Does the prevalence of promotions on foods and beverages vary by product healthiness? A population-based study of household food and drink purchases in New Zealand

Objective: To assess the prevalence of promotions on foods and non-alcoholic drinks purchased by New Zealand households and to determine if they vary according to healthiness of products. Design: We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of Nielsen New Zealand Homescan® 2018/19 panel data. We conducted multivariate analyses to examine the variability in quantities of healthy vs. unhealthy food and beverage products purchased on promotion. Promotion was self-reported by the panelist. Healthiness of products was measured by the Health Star Rating system (HSR). We also carried out a subgroup analysis for beverages according to the threshold of < 5 g vs. ≥ 5 g sugar per 100 ml content of products. Setting: The Nielsen New Zealand Homescan® data were linked with two New Zealand food composition databases (Nutritrack and the FOODfiles). Participants: Food and beverage purchases data by 1,800 panel households were used. Results: Overall, 46% (1,803,601/3,940,458) of all purchases made were on promotion. Compared with purchases of food and beverage products with HSR < 3.5 (unhealthy), food and beverage products with HSR ≥ 3.5 (healthy) were significantly less likely to be on promotion (OR=0.78, 95% CI 0.77 - 0.79). The subgroup analysis for beverages shows that products with < 5 g per 100ml were significantly less likely to be on promotion than those with > 5 g sugar per 100ml (OR=0.76, 95% CI 0.75 - 0.78). Conclusions: Policies to improve healthy food retailing should focus on increasing the promotion of healthier food and drink options in stores and supermarkets.

A Review of Antecedents and Effects of Loyalty on Food Retailers toward Sustainability

With the increase in consumer awareness of sustainability and diversified retailer brands, the conceptualizations and dimensions of brand loyalty are changing. Existing research studies have focused on traditional constructs and measurements to explain new phenomena in the food retail sector but ignored the environmental and social effects on consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. This study entails an extensive and structured review of definitions, taxonomy, dimensions, and measurements of loyalty within a food marketing context. With an additional emphasis on the notion of sustainability, it provides a perspective theory synthesis that integrates all testified antecedents of all types of loyalty to emphasize a trend of sustainability beyond brand scope, whereby sustainability values create loyalty. A systematic literature review and qualitative analysis methods were used to identify the relevant literature. The studies that qualified for inclusion were those that reported (1) research methods, (2) dimensions of brand loyalty, (3) knowledge of sustainability factors, and (4) organic marketing. This paper summarizes and compares the key constructs and measurements of loyalty to retailers. The results show inconsistencies in relation to two important attitudinal dimensions, namely, brand satisfaction and brand value. Although loyalty towards product brands, loyalty toward service organizations, store loyalty, and retailer loyalty have been studied in recent decades by marketing academics, little attention has been paid to clarifying their role in food retailing, especially regarding whether the established dimensions are relevant in conceptualizing consumer loyalty in sustainability based on organic food marketing. The theoretical implications are discussed in association with the research gap between loyalty dimensions and sustainability values, as well as multidimensional measurements development. The practical implications of this review are important for food retailers and organic food marketers that can meet the satisfaction and retain consumers’ loyalty by providing organic and sustainable products and improving related service quality involving environmental consequences and social well-being.

A managerial accounting framework for the performance measurement and management of profit and cost centers of food-retailing organizations in dynamic environments

Η παρούσα διατριβή αναπτύσσει ένα λογιστικό πλαίσιο διαχείρισης της αποδοτικότητας για τα δίκτυα λιανικής πώλησης σε δυναμικά περιβάλλοντα. Η έρευνα υποκινείται από το γεγονός ότι κατά τη διάρκεια δυσμενών οικονομικών συνθηκών, οι διοικήσεις των δικτύων λιανικής πώλησης eπικεντρώνονται στη βελτίωση της λειτουργίας των καταστημάτων τους, καθιστώντας τη λειτουργική αποτελεσματικότητα στρατηγική προτεραιότητα για αυτούς. Επίσης, όταν το οικονομικό περιβάλλον αρχίζει σταδιακά να βελτιώνεται, η διοίκηση χρειάζεται το κατάλληλο εργαλείο μέτρησης για την ορθή αξιολόγηση του αντικτύπου των εναλλακτικών τρόπων οριζόντιας ανάπτυξης (είτε μέσω του ανοίγματος νέων καταστημάτων είτε της εξαγοράς άλλου δικτύου καταστημάτων) στη λειτουργική αποτελεσματικότητα. Στο εμπειρικό μέρος της έρευνας γίνεται χρήση ενός μοναδικού συνόλου μικροδεδομένων από 106 καταστήματα λιανικής πώλησης ενός αντιπροσωπευτικού δικτύου ελληνικού Super Market (S/M) το οποίο λειτουργούσε σεένα ιδιαίτερα υφεσιακό και ανταγωνιστικό περιβάλλον. Συγκεκριμένα πραγματοποιείται συγκριτική μηνιαία αξιολόγηση της αποτελεσματικότητας τωνκαταστημάτων της συγκεκριμένης αλυσίδας με χρήση του εργαλείου bootstrap DEA κατά τα υφεσιακά έτη 2012 – 2013 ενώ μελετάται και το έτος 2014 όπου παρατηρήθηκε σταδιακή βελτίωση του λειτουργικού περιβάλλοντος και επανεκκίνηση στρατηγικών οριζόντιας ανάπτυξης από τη διοίκηση της αλυσίδας. Τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν ότι αυτό το πλαίσιο με τη συνδυαστική χρήση των μεθοδολογιών bootstrap DEA, secondstage regression analysis, radar analysis and CART decision tree algorithm: α) εντοπίζει τα καταστήματα με τις καλύτερες και χειρότερες επιδόσεις με την πάροδο του χρόνου β) προσδιορίζει τις κύριες πηγές αναποτελεσματικότητας γ) προτείνει βελτιώσεις της αποτελεσματικότητας σε επιχειρησιακό και στρατηγικό επίπεδο. Οι μετρήσεις των βαθμών αποτελεσματικότητας δείχνουν ότι η κατανομή τους είναι ανισομερής στην διάρκεια του χρόνου, με τα kαταστήματα μεγαλύτερου μεγέθους να εμφανίζουν την καλύτερη εικόνα αποτελεσματικότητας. Η ανάλυση της αποτελεσματικότητας σε διαφορετικές διαστάσεις της (αποτελεσματικότητα παραγωγής και κέρδους) έδειξε ότι συσχετίζονται θετικά. Επιπλέον, η ανάλυση αποτελεσματικότητας πουπραγματοποιήθηκε υπό κανονικές οικονομικές συνθήκες παρέχει στοιχεία που αποδεικνύουν ότι, σε σύγκριση με τη οργανική ανάπτυξη, τα καταστήματα εξαγοράς οδηγούν σε χαμηλότερη λειτουργική απόδοση. Το προτεινόμενο πλαίσιο διαχείρισης επιδόσεων προσφέρει ένα εργαλείο για την αξιολόγηση της αποτελεσματικότητας των δικτύων λιανικής πώλησης S/M σε ταραγμένους καιρούς, ενώ κατευθύνει αναφορικά με το τρόπο επίτευξης οργανικής ανάπτυξης των δικτύων σε περιβάλλον κανονικών οικονομικών συνθηκών.

Consumer Valuation of and Attitudes towards Novel Foods Produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques: A Review

We follow the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to review the emerging international body of empirical evidence on consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for novel foods produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs). NPETs include genome/gene editing, cisgenesis, intragenesis, and RNA interference. These novel foods are often beneficial for the environment and human health and more sustainable under increasingly prevalent climate extremes. These techniques can also improve animal welfare and disease resistance when applied to animals. Despite these abilities of NPETs, evidence suggests that many, but not all, consumers discount these novel foods relative to conventional ones. Our review sorts out findings to identify conditioning factors that can increase the acceptance of and WTP for these novel foods in a significant segment of consumers. International patterns of acceptance are identified. We also analyze how information and knowledge interact with consumer acceptance of these novel foods and technologies. Heterogeneity of consumers—across cultures and borders and in attitudes towards science and innovation—emerges as a key determinant of acceptance and WTP. Acceptance and WTP tend to increase when socially beneficial attributes—as opposed to producer-oriented cost-saving attributes—are generated by NPETs. NPET-improved foods are systematically less discounted than transgenic foods. Most of the valuation estimates are based on hypothetical experiments and surveys and await validation through revealed preferences in actual purchases in food retailing environments.

Implementation of Food Retail Functions in Poland in the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Retail trade is one of many links of the food supply chain to the consumer. Therefore, the efficiency of its operation is influenced by the earlier located links in the chain, first of all by agriculture, processing, logistics, and wholesale trade, as well as by consumers. The research problem in this paper, specified in the form of questions, is as follows: Has the 2020 pandemic reduced the performance of food retailing functions in less-developed regions of Poland? What is the assessment of the degree of their implementation? What directions should be taken at the micro and macro level to increase resilience to the negative effects of future crisis phenomena, in the implementation of the functions of this trade? The cognitive aim of the study was to examine the degree of performance of economic and social functions by the food retail trade in Poland, after one year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (with the example of the Lubuskie region). For its implementation, four research hypotheses were formulated. The work was carried out in three stages, theoretical-interpretative, methodological, empirical, and consisted of three parts. In the experimental part, the method of CATI interviews with store owners/managers and the method of advanced statistics, classification, and visualization were used. The article brings new cognitive and normative value concerning food retailing in Poland. The results of the study enabled the realization of the aim of the paper and the verification of the hypotheses. The conclusions are presented in the summary of the individual parts of the empirical data analysis and in the conclusion of the paper. The paper contributes to the literature a new recognition of the degree of performance of the seven examined functions by food retail units, during the pandemic.

Co-ops 2.0: Alternative Retail Strategies to Support a Sustainable Transition in Food Retailing

While modern food retailing is characterized by high price pressure and low-quality differentiation resulting in a limited supply of sustainably produced alternative food products, cooperative retailing structures offer additional synergies in terms of logistics and operations that hold great potential to support the expansion of sustainable produce. Many retailers in Germany are organized in cooperatives of sufficient size to generate large-scale effects while still allowing individual retailers to pursue independent business structures. Cooperatives targeted to elaborate on collectivity operate a business. In economic terms this means that scale effects are used to elaborate and help single business. In the food sector cooperative structures in Germany provide a substantial impact in food delivery and provision, especially fresh foods are very sensitive and need fast circulation. Sourcing sustainable, local and regional foods are often produced (or rather crafted) in small scale entities. This paper asks the question of how and whether cooperative marketing structures help to deliver and use scale effects of larger entities, while still collaboratively encouraging food marketing. Accordingly, this paper reports on an investigation of the main challenges faced by members of a large-scale cooperative in retailing sustainably produced products and the motives of these retailers in choosing whether or not to sell such products. Taking the case of grass-fed beef sold by retailers within a large German cooperative, the study reveals that some of the obstacles to selling this sustainable product are comparable to challenges typically encountered in other retailing channels beyond cooperative structures. However, we also find that the flexibility of the cooperative structure enables individual retailers to bring their intrinsic motivation into (sustainable) action in the marketplace while taking advantage of the support offered by the cooperative in terms of marketing and consultation, etc. This analysis confirms that personal motivation within this cooperative structure is a strong determinant for individual retailers to pursue different pathways for the marketing and sale of sustainably produced food.

Consumer Valuation of and Attitudes Towards Novel Foods Produced with NPETs: A Review

We review the emerging international body of evidence on attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for novel foods produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs). NPETs include genome/gene editing, cisgenesis, intragenesis, RNA interference and others. These novel foods are often beneficial for the environment and human health and more sustainable under increasingly prevalent climate extremes. These techniques can also improve animal welfare and disease resistance when applied to animals. Despite these promising attributes, evidence suggests that many, but not all consumers, discount these novel foods relative to conventional ones. Our systematic review sorts out findings to identify conditioning factors which can increase the acceptance of and WTP for these novel foods in a significant segment of consumers. International patterns of acceptance are identified. We also analyze how information and knowledge interact with consumer acceptance of these novel foods and technologies. Heterogeneity of consumers across cultures and borders, and in attitudes towards science and innovation emerges as key determinants of acceptance and WTP. Acceptance and WTP tend to increase when beneficial attributes&mdash;as opposed to producer-oriented cost-saving attributes&mdash;are generated by NPETs. NPETs improved foods are systematically less discounted than transgenic foods. Most of the valuation elicitations are based on hypothetical experiments and surveys and await validation through revealed preferences in actual purchases in food retailing environments.