knowledge, and demographic variables. Results imply consumers interested in purchasing pollinator friendly plants selected positive traits regardless of accuracy. Furthermore, consumers selected traits that aligned with their knowledge. Older participants had more accurate...

Influence of product type and individuals’ perceptions on the geographic boundary for local products

Over the past couple of decades, consumers have begun to increase purchasing of locally labeled products. However, research has shown their definition of local production is not always accurate and varies by product category. This study investigates consumers’ perceptions of the geographic boundary for local fruits/vegetables and ornamental plants. A multinomial logit model is used to assess how consumers’ perceptions and perceived characteristics of local product attributes/factors (e.g. freshness, support local community, etc.) influence their understanding of geographic boundaries of local. Results are applicable to producers and retailers in their efforts to obtain portions of the local market. They are also pertinent to policy makers as they determine relevant regulations and definitions of local products.

Pollinator-friendly Plants: Reasons for and Barriers to Purchase

Certain pesticides are coming under scrutiny due to their impact on pollinator insects. Consistent with past research that focused on consumers’ preferences for pollinator friendly plants, this study has found that some consumers are willing to pay premiums for plants that contribute to pollinators’ health. However, the reasons for consumers’ preferences or barriers to purchasing pollinator friendly plants and the types of pollinators’ consumers are trying to protect are less understood. Using an online survey of 1200 Connecticut consumers, we find that 46% consumers purchased plants to attract pollinators. However, only 17% stated that attracting pollinators was their primary motivation, indicating that labeling alone will likely not motivate consumers to purchase plants. The major barriers to purchasing pollinator friendly plants included lack of labeling (cited by 28%), followed by high price (28%). Consumers purchasing pollinator friendly plants were trying to attract butterflies (78%), bees (59%), hummingbirds (59%) and other birds (41%). We also find that demographics and purchasing behavior affect barriers and types of pollinators desired. Simply labeling plants has the potential to increase purchasing, but increasing price could be detrimental as many consumers feel pollinator friendly plants are highly priced. Implications for ornamental horticulture stakeholders are discussed.