Claire Garcia
Lecturer, ESG Management School, France.Understanding the Information Search Activities
with Regards to Fair Trade Shoppers’ Involvement:
A Qualitative Study in the United Kingdom
This article explores the nature and extent of information search
amongst fair trade consumers and the extent to which product and
purchase involvement influence the use of information in general and
the use of fair trade labelling in particular. Currently, it is proposed that
consumers’ interest in credence attributes is a behavioural consequence
of their greater level of involvement in food purchasing behaviour. If
more consumers care more about where their food comes from and
how it is produced, it is reasonable to assume that food purchasing
decisions will become more involved and greater use will be made of
information. Fairtrade information is mainly conveyed to consumers
through certification labelling, which mitigates the risks associated with
credence attributes and product packaging.
A combination of qualitative methods are used to determine the
precise nature of fair trade purchasing behaviour amongst supermarket
shoppers, the drivers of specific product choices and the role that
involvement and fair trade labelling play therein. The use of focus
groups was complemented with observational research, semi directed
interviews and analysis of grocery receipts.
The results of the research provide strong counter-evidence to
the claims that fair trade consumers are motivated by ethics and that
the fair trade label is an important source of information for fair trade
consumers. The practical implications of the research would suggest
that Fairtrade labelling is to be redesigned to better suits consumers’
information needs. At a managerial level, the need to adopt Fairtrade
initiative as a driver of sales might also be further questioned.