Consumer Preferences for Green Skin Avocados in the US Market: The Role of Experienced Quality Attributes, Credence Attributes, and Demographic Factors

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of experienced quality attributes, credence quality attributes and demographic factors affecting green-skin avocado consumption. Data for the present study came from a consumer online survey to 355 avocado consumers. Consumer preferences were modeled by an ordered logit model. Results indicate that experienced quality attributes are the main drivers for green-skin avocado followed by origin and health credence attributes, respectively. Demographic factors other than ethnicity do not play a significant role for green-skin avocado consumption. Among other things, the findings indicate that consumers place a higher valuation on higher fat content compared to low calorie content, implying that the latter attribute should not be touted at the expense of the former. To the extent possible, the industry should focus on cultivars with higher fat content and develop promotional activities to target non-Hispanic consumers. The present study constitutes an effort to contribute to the existing literature as it explores the role of health credence attributes, a topic that has not received much attention.

Exploring Key Factors Determining US Consumer Preferences for Growing over Buying Fruit in Pre-Covidian and Covidian Times

“…While on one hand age, income and ethnicity seem to impact home gardening or participation in a community garden, lifestyle and existing gardening habits are equally important [39][40][41]. With respect to both growing fruit or buying fresh fruit, regional differences have been found [31,47,48,[50][51][52], but it remains unclear whether COVID-19 has permanently changed growing behaviours. Trends towards DIY and self-sufficiency suggest that people from the middle and lower income classes may be leaning more towards growing as a strategy to overcome hardship caused by COVID-19 [19].…”

“…These studies emphasise that subjective and objective are not consistently correlated and may even involve the Dunning-Kruger effect [58]. However, there is a consensus that knowledge is an important factor in purchase decisions, and that subjective and objective knowledge can be distinguished conceptually and empirically [51]. Given that subjective knowledge relates to belief of available information and beliefs about a specific product, these beliefs are the central stimulus for measuring subjective consumer knowledge [51,54].…”

“…Further, the aspects of childcare and growing physically distant but being socially connected are of crucial importance in Covidian times [25,32]. The preference comparison of growing over buying could be explored regionally, as various papers dedicated to fruit growing or fruit consumption have focused on specific geographic areas [33,46,[50][51][52], instead of examining a national sample.…”

Consumer preferences for produce grown with reduced pesticides: a choice experiment in Missouri

“…There is a large body of literature on organic and sustainable farming from the consumer side (e.g., reviews of Li and Kallas, 2021; Katt and Meixner, 2020; Cecchini, Torquati, and Chiorri, 2018). Previous studies generally found that consumers are willing to pay a premium for organic and sustainable food attributes (e.g., Aryal et al, 2009; Ballen, Evans, and Parra-Acosta, 2021; Bazzani et al, 2017; Lin, Smith, and Huang, 2008). Based on 80 empirical studies implemented around the world from 2000–2020, Li and Kallas (2021) reported that the overall WTP for sustainable attributes is about 30% above the price of conventional food products.…”

Three essays on the economics of pesticide use

“…The importance of reduced pesticide use from the individual perspective also relates to pesticide residue levels in fresh produce. The literature indicates there has been growing interest in the importance of environmental sustainability and health attributes on food choice so that consumers are willing to pay premium for these attributes (e.g., Ballen et al, 2021, Moser et al, 2012. Consumers may consider pesticide residue levels in vegetables and fruits as a credence attribute 12 regarding health and environmental concerns.…”