Consumer versus Organic Products in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities and Barriers to Market Development

Magdalena Śmiglak-Krajewska and Julia Wojciechowska-Solis
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Magdalena Śmiglak-Krajewska: Department of Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Economics, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznan, Poland
Julia Wojciechowska-Solis: Department of Agritourism and Rural Development, Faculty of Agrobioengineering, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-22

Abstract: The main objective of this study was to determine the behavior of the Polish consumer of organic products during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify preferred channels of distribution of organic products in the situation of restricted freedom of movement as well as to assess what information displayed on the labels of organic food was most important to the customer. The research was conducted on a sample of 1108 respondents with the use of CAWI technique collected in an online survey carried out in February–August 2020. To analyze the obtained results, cluster analysis, linear regression model and duplication method were used to verify the substitute channels for purchasing organic goods. The pandemic has intensified the health value of consumers when making decisions about choosing food products. Consumers are sensitive shoppers who read the content of the labels and pay attention to the ingredients of the products they buy. The price is also of significant importance for consumers; however, it is less important than, for example, the expiration date of the purchased product. With the use of PCA analysis, it was possible to identify 18 factors that could be divided into three segments: marketing, practical and sensory. The proposed factors, according to the respondents, had an effect on the purchase of organic products by Polish consumers. Regarding the preferred purchasing channels, the Internet is becoming more and more important. Almost one-quarter of the respondents confirmed that they bought organic products via the above-mentioned distribution channel. Nearly 17% of the surveyed consumers considered the Internet to be an alternative way of doing their shopping. The results obtained in the research can be used in the sector of organic food producers to design marketing strategies and to adapt their offer to the proposed four groups of purchasers of organic products: eco-activists, eco-dietitians, eco-traditionalists, eco-innovators.

Keywords: sustainable decisions; behavior and attitudes; COVID-19; organic products; opportunities and barriers; purchasing channels; sustainable consumer welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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