Unpacking consumer reactions toward unexpected spoilage of organic versus conventional perishables

Abstract

The retail industry greatly relies on perishable foods, which are integral to consumers' shopping routines. However, it remains unclear how consumers react to their spoilage. This study is an initial attempt to explore how consumers react to unexpected product spoilage of organic versus conventional food products and how their evaluations can lead to different emotional and behavioral outcomes. The investigation includes five studies specifically focused on whether organic or conventional foods elicit different consumer reactions toward spoilage. The results of these studies indicate that consumers exhibit attenuated emotional reactions toward organic product spoilage compared to conventional products. In contrast, food spoilage leads to higher levels of anger toward conventional products, resulting in negative behavioral intentions. Moreover, price is found to moderate the aforementioned conditional consumer reactions. In all, these findings have significant implications for retailers and manufacturers in designing and promoting their products to meet consumers' preferences and expectations.