Fruit and Vegetable Consumers’ Behavior: Implications for Organized Retailers in Emerging Markets

Abstract

The authors attempt to understand selected behaviors of fruit and vegetable consumers of mid-sized cities of a developing economy, which are important for any retailer to appreciate. The study was carried out in two mid-sized cities of the Orissa state of India with 100 respondents by using the specially developed questionnaire. Statistical tools were used to analyze the data. The study revealed that vegetables are consumed in greater quantity and purchased more frequently than fruits. Consumers attached more importance to credence attributes than to search and experience attributes while making their purchase decisions. Family income and consumers’ education were found to have significant influence on the consumers’ willingness to pay for graded and packaged products. Organized retailers can take cues from the findings of the study to decide about location, nature and quality of assortment, and their marketing strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• agribusiness
• consumer behavior
• fruits and vegetables
• organized retailing
• product attributes
• willingness to pay

CONTRIBUTORS

Sanjeev Kapoor holds a PhD in rural banking and agriculture economics and currently is a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (India). His current research areas are agriculture marketing and rural finance.

Niraj Kumar is a faculty member in Rural Management at the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (India). Holding a doctorate in extension education, he teaches subjects related to agri-business management and rural marketing communication.

Notes

Cities that have a population of more than 5 million are referred to as metropolitan cities, whereas cities with a population of more than 1 million are considered to be larger cities.