Determining consumers' attitudes towards organic products by factor analysis: The example of organic product markets

Abstract

This study was carried out in order to reveal the attitudes of consumers toward organic products in the provinces of Istanbul, where Turkey's first and largest organic product market is located, and Izmir, where organic production first started. For this purpose, face-to-face surveys were conducted with 271 consumers who went to the organic product market using the proportional sample volume formula. Frequency tables were used in the analysis of demographic data obtained from the questionnaires. The Factor Analysis method was used to measure consumers' behavior toward organic products. It was determined that the majority of organic product consumers who participated in the survey were women (60.1%), married (66.8%), university graduates (57.6%), and individuals with high income (89.6%). After removing the missing, outlier, and extreme values, 251 questionnaires and 13 statements were used in the Factor Analysis. Within the scope of the results obtained, it was determined that reliability, experience (comparison), research (cognitive) and health factors directly affect the consumption of organic products in the attitudes of consumers in Istanbul and Izmir provinces towards organic products. It has been determined that it is important to increase the number of organic product markets throughout the country and to develop public service announcements highlighting these characteristics of organic products to increase organic product consumption.