IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i3p1137-d729304.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparison of the Purchasing Behaviour of Polish and United Kingdom Consumers in the Organic Food Market during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Julia Wojciechowska-Solis

    (Faculty of Agrobioengineering, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland)

  • Aleksandra Kowalska

    (Institute of Economics and Finance, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, pl. Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 5, 20-031 Lublin, Poland)

  • Milena Bieniek

    (Institute of Management and Quality Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, pl. Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 5, 20-031 Lublin, Poland)

  • Monika Ratajczyk

    (Institute of Management and Quality Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, pl. Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 5, 20-031 Lublin, Poland)

  • Louise Manning

    (School of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Royal Agricultural University, Stroud Road, Cirencester GL7 6JS, UK)

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to compare young consumer purchasing behaviour towards organic food in Poland (PL) and the United Kingdom (UK), countries with different levels of organic market maturity. The study was conducted by means of an online survey questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic between December 2020 and February 2021. The sample consisted of 862 PL and 161 UK consumers. 31% of PL respondents and 58.4% of UK respondents indicated they purchase organic products. Descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test and the two proportion Z test were used for statistical analyses. The results indicate that young consumers pay particular attention to the freshness and quality of consumed products. Concern for their own health and that of their loved ones, as well as the desire to eat better-quality products were the main motivations for the respondents to purchase organic products. Organic vegetables and fruits, eggs, dairy products, and meat and meat products, were among the most frequently purchased products in the studied cohorts. Experts (e.g., a dietitian, physician) were declared to be the first source of information concerning food products for young consumers. Next, family members were indicated. Social media content (PL respondents) and information from websites managed by institutions (UK respondents) were mentioned as the third source. UK consumers preferred short supply chains. The present study can be used by government bodies and companies to select the most effective communication channels for education and advertising and to develop effective commercial strategies aimed at young consumers.

Suggested Citation

  • Julia Wojciechowska-Solis & Aleksandra Kowalska & Milena Bieniek & Monika Ratajczyk & Louise Manning, 2022. "Comparison of the Purchasing Behaviour of Polish and United Kingdom Consumers in the Organic Food Market during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1137-:d:729304
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1137/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1137/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xin Qi & Huaming Yu & Angelika Ploeger, 2020. "Exploring Influential Factors Including COVID-19 on Green Food Purchase Intentions and the Intention–Behaviour Gap: A Qualitative Study among Consumers in a Chinese Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Magdalena Śmiglak-Krajewska & Julia Wojciechowska-Solis, 2021. "Consumer versus Organic Products in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities and Barriers to Market Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Hoang Viet Nguyen & Ninh Nguyen & Bach Khoa Nguyen & Antonio Lobo & Phuong Anh Vu, 2019. "Organic Food Purchases in an Emerging Market: The Influence of Consumers’ Personal Factors and Green Marketing Practices of Food Stores," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Gabriella Arcese & Serena Flammini & Maria Caludia Lucchetti & Olimpia Martucci, 2015. "Evidence and Experience of Open Sustainability Innovation Practices in the Food Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-24, June.
    5. Joanna Smoluk-Sikorska & Mariusz Malinowski & Władysława Łuczka, 2020. "Identification of the Conditions for Organic Agriculture Development in Polish Districts—An Implementation of Canonical Analysis," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-31, October.
    6. Hanna Górska-Warsewicz & Sylwia Żakowska-Biemans & Dagmara Stangierska & Monika Świątkowska & Agnieszka Bobola & Julita Szlachciuk & Maksymilian Czeczotko & Karol Krajewski & Ewa Świstak, 2021. "Factors Limiting the Development of the Organic Food Sector—Perspective of Processors, Distributors, and Retailers," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-22, September.
    7. Ann Harrison & Jason Scorse, 2022. "Multinationals and Anti-Sweatshop Activism," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 13, pages 291-317, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Harvey S. Rosen & Peter Koczanski, 2019. "Are Millennials Really So Selfish? Preliminary Evidence from the Philanthropy Panel Study," Working Papers 254, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    9. Sadiq, Muhammad Ahsan & Rajeswari, Balasundaram & Ansari, Lubna & Danish Kirmani, Mohd, 2021. "The role of food eating values and exploratory behaviour traits in predicting intention to consume organic foods: An extended planned behaviour approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    10. Seufert, Verena & Ramankutty, Navin & Mayerhofer, Tabea, 2017. "What is this thing called organic? – How organic farming is codified in regulations," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 10-20.
    11. Władysława Łuczka & Sławomir Kalinowski, 2020. "Barriers to the Development of Organic Farming: A Polish Case Study," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, November.
    12. Rebekka DePew & Gilbert Gonzales, 2020. "Differences in Health Outcomes Between Millennials and Generation X in the USA: Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(3), pages 605-616, June.
    13. Van Doorn, Jenny & Verhoef, Peter C., 2015. "Drivers of and Barriers to Organic Purchase Behavior," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 436-450.
    14. Rana, Jyoti & Paul, Justin, 2017. "Consumer behavior and purchase intention for organic food: A review and research agenda," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 157-165.
    15. Tania Bucic & Jennifer Harris & Denni Arli, 2012. "Ethical Consumers Among the Millennials: A Cross-National Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 113-131, September.
    16. Giuseppina Rizzo & Massimiliano Borrello & Giovanni Dara Guccione & Giorgio Schifani & Luigi Cembalo, 2020. "Organic Food Consumption: The Relevance of the Health Attribute," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-12, January.
    17. Magdalena Śmiglak-Krajewska & Julia Wojciechowska-Solis & Domenico Viti, 2020. "Consumers’ Purchasing Intentions on the Legume Market as Evidence of Sustainable Behaviour," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-20, September.
    18. Iain Davies & Zoe Lee & Ine Ahonkhai, 2012. "Do Consumers Care About Ethical-Luxury?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(1), pages 37-51, March.
    19. Krittinee Nuttavuthisit & John Thøgersen, 2017. "The Importance of Consumer Trust for the Emergence of a Market for Green Products: The Case of Organic Food," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 323-337, January.
    20. Shiksha Kushwah & Amandeep Dhir & Mahim Sagar & Bhumika Gupta, 2019. "Determinants of organic food consumption. A systematic literature review on motives and barriers," Post-Print hal-02559373, HAL.
    21. Corazza, Ilaria & Pennucci, Francesca & De Rosis, Sabina, 2021. "Promoting healthy eating habits among youth according to their preferences: Indications from a discrete choice experiment in Tuscany," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(7), pages 947-955.
    22. Małgorzata Kieżel & Paweł Piotrowski & Joanna Wiechoczek, 2019. "The Research on Sustainable Tourism in the Light of Its Paradigms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-21, October.
    23. Jing Shao, 2019. "Sustainable consumption in China: New trends and research interests," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 1507-1517, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ledy Gómez-Bayona & Alejandro Valencia-Arias & Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas & Cinthy Catheryne Espinoza-Requejo & Gustavo Moreno-López, 2023. "Perception of Green Product Consumption in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in an Emerging Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Kowalska Aleksandra & Budzyńska Anna & Białowąs Tomasz, 2022. "Food export restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic: Real and potential effects on food security," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 58(4), pages 409-424, December.
    3. Shahnaj Akter & Shahjahan Ali & Mária Fekete-Farkas & Csaba Fogarassy & Zoltán Lakner, 2023. "Why Organic Food? Factors Influence the Organic Food Purchase Intension in an Emerging Country (Study from Northern Part of Bangladesh)," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Maria Zuba-Ciszewska & Aleksandra Kowalska & Aneta Brodziak & Louise Manning, 2023. "Organic Milk Production Sector in Poland: Driving the Potential to Meet Future Market, Societal and Environmental Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-21, June.
    5. Eduardo Borges & Susana Campos & Mário Sérgio Teixeira & Maria Raquel Lucas & Ana Teresa Ferreira-Oliveira & Ana Sofia Rodrigues & Manuela Vaz-Velho, 2023. "How Do Companies Communicate Sustainability? A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aleksandra Kowalska & Monika Ratajczyk & Louise Manning & Milena Bieniek & Radosław Mącik, 2021. "“Young and Green” a Study of Consumers’ Perceptions and Reported Purchasing Behaviour towards Organic Food in Poland and the United Kingdom," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-23, November.
    2. Xin Qi & Huaming Yu & Angelika Ploeger, 2020. "Exploring Influential Factors Including COVID-19 on Green Food Purchase Intentions and the Intention–Behaviour Gap: A Qualitative Study among Consumers in a Chinese Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Maria Zuba-Ciszewska & Aleksandra Kowalska & Aneta Brodziak & Louise Manning, 2023. "Organic Milk Production Sector in Poland: Driving the Potential to Meet Future Market, Societal and Environmental Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-21, June.
    4. Hazem Ali & Min Li & Yunhong Hao, 2021. "Purchasing Behavior of Organic Food among Chinese University Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Joanna Smoluk-Sikorska & Mariusz Malinowski, 2021. "An Attempt to Apply Canonical Analysis to Investigate the Dependencies between the Level of Organic Farming Development in Poland and the Chosen Environmental Determinants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-26, December.
    6. Ladwein, Richard & Sánchez Romero, Andrea Milena, 2021. "The role of trust in the relationship between consumers, producers and retailers of organic food: A sector-based approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    7. Hoang Viet Nguyen & Ninh Nguyen & Bach Khoa Nguyen & Steven Greenland, 2021. "Sustainable Food Consumption: Investigating Organic Meat Purchase Intention by Vietnamese Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, January.
    8. Sadiq, Muhammad Ahsan & Rajeswari, Balasundaram & Ansari, Lubna & Danish Kirmani, Mohd, 2021. "The role of food eating values and exploratory behaviour traits in predicting intention to consume organic foods: An extended planned behaviour approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    9. Julia Wojciechowska-Solis & Anetta Barska, 2021. "Exploring the Preferences of Consumers’ Organic Products in Aspects of Sustainable Consumption: The Case of the Polish Consumer," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-17, February.
    10. Leonidou, Leonidas C. & Eteokleous, Pantelitsa P. & Christofi, Anna-Maria & Korfiatis, Nikolaos, 2022. "Drivers, outcomes, and moderators of consumer intention to buy organic goods: Meta-analysis, implications, and future agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 339-354.
    11. Mesbahuddin Chowdhury & Pavel Castka & Daniel Prajogo & Xiaoli Zhao & Lincoln C. Wood, 2021. "Is Organic Food Becoming Less Safe? A Longitudinal Analysis of Conventional and Organic Product Recalls," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-15, December.
    12. Meike Schulte & Sreejith Balasubramanian & Cody Morris Paris, 2021. "Blood Diamonds and Ethical Consumerism: An Empirical Investigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, April.
    13. Mostafa Fawzy Zayed & Hazem Rasheed Gaber & Nermine El Essawi, 2022. "Examining the Factors That Affect Consumers’ Purchase Intention of Organic Food Products in a Developing Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, May.
    14. Pengji Wang & Adrian T. H. Kuah & Qinye Lu & Caroline Wong & K. Thirumaran & Emmanuel Adegbite & Wesley Kendall, 2021. "The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(3), pages 325-346, May.
    15. Aleksandra Kowalska & Julia Wojciechowska-Solis & Milena Bieniek & Monika Ratajczyk & Louise Manning, 2023. "Declared non-buyers of organic food: A study of young British and Polish consumer profiles," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 1, pages 28-50.
    16. Sandra Ferreira & Olga Pereira, 2023. "Antecedents of Consumers’ Intention and Behavior to Purchase Organic Food in the Portuguese Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-13, June.
    17. Tandon, Anushree & Dhir, Amandeep & Kaur, Puneet & Kushwah, Shiksha & Salo, Jari, 2020. "Why do people buy organic food? The moderating role of environmental concerns and trust," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    18. Irene (Eirini) Kamenidou & Aikaterini Stavrianea & Evangelia-Zoi Bara, 2020. "Generational Differences toward Organic Food Behavior: Insights from Five Generational Cohorts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-25, March.
    19. Teresa Madureira & Fernando Nunes & José Veiga & Pablo Saralegui-Diez, 2021. "Choices in Sustainable Food Consumption: How Spanish Low Intake Organic Consumers Behave," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, November.
    20. Michał Gazdecki & Elżbieta Goryńska-Goldmann & Marietta Kiss & Zoltán Szakály, 2021. "Segmentation of Food Consumers Based on Their Sustainable Attitude," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-28, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1137-:d:729304. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.