Study on Consumers’ Purchase Intentions for Carbon-Labeled Products

Abstract

The carbon-labeling system is able to quantify the level of greenhouse gas emissions of goods throughout their life cycle, including production, delivery, and consumption. With the proposal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, the carbon-labeling system has an inevitable impact on production by companies and the purchase behavior of consumers. This paper constructs a theoretical model of the influencing mechanism on consumer willingness to purchase carbon-labeled products by utilizing the theory of consumption values. Through a survey and analysis of a sample of 347 Chinese university students, a regression analysis is applied to explore their willingness to consume carbon-labeled products and the corresponding influencing factors. The results show that (1) despite relatively low public awareness of the carbon-labeling system, the willingness to purchase carbon-labeled products is strong; (2) functional value, emotional value, and epistemic value can positively influence customer willingness to purchase carbon-labelled products; and (3) there is a significant difference in the willingness to purchase carbon-labelled products in terms of age and no significant difference in terms of gender, income, occupation, and education level. Based on the findings, some recommendations are made to help companies adopt appropriate strategies to trigger consumers’ purchase intentions and gain a market advantage in carbon-labeling scenarios.

Chinese Consumers’ Preference and Willingness to Pay for Carbon-Labeled Forest Fruit Products

“…Classes 4 and 5 belong to this category. Class Overall, gender and education level have no significant influence on consumers' preferences for carbon-labeled Huyou, which is similar to the findings of Duan et al [26]. Notably, older individuals tend to prefer lower-priced Huyou products.…”

“…The consensus is that consumers with high income and education levels are likely to pay a high price for carbon-labeled products [24,25]. However, Duan et al [26] concluded that consumers with different incomes and educational levels do not show significant differences in their willingness to purchase carbon-labeled products. Similarly, Shuai et al [11] and Wong et al [27] found that male consumers in China are more willing to purchase carbon-labeled products and pay a higher premium, whereas Liang et al [28] found that female consumers are more willing to accept low-carbon products.…”

Internal and External Factors Influencing Rural Households’ Investment Intentions in Building Photovoltaic Integration Projects

“…Many studies focus on the influence of psychological factors on pro-environmental behaviors, while the ways in which external situational factors act on behaviors are not clear [91]. It can be seen through the results of the study that the four external factors are direct, positive, and significant regarding rural households' intentions to invest in BIPV projects, and that all four factors are able to trigger rural households' intentions to invest in BIPV.…”

Factors influencing carbon-labeled product purchase intentions: A case study in Vietnam

“…Liu et al (2017) offer insights into various factors that influence consumers' readiness to purchase low-carbon products, including an understanding of carbon labeling, acceptance of these labels, dependability, consumer perspectives, confidence in the efficacy of adopting low-carbon consumption, societal pressures, influential social groups, costs, and economic incentives. Duan et al (2023) identify that the positive effect on consumers' inclination to purchase carbon-labeled products can be attributed to functional, emotional, and epistemic values. Factors such as low-carbon product delivery speed, consumers' patience, and degree of pleasure also influence customers' willingness to purchase low-carbon products (Liu et al, 2017).…”

“…One notable finding from Zhao et al's (2018) study is that, despite consumers' initial skepticism, a substantial majority express an intention to purchase carbon-labeled products. Duan et al (2023) reveal that consumers are willing to pay extra for products with carbon information labels, even in cases where their comprehension of the system is limited. Furthermore, Liang et al (2020) demonstrate that consumers with high levels of objective knowledge and perceived consumer effectiveness are more inclined to purchase products with carbon labels.…”