Consumer Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Through Retail Brand Labels Disclosure

Retail brands were initially introduced as low quality brands with low prices. Currently, customers understand that these brands are valuable price/quality options and have a preference for them. The increased competition among distribution companies have forced retailers to increasingly introduce sustainable practices, including in own brands. This paper analyses the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication through the packaging of retailers’ products. Following a content analysis of 377 packages of private labels from seven retail chains in Portugal, the authors concluded that there is CSR information in packages disclosing a variety of themes. A survey to 539 consumer indicate that consumer perceptions of CSR in packages correspond to the issues most valued. Health topics and national origin are better perceived and valued, even when they are not the most prevalent themes in packages. Environmental signals are lower perceived and valued, even when a similar or higher prevalence in packages.

An Analysis on Consumer Preference of Ayurvedic Products in Indian Market

With the growing awareness of lifestyle diseases and risk related to chemical-based products, there has been an increasing interest in green/natural products. The purpose of this study is to analyze the recent surge in the growth rate of Ayurved Market and to explore factors that are driving or inhibiting the said pattern. The study will use descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis to understand the factor influencing the consumer perception of Ayurvedic products. The study will also investigate the relation between the demographic factors and preference for Ayurvedic products. The study identifies the factors which influence the brand preferences and to know how these factors are further influenced by demographics. The result of the study indicates that the factors of trust and satisfaction have positive and significant impact on the brand preferences, whereas price has negative but insignificant influence on brand preferences. This study is an attempt to understand the role of Ayurved in food science as well as medical science.

Consumer Perception of Brand Repositioning Through Benefit Diversification and Intensity of Use

A company's positioning strategy is focused on how the company wants its brand to be perceived in the market. However, the constant change of markets has led many companies to carry on repositioning strategies to deliberately change their strategic positioning, namely by widening its product or service benefits to attract a wider market audience. As product or service positioning is always defined by the consumer, there is the need to understand the extent to which each company is able to communicate its new intended positioning and actually make it perceived. This chapter presents the case of Pedras, a Portuguese brand of naturally sparkling water which ramped up its communication efforts regarding the extension of its product's benefits in order to minimize the potential gap between intended and perceived positioning. Digital communication strategies are discussed to engage young consumers.

Consumer perceptions on satisfaction and word of mouth in smallholder horticultural stores in an emerging economy

Based on the expectancy disconfirmation theory, the study presents a conceptual model exploring consumer perception (perceived service quality, product quality, price, and corporate social responsibility) effect on satisfaction and word of mouth in smallholder horticulture stores. A quantitative analysis using Partial Least Squares-based Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was carried. This method was used to identify elements influencing satisfaction and to explore the hypothesised relationships between consumer perceptions, satisfaction, and the spreading of positive word of mouth. The findings identify the perceived service quality and product quality as factors that enhance satisfaction. However, the perceived quality of the product is the only factor that aids word of mouth. Correspondingly, perceived product quality shows a favorable relationship with perceived price. On the other hand, perceived price and corporate social responsibility do not strengthen customer satisfaction, with corporate social responsibility not aiding word of mouth. Furthermore, the study tested the strength of cus-tomer satisfaction as a mediating variable between consumer perception and word of mouth, and none of the results proved significant. Similarly, perceived price does not mediate the path between perceived product quality and customer satisfaction. The study is of benefit to scholars, smallholders, and agricultural policymakers, particularly in emerging economies.

Biophysical and Subject-Based Assessment of the Effects of Topical Moisturizer Usage on Xerotic Skin—Part II: Visioscan® VC 20plus Imaging

As new biophysical methods become available to the skin researcher it is important to understand the type of information that they are capable of measuring, and how it relates to consumer perception of topical moisturizing products. The aim of the work presented here was to understand what dry skin imaging can reveal about the skin and subject feedback from the use of a topical moisturizing product and how it relates to the consumer usage experience of a topical product. Images from a dry skin camera—the Visioscan® VC 20plus—during 3 weeks in vivo usage of a topical moisturizing product were analyzed. Subject feedback regarding their skin condition was also collected. Strong statistical improvements (p < 0.05) were observed for a wide range of skin parameters derived from the Visioscan® VC 20plus. Skin scaliness and smoothness and parameters associated with skin health and appearance (surface, energy, contrast, homogeneity) improved as a result of topical product usage. Subjects reported their skin to feel less dry, to be smoother, and more supple and to look and feel healthier after product usage. The length of time until they felt the need to re-apply the product increased during the study