Determinants of organic food buying behavior: A Pilot Study of Consumers in Huntsville, Alabama

Jacob O. Oluwoye (Ph.D.)

Department of Community and Regional Planning, Alabama A&M University, Normal AL., U.S.A.

Contact Details: Emails ✉-: joluwoye@bellsouth.net; jacob.oluwoye@aamu.edu

Accepted August 13, 2018

The common scientific approaches to the reasoning of problems are either mathematical or statistical reasoning. The mathematical or formal reasoning is mostly deductive, in that one reason form, general assumptions to specifics using mathematical logic and axioms for multi-criteria decision-making of organic buying behavior. The rapid growth of the U.S. organic industry has caused a major shift in the types and numbers of organic food retailers, manufacturers, and distributors and has widened the retail customer base. Furthermore, organic food industry is becoming an important sector in Alabama, but few studies have been conducted to assess the industry's potentials and constraints and examine consumers' valuation of and willingness to pay for organic food products. Present paper aims to examine the impact of socio-demographic characteristic (Age) and knowledge (where to buy organic food) on buying intention of organic food. Data collection took place in January 2017. Purchasers were approached while food shopping in one of three retail chains in two different areas of Huntsville (one outlet per chain), using a structured questionnaire. Overall, 40 people were approached, 23 of which were qualified for sample inclusion in the time frame of the survey (57.5 percent). SPSS IBM Statistics Software v.23 was used for all statistics analysis. A Multiple Linear Regression Model was used to assess the degrees of impact from each individual determinant on buying intentions. The research findings demonstrated that knowledge and age are the two key determinants and demonstrated a significant positive impact with ever buying intention of organic food or beverage products. The paper concludes that stimulating buying intention would employ as one of the strategies to persuade consumption and increase the demand for the organic foods. Policy makers need to draw special attention on improving knowledge levels and promote the specific health benefits of organic food in order to stimulate real buying decision.

Key words: Buying knowledge, Purchasing behavior, Organic food, Organic products, Knowing place to buy organic food, Consumer’s age

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