Consumers use of quality cues for meat purchase: Research trends and future pathways

• Published in: Meat science 2020-08, Vol.166, p.108142-108142, Article 108142
• Main Authors: Aboah, Joshua, Lees, Nic
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Comparative analysis; Consumer Behavior; Cues; Extrinsic; Food Quality; Food Safety; Humans; Intrinsic; Meat - economics; Meat - standards; Network analysis; Quality cue; Research Design - trends
• ISSN: 0309-1740; 1873-4138
• DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2020.108142

This paper aims to explore the trends in the research design used for assessing important quality cues in the meat industry and determine the most important quality cues that consumers use in their purchasing decisions. A Journal Article Network Analysis and non-parametric comparative analyses were used to collate the studies and analyse their findings respectively. Results indicate a predominate use of point-of-purchase surveys to collect data and consumers' stated preference to evaluate the important quality cues. At an aggregated analytical level, the five most important quality cues (country of origin, food safety certification, price, production system and quality certification labels) are extrinsic and relate to credence attributes. However, different rankings of important quality cues are obtained at a disaggregated analytical level based on meat type. The paper proposes that exploring the interconnection between meat quality cues and how they influence consumers in different market segments based on the value proposition of the retailer as a foreseeable future research pathway. •The use of stated preference to elicit consumers' evaluation of important meat quality cues predominates the literature.•Little use of controlled lab experiments and actual consumer preference.•Most research focuses on extrinsic cues and credence attributes•Quality cues are ranked differently based on the type of meat.