Abstract
Many people are reluctant to buy fresh foods online. We seek to find out why. To this end, we created a research model that builds on findings regarding the hindering effect of perceived product performance risk on people’s online purchase behavior. We drew from studies on food choice behavior in the offline context as well as studies on the human senses to build hypotheses regarding the influence of four factors on perceived product performance risk in the context of online fresh food purchases: perceived importance of (a) flavor, (b) texture, (c) aroma, and (d) appearance as an evaluation criterion of fresh foods. After surveying 151 participants and analyzing the data using PLS-SEM, we confirmed the influence of factors (a) and (b) but not of factors (c) and (d). We will provide practical implications for our findings and an explanation for the two insignificant relationships.
Recommended Citation
Weitzel, Dirk and Ernst, Claus-Peter H., "The Role of Sensory Attribute Categories in Online Fresh Food Purchase Behavior" (2019). AMCIS 2019 Proceedings. 4.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2019/human_computer_interact/human_computer_interact/4
The Role of Sensory Attribute Categories in Online Fresh Food Purchase Behavior
Many people are reluctant to buy fresh foods online. We seek to find out why. To this end, we created a research model that builds on findings regarding the hindering effect of perceived product performance risk on people’s online purchase behavior. We drew from studies on food choice behavior in the offline context as well as studies on the human senses to build hypotheses regarding the influence of four factors on perceived product performance risk in the context of online fresh food purchases: perceived importance of (a) flavor, (b) texture, (c) aroma, and (d) appearance as an evaluation criterion of fresh foods. After surveying 151 participants and analyzing the data using PLS-SEM, we confirmed the influence of factors (a) and (b) but not of factors (c) and (d). We will provide practical implications for our findings and an explanation for the two insignificant relationships.