BRITISH CUSTOMERS' PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR

British Customers' Purchasing Behaviour



British Customers' Purchasing Decisions on Miles or Local Food

Research Question

Which factor do UK supermarket consumers consider most between price and the country of origin when making their purchasing decision on food miles or local food?.

Significance of the Study

The fact stands that the dearth of research on consumer behaviours related to their eating habits and food choices, is a matter of concern. In this particular study, British consumers' purchasing behaviour; their preferences for food; their spending behaviours; their awareness regarding the branded and organic food; and other myriad of issues will be discussed in detail. In addition to this, their perception about purchasing a foreign branded food; and how they rate the quality of the local food will also be highlighted.

Literature Review

Background

The subject of “food miles” and their associated carbon footprint is a topic which has generated increasing interest in recent years. The UK media in particular, both print and electronic, have sought to engender a high level of awareness in respect of the environmental impact of food production and distribution, and many products display their country of origin. However despite the attempts of the media and some government policies to increase awareness and cause a paradigm shift in consumer attitudes, a number of empirical studies have revealed that in fact a very small number of consumers actually care. Moreover, further studies have also revealed that the current pattern of decentralised distribution networks in the UK means that it is actually counter-productive for consumers to make a special journey to procure fresh foodstuffs, and that if their journey is in excess of 7.4 KM they are actually creating a greater carbon footprint than had they purchased their food in the supermarket or had it delivered.

General Themes

Food miles, localised food production and distribution, and consumer purchasing are complex and inter-related concepts. Research into this discipline is relatively new, as it has only come to consumer prominence within the last decade, and there is currently limited consensus on any definitions within the discipline. Moreover there are a huge number of variables which influence consumer purchase decisions in regards to fresh food, of which the environmental impact is only one. General Themes within the topic thus far have included consumer preferences, carbon footprint impact, consumer meaning and perception, social perception and sustainability.

Limitations / Shortcomings

The studies and research such as they exist all provide value to the body of knowledge however there are a number of notable limitations in each study. For example in Blake et al (2010) although they imply that there are a number of underlying social and societal issues which influence consumer decision making when purchasing local fresh food, they fail to address these implications, and therefore they leave the matter of further research in this area as unresolved. In respect of Coley et al (2009) they acknowledge that a number of assumptions had to be made in respect of their calculations and population sample which meant that the results were more ...