Predictors of organic tea purchase intentions by Chinese consumers

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence Chinese consumers’ purchase of organic products, with a focus on organic tea. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was used to survey 202 shoppers in Guangdong Province, China. The data were analyzed using multivariate regression. Findings The study suggests two significant predictors of organic tea purchase intentions: perceiving organic tea as a healthier alternative to non-organic tea; perceiving the purchase of organic tea as a status symbol. Younger respondents and respondents with higher educational attainment reported greater organic tea purchase intentions. Non-significant predictors of organic tea purchase intentions were respondents’ knowledge of organic tea through media exposure, their gender and income. Research limitations/implications The findings help further research on consumer preferences regarding organic foods providing key insights for researchers and marketers as they strive to make informed decisions in the emerging organic food retail environment. Specifically, Chinese consumers perceiving organic tea as a healthy option and as a status symbol are more likely to state organic tea purchase intentions. These results point to the need for extended research on key antecedents of Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions of organic products. Originality/value Little was known about the motivations of Chinese consumers for purchasing organic food products, as the psychological and demographic factors that are associated with organic food purchase behavior in China were not well researched. Specifically, there is still a notable gap in the understanding of how consumers in China make organic tea purchase decisions. With organic foods occupying a progressively larger portion of Chinese diets and budgets, this research fills in some of the knowledge gap by examining how the social norms of status symbols influence Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions of organic tea.

A Comprehensive Model of Consumers’ Perceptions, Attitudes and Behavioral Intention toward Organic Tea: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

“…Traditionally, Chinese consumers buy tea products with a main focus on their taste, price, and convenience. However, as income increases and consumption knowledge advances, Chinese consumers pay more attention to the safety and health of tea products [32]. In particular, after COVID-19 pandemic occurs, Chinese consumers prefer organic tea and they are willing to purchase organic tea to replace traditional tea products [3].…”

“…Traditionally, Chinese consumers do not rely heavily on customer service to purchase tea products because most of tea products are sold through conventional small stores with little or no service [32]. In the last decades, with the emergence of large stores and exclusive stores and the increase in consumers' purchase power, consumers tend to care more about customer service because they have more choices for their money.…”

What drives Malaysian consumers’ organic food purchase intention? The role of moral norm, self-identity, environmental concern and price consciousness

“…Conventional food remains the highest percentage of global food consumption. Similarly, in Asia, the production and export of organic foods have been increased (James et al , 2019). However, the comparison to domestic consumption remains extremely low (less than 1 per cent of total food consumption) (Rahman et al , 2016).…”

Herbal infusions and health

“…Interestingly, interest in organic teas also appears to be gaining momentum. A survey of 202 Chinese shoppers revealed that consumers perceiving organic tea as a healthy option and as a status symbol were more likely to report organic tea purchase intentions (James et al , 2019). Synergistic combinations of herbal teas could also confer health benefits.…”