Can't Buy Me Green? A Review of Consumer Perceptions of and Behavior Toward the Price of Organic Food

Support for organic farming is a promising policy for improving sustainability in the food sector. Further consumer demand, however, is hindered by high prices. We review research from 2000 to 2014 on the role of perceived price, income, price knowledge, willingness to pay, and reactions to price ch...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer affairs 2017-03, Vol.51 (1), p.211-251
Main Authors: ASCHEMANN-WITZEL, JESSICA, ZIELKE, STEPHAN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Company pricing policy
Consumer behavior
Consumer behaviour
Consumers
Differentiation
Food
Food consumption
Forecasts and trends
Government regulation
Health foods industry
Laws, regulations and rules
Market trend/market analysis
Natural & organic foods
Natural foods industry
Organic farming
Organic foods
Prices
Prices and rates
Public policy
REVIEWS AND COMMENTARY
Sustainable agriculture
Willingness to pay
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Summary:Support for organic farming is a promising policy for improving sustainability in the food sector. Further consumer demand, however, is hindered by high prices. We review research from 2000 to 2014 on the role of perceived price, income, price knowledge, willingness to pay, and reactions to price changes on organic food. We find that price is the major perceived barrier to purchase. Income is only a partial explanatory factor and is superseded by psychographic variables. Willingness to pay a premium is around 30% (ranging from 0% to 105%) and depends on consumer segments and product category. Price knowledge is vague, and organic consumers' price sensitivity is relatively lower than that of occasional or nonorganic consumers. The results suggest that further market differentiation in terms of organic consumer segments and food categories is necessary. Furthermore, we discuss detailed implications for public policy and practice and present a future research agenda.
ISSN:0022-0078
1745-6606
DOI:10.1111/joca.12092