This study analyzes consumer responses to price changes in 100% orange juice during the 2022/23–2023/24 seasons. Using Nielsen sales data and a demand model, we estimate price elasticities for Not from Concentrate (NFC) and Reconstituted (Recon) juices. Both types showed elastic demand, with Recon being more price-sensitive. Cross-price elasticity estimates indicate that NFC and Recon are substitutes, but with asymmetric substitution: consumers are more likely to switch to Recon when NFC prices rise than vice versa. As the price gap between the two narrowed, consumers increasingly favored NFC over Recon. These findings highlight the importance of pricing in shaping demand and substitution behavior.

The recent high inflation across economic sectors in the United States has presented challenges and necessitated strategic changes for all parties involved, including consumers, manufacturers, retailers, and policymakers. This study aims to provide insights into consumer perspectives in the US food sector by examining changes in their perceived level of inflation and behavioral responses to rising grocery prices, as well as identifying the determinants behind these responses. Based on monthly consumer survey data collected from January 2017 to December 2022, the study reveals that the perceived level of food inflation has increased significantly alongside the rising Consumer Price Index, and the proportion of consumers who have responded by altering their grocery shopping behavior has also increased. The differences in perceived inflation levels and inflation-coping strategies can be attributed not only to various household characteristics but also to food consumption patterns. The findings highlight the need for tailored marketing strategies and policy initiatives by retailers, manufacturers, and policymakers. Among the various inflation–coping strategies, “buying lower priced brands” and “buying less food” have become particularly prevalent during the recent inflationary period, especially among low-income households and those with higher levels of perceived inflation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are rapidly transforming grocery retailing through innovations such as scan-and-go systems, smart carts, and cashierless stores. These technologies promise greater efficiency and convenience but also raise concerns related to job displacement and the broader societal implications of retail automation. At the same time, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is another important factor influencing consumer evaluations of grocery retailers, particularly with respect to ethical business practices and support for local or sustainable food systems. Despite growing interest in both retail automation and corporate responsibility, little is known about how consumers evaluate these factors simultaneously when choosing among grocery stores. This study investigates how AI-enabled checkout technologies (e.g., partially automated and fully automated store formats) and store-level social responsibility attributes jointly influence consumer selection of grocery stores. Using a discrete choice experiment with 855 U.S. consumers, we estimate a mixed logit model to examine trade-offs between store attributes and consumers’ willingness to travel. The results indicate that consumers generally prefer partially automated stores to fully automated stores and place greater importance on store-level ethical practices than on the ethical attributes of food products when making store choices. Furthermore, information emphasizing the positive social impacts of automation increases consumer preference for automated stores, whereas negative information has limited influence. These findings reveal how technological innovation and social responsibility jointly influence consumer store preferences and offer guidance for grocery retailers investing in retail automation and other key attributes to remain and attract consumers.

To gain insights into US consumers’ food-related perspectives, we examined their food and beverage preferences and consumption patterns in parallel with those identified in 2017. Using a nationwide sample of 6,412 primary food shoppers in 2018, we assessed consumer perspectives regarding food shopping outlets, responses to food price increases, grocery expenditures, food-related attitudes, food and beverage consumption patterns, and nutritional perceptions. Last, we compared consumer trends in 2018 with those in 2017 to identify any changes over time.

This study examines how information nudges shape consumer preferences for locally grown foods. Using an online discrete choice experiment with blueberries, we assess the effectiveness of tailored information emphasizing local economy support, quality, and environmental benefits in increasing consumer valuation of state-branded products. Results indicate that consumers respond positively to all information treatments, with quality-particularly freshness-having the strongest effect. State ethnocentrism plays a key role, as consumers with higher state ethnocentrism exhibit greater willingness to pay for the state-branded logo across all treatments. These findings provide insights for improving local food marketing strategies and strengthening state-level marketing programs.

Recent evidence highlights that the growing number of consumers lapsing from generic food products threatens the economic stability of related industries, such as the Orange Juice industry in the US. Yet, little is known about the relationship between consumer lapsing and returning. For example, does fixing what made a consumer lapse automatically lead to their return? In this study, drawing on key theories of cognitive dissonance, attribution, and consumption value, we conceptualize the asymmetric relationship between lapse and return. We then test the framework in a generic marketing setting of 100 percent Orange Juice (OJ), where lapsed consumers are a substantial industry concern. We find that product-specific constructs affect the decision to lapse and intention to return differently. Post-lapse characteristics, including duration of lapse, reasons for lapse, and exposure to secondary information, are significant drivers of general willingness to return (GWR), thereby accentuating the asymmetric nature of the lapse-return dynamic. We conclude that returning is not a simple reversal of lapsing, and addressing what leads consumers to lapse does not necessarily translate into motivating them to return. Marketers should engage with lapsed consumers in a timely manner, emphasizing positive images of OJ, such as bringing family enjoyment and healthfulness.

Price is one of the most important factors affecting consumer purchase decisions. Consumers may use price as a quality cue or reference point to make the decisions. However, few studies have considered the quality cue by controlling the price anchoring and vice versa. We conduct four identical experiments weeks apart to estimate the effect of price on consumers' product quality evaluation and WTP. The results show that (1) the price has a significant impact on appearance rating and taste rating; (2) product quality mediates the price effect on consumer WTP only if consumers have incomplete quality information about the product; and (3) the marginal effect of price on consumer WTP differs over time. The results of this study provide deep insights into the role of price on consumers' quality assessment and valuation formation of products.

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled governments to implement various stringent measures, causing changes in food consumption patterns. In this study, we examine changes in consumer behaviors such as online grocery shopping and restaurant dine-in/takeouts in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan from 2021 to 2023 using multivariate probit regressions. The results reveal that food acquisition behaviors are shaped by a complex interplay of risk perceptions, socio-demographic characteristics, and changing pandemic phases. Our study offers insights for food business marketing strategies and provides information for stakeholders in the international agribusiness industry through a multi-country comparison.

Organic consumption is a way to promote sustainable agriculture while using fewer single-use products also reduces the burden of trash in the environment. Previous studies found that consumers’ pro-environmental behaviors are significantly positively correlated with organic consumption. However, the results are based on surveys expressed on the Likert scale and rely on participants’ imperfect retrospective memory of past organic purchases. In this study, we investigate the environmental motivation that leads consumers to purchase organic products using actual consumption data. In general, consumers buy organic products to avoid pesticides and chemicals for health reasons and/or to support more environmentally-friendly agriculture. The level of disposable product consumption is assumed to represent one’s environmental concern. Due to the presence of reverse causality of organic consumption and disposable product consumption, we employ a control function method to eliminate the endogeneity issue. Our result shows a significantly negative causal effect of disposable product consumption on organic consumption, indicating that organic consumption arises from care for the environment. It is found that a 10% increase in disposable product expenditure share causes an 8-percentage point decrease in the proportion spent on organic consumption.

Nutrition Facts labels or Nutrition Facts Panel(s) (NFP) are a critical channel for communicating food nutrition information to consumers. A fundamental question is how to help consumers effectively understand and use the label without missing important information. This paper introduces a color-coded NFP and investigates its impacts on information search and consumer behavior, such as attention to information, food choice, and food health perception. Results show that the color-coded NFP attracts more attention than a black-and-white NFP, specifically for nutrients such as fat, sodium, and sugars, which should be limited. Additionally, the color-coded NFP made it easier for consumers to make food purchase decisions and led consumers to make healthier choices for some products (e.g., chips). Finally, the color-coded NFP reduces the time needed and contributes to a more accurate evaluation of the products' healthiness in the case of chips, reducing the information processing costs and increasing the utilization of information. Our research demonstrates that the color-coded NFP is more attractive, efficient, and effective in delivering nutrition information and contributes to a healthier decision for some products (e.g., chips) than the traditional NFP.

This publication examines the recent inflation in orange juice prices and consumer responses using Nielsen scanner and Orange Juice tracker datasets. Orange juice prices experienced high inflation, peaking at 14.1% in January 2023, leading to decreased sales in both volume and dollars. Consumers are aware of the ongoing inflation in orange juice prices and reduced their orange juice purchases in quantity and frequency instead of discontinuing consumption altogether. Despite the significant barrier of high prices, the proportions of active orange juice consumers and those with a positive perception of orange juice remained steady and strong. Marketing efforts emphasizing the health benefits of orange juice continue to be crucial in sustaining consumer perception and demand.

AbstractObjectivesExamine US consumer pet‐related and veterinary service expenditures and factors influencing US households’ use of veterinary services.MethodsDescriptive analysis on pet‐related and veterinary service expenditures and regression analysis on pet owners’ use of veterinary services, using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure from 2006 to 2018, with the sample size of 257,836 households, of which 73,593 had pet expenses.ResultsFrom 1980 to 2018, the proportion of households with pet‐related and veterinary service expenditures increased. Since 2010, the percentage of pet‐owning households using veterinary services has increased substantially. Household characteristics were examined and significantly affected the probability of both pet and veterinary expenditures. Non‐White and Hispanic groups had increased pet ownership, but the likelihood of veterinary service use has not surpassed White and non‐Hispanic pet owners.ConclusionsUnderstanding the effects of household sociodemographics, particularly race and ethnicity, on using veterinary services provides insights for optimizing strategic planning for the pet industry and veterinarians. Reviewing the implications helps adjust and fine‐tune strategies and influence the sustainability of the veterinary service sector by attracting different racial and ethnic groups. Future research might focus on other social and cultural factors influencing the utilization of veterinary care. The veterinary service sector can then effectively address pet care disparities, bridge existing gaps and improve economic viability.

This study examines the spillover effect of California's 2016 single-use bag ban (SB 270) on unregulated single-use plastics (SUPs) like cutlery, cups, and plates. We observed an insignificant 4.8% decrease in SUP sales over the entire post-policy period, but a larger 8.1% drop in the second post-year, which was only marginally significant. The findings suggest weak spillover effects from such environmental policies, indicating that direct regulations on certain environmentally harmful products might be more effective if jurisdictions aim to prohibit citizens from excessive use, rather than relying on the positive spillover effect from existing policies.

This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of food outlet choice patterns of Alternative Food System consumers (local and organic consumers) and evaluate if these patterns differ from that of conventional consumers. We conducted a nationwide online survey collecting data from U.S. food shoppers monthly. The data utilized in this study were collected and compiled from July 2016 to November 2019, resulting in 21,135 observations. We measured choices of eight food outlet formats within four categories (high-end, traditional, broad-assortment, and limited-assortment). Further, we examined the varying effects of demographic and household characteristics on food outlet format choices. We found that relative to conventional consumers, alternative food system consumers, who are local- and/or organic-minded, tend to be diversity-seekers who patronize various formats of food outlets. Among the four food outlet categories, we identified several complementary and substitute relationships. The occurrences and strengths of these relationships vary across consumer segments identified based on their preferences for local and organic food.

Martin County, Florida has a rich agricultural history with farming and cattle ranching being important economic drivers since the early 1930s. Nevertheless, the county struggles to meet the balance between food supply and demand. Farmers often face challenges finding sizable, secure, well-paying markets, and the most consumers do not participate in local food transactions. This 4-page fact sheet written by William A. Messina, Jr., Lisa House, Yvette Goodiel, and Carol Albertsand published by the UF/IFAS summarizes two studies conducted to examine agricultural production in Martin County and its food processing, distribution and marketing systems and infrastructure to better identify potential constraints and opportunities for the local food system.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe1071

Existing research based on labels, risks and benefits, and cultural differences has focused on consumers’ preferences for genetically modified (GM) food products. Limited attention has been paid to the attitudes toward the source who developed the biotechnology. Because there may be trust issues associated with large multinational firms that are often involved in the development of biotechnology, it remains an unexplored question whether consumers consider who produces the technology when forming opinions about food produced with biotechnology. This study investigates consumers’ attitude toward the source of biotechnology using a choice experiment with GM oranges. The study involved participants from three major orange-consuming countries (United States, Germany, and Spain). Results reveal that participants from all three countries were less willing to pay for GM oranges when the technology originated from multinational agribusiness corporations, compared to public universities and small companies. Further examining the effect of consumers’ perceptions, we found consumers’ perception of corporate distrust and environmental concern negatively influence their attitude toward the source of biotechnology, but their technology acceptance positively affects the attitude. By understanding consumers’ attitudes about the source of biotechnology and factors that may improve the consumer reactions, communication and promotion of new biotechnology food products to improve acceptance from existing and potential consumers are discussed.

Wines from Baja California, Mexico, have started to gain international recognition and win awards for their quality. This case study traces the development of the Mexican wine industry in the State of Baja California. The industry faced significant challenges during the economic crisis of the mid-1980s and when a major wine producer stopped purchasing grapes produced in the region in 2001. However, during these times of crisis, other companies could take advantage of the opportunities and establish strong companies. Having overcome these challenges together, the wine cluster in Baja California seems on the cusp of success. But will Mexico become the latest of the “New World” producers of wine to continue on a growth pattern, or will the newest series of challenges continue to keep the size of the industry too small to make a real name for itself?

To obtain a comprehensive picture of current food lifestyle patterns, this study aims to identify consumer segments with a focus on health-related considerations, and to profile segmented consumers based on demographic characteristics. As an adaptation of the food-related lifestyle instrument, consumer segmentation indicators in this study capture four dimensions: ways of shopping; importance of quality aspect; healthy eating; and health practice. Nationwide data targeting U.S. food shoppers were collected from June 2016 to November 2019 (N = 20,827). Latent class analysis, a probabilistic model-based segmentation approach, identified five distinct food lifestyle segments: passionately involved consumers (11%), nutrition-focused consumers (30%), moderately involved consumers (17%), convenience-oriented consumers (21%), and uninvolved consumers (21%). This pattern has differences as well as similarities with the one reflecting U.S. food shoppers in 2003 and those identified in Europe. In addition, these segments are made up of consumers with different demographic and regional characteristics. U.S. census regions, such as East South Central and West South Central, where there is a higher obesity prevalence, tend to have a larger portion of uninvolved consumers and a smaller portion of highly involved consumers (passionately involved and nutrition-focused consumers). The resulting food lifestyle segments, consumer profiling, and regional comparisons provide insights into effective marketing communication and consumer education on healthy eating.

This study provides an overview of US food shoppers in 2017 and serves as a benchmark for analyzing consumer trends in the future. A nationwide sample of 5,993 adults, primary food shoppers in the United States completed a survey in 2017 to learn about food-related perspectives and trends. Consumers differ in food shopping outlets, grocery spending, response to food price increases, food-related attitudes, food and beverage consumption patterns, and nutritional perceptions.

The Florida orange juice industry has experienced great challenges-declining orange juice consumption and a domestic supply shortage that has led to increasing imports over the past decade. As growers look for a foothold, the question remains whether it is better to continue promoting orange juice (OJ) sales by focusing on the Florida "brand" or whether orange juice, in general, should be promoted using a federal marketing program. This study aims to identify the value of promoting "Florida" on OJ products to help the industry understand the potential benefits of enhancing the image of "Florida" in consumers' perceptions of OJ.