research paper on consumer behaviour towards

The past, present, and future of consumer research

• Published: 13 June 2020
• Volume 31 , pages 137–149, ( 2020 )

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• Maayan S. Malter   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0383-7925 1 ,
• Morris B. Holbrook 1 ,
• Barbara E. Kahn 2 ,
• Jeffrey R. Parker 3 &
• Donald R. Lehmann 1  

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In this article, we document the evolution of research trends (concepts, methods, and aims) within the field of consumer behavior, from the time of its early development to the present day, as a multidisciplinary area of research within marketing. We describe current changes in retailing and real-world consumption and offer suggestions on how to use observations of consumption phenomena to generate new and interesting consumer behavior research questions. Consumption continues to change with technological advancements and shifts in consumers’ values and goals. We cannot know the exact shape of things to come, but we polled a sample of leading scholars and summarize their predictions on where the field may be headed in the next twenty years.

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1 Introduction

Beginning in the late 1950s, business schools shifted from descriptive and practitioner-focused studies to more theoretically driven and academically rigorous research (Dahl et al. 1959 ). As the field expanded from an applied form of economics to embrace theories and methodologies from psychology, sociology, anthropology, and statistics, there was an increased emphasis on understanding the thoughts, desires, and experiences of individual consumers. For academic marketing, this meant that research not only focused on the decisions and strategies of marketing managers but also on the decisions and thought processes on the other side of the market—customers.

Since then, the academic study of consumer behavior has evolved and incorporated concepts and methods, not only from marketing at large but also from related social science disciplines, and from the ever-changing landscape of real-world consumption behavior. Its position as an area of study within a larger discipline that comprises researchers from diverse theoretical backgrounds and methodological training has stirred debates over its identity. One article describes consumer behavior as a multidisciplinary subdiscipline of marketing “characterized by the study of people operating in a consumer role involving acquisition, consumption, and disposition of marketplace products, services, and experiences” (MacInnis and Folkes 2009 , p. 900).

This article reviews the evolution of the field of consumer behavior over the past half century, describes its current status, and predicts how it may evolve over the next twenty years. Our review is by no means a comprehensive history of the field (see Schumann et al. 2008 ; Rapp and Hill 2015 ; Wang et al. 2015 ; Wilkie and Moore 2003 , to name a few) but rather focuses on a few key thematic developments. Though we observe many major shifts during this period, certain questions and debates have persisted: Does consumer behavior research need to be relevant to marketing managers or is there intrinsic value from studying the consumer as a project pursued for its own sake? What counts as consumption: only consumption from traditional marketplace transactions or also consumption in a broader sense of non-marketplace interactions? Which are the most appropriate theoretical traditions and methodological tools for addressing questions in consumer behavior research?

2 A brief history of consumer research over the past sixty years—1960 to 2020

In 1969, the Association for Consumer Research was founded and a yearly conference to share marketing research specifically from the consumer’s perspective was instituted. This event marked the culmination of the growing interest in the topic by formalizing it as an area of research within marketing (consumer psychology had become a formalized branch of psychology within the APA in 1960). So, what was consumer behavior before 1969? Scanning current consumer-behavior doctoral seminar syllabi reveals few works predating 1969, with most of those coming from psychology and economics, namely Herbert Simon’s A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice (1955), Abraham Maslow’s A Theory of Human Motivation (1943), and Ernest Dichter’s Handbook of Consumer Motivations (1964). In short, research that illuminated and informed our understanding of consumer behavior prior to 1969 rarely focused on marketing-specific topics, much less consumers or consumption (Dichter’s handbook being a notable exception). Yet, these works were crucial to the rise of consumer behavior research because, in the decades after 1969, there was a shift within academic marketing to thinking about research from a behavioral or decision science perspective (Wilkie and Moore 2003 ). The following section details some ways in which this shift occurred. We draw on a framework proposed by the philosopher Larry Laudan ( 1986 ), who distinguished among three inter-related aspects of scientific inquiry—namely, concepts (the relevant ideas, theories, hypotheses, and constructs); methods (the techniques employed to test and validate these concepts); and aims (the purposes or goals that motivate the investigation).

2.1 Key concepts in the late - 1960s

During the late-1960s, we tended to view the buyer as a computer-like machine for processing information according to various formal rules that embody economic rationality to form a preference for one or another option in order to arrive at a purchase decision. This view tended to manifest itself in a couple of conspicuous ways. The first was a model of buyer behavior introduced by John Howard in 1963 in the second edition of his marketing textbook and quickly adopted by virtually every theorist working in our field—including, Howard and Sheth (of course), Engel-Kollat-&-Blackwell, Franco Nicosia, Alan Andreasen, Jim Bettman, and Joel Cohen. Howard’s great innovation—which he based on a scheme that he had found in the work of Plato (namely, the linkages among Cognition, Affect, and Conation)—took the form of a boxes-and-arrows formulation heavily influenced by the approach to organizational behavior theory that Howard (University of Pittsburgh) had picked up from Herbert Simon (Carnegie Melon University). The model represented a chain of events

where I = inputs of information (from advertising, word-of-mouth, brand features, etc.); C = cognitions (beliefs or perceptions about a brand); A = Affect (liking or preference for the brand); B = behavior (purchase of the brand); and S = satisfaction (post-purchase evaluation of the brand that feeds back onto earlier stages of the sequence, according to a learning model in which reinforced behavior tends to be repeated). This formulation lay at the heart of Howard’s work, which he updated, elaborated on, and streamlined over the remainder of his career. Importantly, it informed virtually every buyer-behavior model that blossomed forth during the last half of the twentieth century.

To represent the link between cognitions and affect, buyer-behavior researchers used various forms of the multi-attribute attitude model (MAAM), originally proposed by psychologists such as Fishbein and Rosenberg as part of what Fishbein and Ajzen ( 1975 ) called the theory of reasoned action. Under MAAM, cognitions (beliefs about brand attributes) are weighted by their importance and summed to create an explanation or prediction of affect (liking for a brand or preference for one brand versus another), which in turn determines behavior (choice of a brand or intention to purchase a brand). This took the work of economist Kelvin Lancaster (with whom Howard interacted), which assumed attitude was based on objective attributes, and extended it to include subjective ones (Lancaster 1966 ; Ratchford 1975 ). Overall, the set of concepts that prevailed in the late-1960s assumed the buyer exhibited economic rationality and acted as a computer-like information-processing machine when making purchase decisions.

2.2 Favored methods in the late-1960s

The methods favored during the late-1960s tended to be almost exclusively neo-positivistic in nature. That is, buyer-behavior research adopted the kinds of methodological rigor that we associate with the physical sciences and the hypothetico-deductive approaches advocated by the neo-positivistic philosophers of science.

Thus, the accepted approaches tended to be either experimental or survey based. For example, numerous laboratory studies tested variations of the MAAM and focused on questions about how to measure beliefs, how to weight the beliefs, how to combine the weighted beliefs, and so forth (e.g., Beckwith and Lehmann 1973 ). Here again, these assumed a rational economic decision-maker who processed information something like a computer.

Seeking rigor, buyer-behavior studies tended to be quantitative in their analyses, employing multivariate statistics, structural equation models, multidimensional scaling, conjoint analysis, and other mathematically sophisticated techniques. For example, various attempts to test the ICABS formulation developed simultaneous (now called structural) equation models such as those deployed by Farley and Ring ( 1970 , 1974 ) to test the Howard and Sheth ( 1969 ) model and by Beckwith and Lehmann ( 1973 ) to measure halo effects.

2.3 Aims in the late-1960s

During this time period, buyer-behavior research was still considered a subdivision of marketing research, the purpose of which was to provide insights useful to marketing managers in making strategic decisions. Essentially, every paper concluded with a section on “Implications for Marketing Managers.” Authors who failed to conform to this expectation could generally count on having their work rejected by leading journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research ( JMR ) and the Journal of Marketing ( JM ).

2.4 Summary—the three R’s in the late-1960s

Starting in the late-1960s to the early-1980s, virtually every buyer-behavior researcher followed the traditional approach to concepts, methods, and aims, now encapsulated under what we might call the three R’s —namely, rationality , rigor , and relevance . However, as we transitioned into the 1980s and beyond, that changed as some (though by no means all) consumer researchers began to expand their approaches and to evolve different perspectives.

2.5 Concepts after 1980

In some circles, the traditional emphasis on the buyer’s rationality—that is, a view of the buyer as a rational-economic, decision-oriented, information-processing, computer-like machine for making choices—began to evolve in at least two primary ways.

First, behavioral economics (originally studied in marketing under the label Behavioral Decision Theory)—developed in psychology by Kahneman and Tversky, in economics by Thaler, and applied in marketing by a number of forward-thinking theorists (e.g., Eric Johnson, Jim Bettman, John Payne, Itamar Simonson, Jay Russo, Joel Huber, and more recently, Dan Ariely)—challenged the rationality of consumers as decision-makers. It was shown that numerous commonly used decision heuristics depart from rational choice and are exceptions to the traditional assumptions of economic rationality. This trend shed light on understanding consumer financial decision-making (Prelec and Loewenstein 1998 ; Gourville 1998 ; Lynch Jr 2011 ) and how to develop “nudges” to help consumers make better decisions for their personal finances (summarized in Johnson et al. 2012 ).

Second, the emerging experiential view (anticipated by Alderson, Levy, and others; developed by Holbrook and Hirschman, and embellished by Schmitt, Pine, and Gilmore, and countless followers) regarded consumers as flesh-and-blood human beings (rather than as information-processing computer-like machines), focused on hedonic aspects of consumption, and expanded the concepts embodied by ICABS (Table 1 ).

2.6 Methods after 1980

The two burgeoning areas of research—behavioral economics and experiential theories—differed in their methodological approaches. The former relied on controlled randomized experiments with a focus on decision strategies and behavioral outcomes. For example, experiments tested the process by which consumers evaluate options using information display boards and “Mouselab” matrices of aspects and attributes (Payne et al. 1988 ). This school of thought also focused on behavioral dependent measures, such as choice (Huber et al. 1982 ; Simonson 1989 ; Iyengar and Lepper 2000 ).

The latter was influenced by post-positivistic philosophers of science—such as Thomas Kuhn, Paul Feyerabend, and Richard Rorty—and approaches expanded to include various qualitative techniques (interpretive, ethnographic, humanistic, and even introspective methods) not previously prominent in the field of consumer research. These included:

Interpretive approaches —such as those drawing on semiotics and hermeneutics—in an effort to gain a richer understanding of the symbolic meanings involved in consumption experiences;

Ethnographic approaches — borrowed from cultural anthropology—such as those illustrated by the influential Consumer Behavior Odyssey (Belk et al. 1989 ) and its discoveries about phenomena related to sacred aspects of consumption or the deep meanings of collections and other possessions;

Humanistic approaches —such as those borrowed from cultural studies or from literary criticism and more recently gathered together under the general heading of consumer culture theory ( CCT );

Introspective or autoethnographic approaches —such as those associated with a method called subjective personal introspection ( SPI ) that various consumer researchers like Sidney Levy and Steve Gould have pursued to gain insights based on their own private lives.

These qualitative approaches tended not to appear in the more traditional journals such as the Journal of Marketing , Journal of Marketing Research , or Marketing Science . However, newer journals such as Consumption, Markets, & Culture and Marketing Theory began to publish papers that drew on the various interpretive, ethnographic, humanistic, or introspective methods.

2.7 Aims after 1980

In 1974, consumer research finally got its own journal with the launch of the Journal of Consumer Research ( JCR ). The early editors of JCR —especially Bob Ferber, Hal Kassarjian, and Jim Bettman—held a rather divergent attitude about the importance or even the desirability of managerial relevance as a key goal of consumer studies. Under their influence, some researchers began to believe that consumer behavior is a phenomenon worthy of study in its own right—purely for the purpose of understanding it better. The journal incorporated articles from an array of methodologies: quantitative (both secondary data analysis and experimental techniques) and qualitative. The “right” balance between theoretical insight and substantive relevance—which are not in inherent conflict—is a matter of debate to this day and will likely continue to be debated well into the future.

2.8 Summary—the three I’s after 1980

In sum, beginning in the early-1980s, consumer research branched out. Much of the work in consumer studies remained within the earlier tradition of the three R’s—that is, rationality (an information-processing decision-oriented buyer), rigor (neo-positivistic experimental designs and quantitative techniques), and relevance (usefulness to marketing managers). Nonetheless, many studies embraced enlarged views of the three major aspects that might be called the three I’s —that is, irrationality (broadened perspectives that incorporate illogical, heuristic, experiential, or hedonic aspects of consumption), interpretation (various qualitative or “postmodern” approaches), and intrinsic motivation (the joy of pursuing a managerially irrelevant consumer study purely for the sake of satisfying one’s own curiosity, without concern for whether it does or does not help a marketing practitioner make a bigger profit).

3 The present—the consumer behavior field today

3.1 present concepts.

In recent years, technological changes have significantly influenced the nature of consumption as the customer journey has transitioned to include more interaction on digital platforms that complements interaction in physical stores. This shift poses a major conceptual challenge in understanding if and how these technological changes affect consumption. Does the medium through which consumption occurs fundamentally alter the psychological and social processes identified in earlier research? In addition, this shift allows us to collect more data at different stages of the customer journey, which further allows us to analyze behavior in ways that were not previously available.

Revisiting the ICABS framework, many of the previous concepts are still present, but we are now addressing them through a lens of technological change (Table 2 )

. In recent years, a number of concepts (e.g., identity, beliefs/lay theories, affect as information, self-control, time, psychological ownership, search for meaning and happiness, social belonging, creativity, and status) have emerged as integral factors that influence and are influenced by consumption. To better understand these concepts, a number of influential theories from social psychology have been adopted into consumer behavior research. Self-construal (Markus and Kitayama 1991 ), regulatory focus (Higgins 1998 ), construal level (Trope and Liberman 2010 ), and goal systems (Kruglanski et al. 2002 ) all provide social-cognition frameworks through which consumer behavior researchers study the psychological processes behind consumer behavior. This “adoption” of social psychological theories into consumer behavior is a symbiotic relationship that further enhances the theories. Tory Higgins happily stated that he learned more about his own theories from the work of marketing academics (he cited Angela Lee and Michel Pham) in further testing and extending them.

3.2 Present Methods

Not only have technological advancements changed the nature of consumption but they have also significantly influenced the methods used in consumer research by adding both new sources of data and improved analytical tools (Ding et al. 2020 ). Researchers continue to use traditional methods from psychology in empirical research (scale development, laboratory experiments, quantitative analyses, etc.) and interpretive approaches in qualitative research. Additionally, online experiments using participants from panels such as Amazon Mechanical Turk and Prolific have become commonplace in the last decade. While they raise concerns about the quality of the data and about the external validity of the results, these online experiments have greatly increased the speed and decreased the cost of collecting data, so researchers continue to use them, albeit with some caution. Reminiscent of the discussion in the 1970s and 1980s about the use of student subjects, the projectability of the online responses and of an increasingly conditioned “professional” group of online respondents (MTurkers) is a major concern.

Technology has also changed research methodology. Currently, there is a large increase in the use of secondary data thanks to the availability of Big Data about online and offline behavior. Methods in computer science have advanced our ability to analyze large corpuses of unstructured data (text, voice, visual images) in an efficient and rigorous way and, thus, to tap into a wealth of nuanced thoughts, feelings, and behaviors heretofore only accessible to qualitative researchers through laboriously conducted content analyses. There are also new neuro-marketing techniques like eye-tracking, fMRI’s, body arousal measures (e.g., heart rate, sweat), and emotion detectors that allow us to measure automatic responses. Lastly, there has been an increase in large-scale field experiments that can be run in online B2C marketplaces.

3.3 Present Aims

Along with a focus on real-world observations and data, there is a renewed emphasis on managerial relevance. Countless conference addresses and editorials in JCR , JCP , and other journals have emphasized the importance of making consumer research useful outside of academia—that is, to help companies, policy makers, and consumers. For instance, understanding how the “new” consumer interacts over time with other consumers and companies in the current marketplace is a key area for future research. As global and social concerns become more salient in all aspects of life, issues of long-term sustainability, social equality, and ethical business practices have also become more central research topics. Fortunately, despite this emphasis on relevance, theoretical contributions and novel ideas are still highly valued. An appropriate balance of theory and practice has become the holy grail of consumer research.

The effects of the current trends in real-world consumption will increase in magnitude with time as more consumers are digitally native. Therefore, a better understanding of current consumer behavior can give us insights and help predict how it will continue to evolve in the years to come.

4 The future—the consumer behavior field in 2040

The other papers use 2030 as a target year but we asked our survey respondents to make predictions for 2040 and thus we have a different future target year.

Niels Bohr once said, “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” Indeed, it would be a fool’s errand for a single person to hazard a guess about the state of the consumer behavior field twenty years from now. Therefore, predictions from 34 active consumer researchers were collected to address this task. Here, we briefly summarize those predictions.

4.1 Future Concepts

While few respondents proffered guesses regarding specific concepts that would be of interest twenty years from now, many suggested broad topics and trends they expected to see in the field. Expectations for topics could largely be grouped into three main areas. Many suspected that we will be examining essentially the same core topics, perhaps at a finer-grained level, from different perspectives or in ways that we currently cannot utilize due to methodological limitations (more on methods below). A second contingent predicted that much research would center on the impending crises the world faces today, most mentioning environmental and social issues (the COVID-19 pandemic had not yet begun when these predictions were collected and, unsurprisingly, was not anticipated by any of our respondents). The last group, citing the widely expected profound impact of AI on consumers’ lives, argued that AI and other technology-related topics will be dominant subjects in consumer research circa 2040.

While the topic of technology is likely to be focal in the field, our current expectations for the impact of technology on consumers’ lives are narrower than it should be. Rather than merely offering innumerable conveniences and experiences, it seems likely that technology will begin to be integrated into consumers’ thoughts, identities, and personal relationships—probably sooner than we collectively expect. The integration of machines into humans’ bodies and lives will present the field with an expanding list of research questions that do not exist today. For example, how will the concepts of the self, identity, privacy, and goal pursuit change when web-connected technology seamlessly integrates with human consciousness and cognition? Major questions will also need to be answered regarding philosophy of mind, ethics, and social inequality. We suspect that the impact of technology on consumers and consumer research will be far broader than most consumer-behavior researchers anticipate.

As for broader trends within consumer research, there were two camps: (1) those who expect (or hope) that dominant theories (both current and yet to be developed) will become more integrated and comprehensive and (2) those who expect theoretical contributions to become smaller and smaller, to the point of becoming trivial. Both groups felt that current researchers are filling smaller cracks than before, but disagreed on how this would ultimately be resolved.

4.2 Future Methods

As was the case with concepts, respondents’ expectations regarding consumer-research methodologies in 2030 can also be divided into three broad baskets. Unsurprisingly, many indicated that we would be using many technologies not currently available or in wide use. Perhaps more surprising was that most cited the use of technology such as AI, machine-learning algorithms, and robots in designing—as opposed to executing or analyzing—experiments. (Some did point to the use of technologies such as virtual reality in the actual execution of experiments.) The second camp indicated that a focus on reliable and replicable results (discussed further below) will encourage a greater tendency for pre-registering studies, more use of “Big Data,” and a demand for more studies per paper (versus more papers per topic, which some believe is a more fruitful direction). Finally, the third lot indicated that “real data” would be in high demand, thereby necessitating the use of incentive-compatible, consequential dependent variables and a greater prevalence of field studies in consumer research.

As a result, young scholars would benefit from developing a “toolkit” of methodologies for collecting and analyzing the abundant new data of interest to the field. This includes (but is not limited to) a deep understanding of designing and implementing field studies (Gerber and Green 2012 ), data analysis software (R, Python, etc.), text mining and analysis (Humphreys and Wang 2018 ), and analytical tools for other unstructured forms of data such as image and sound. The replication crisis in experimental research means that future scholars will also need to take a more critical approach to validity (internal, external, construct), statistical power, and significance in their work.

4.3 Future Aims

While there was an air of existential concern about the future of the field, most agreed that the trend will be toward increasing the relevance and reliability of consumer research. Specifically, echoing calls from journals and thought leaders, the respondents felt that papers will need to offer more actionable implications for consumers, managers, or policy makers. However, few thought that this increased focus would come at the expense of theoretical insights, suggesting a more demanding overall standard for consumer research in 2040. Likewise, most felt that methodological transparency, open access to data and materials, and study pre-registration will become the norm as the field seeks to allay concerns about the reliability and meaningfulness of its research findings.

4.4 Summary - Future research questions and directions

Despite some well-justified pessimism, the future of consumer research is as bright as ever. As we revised this paper amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear that many aspects of marketplace behavior, consumption, and life in general will change as a result of this unprecedented global crisis. Given this, and the radical technological, social, and environmental changes that loom on the horizon, consumer researchers will have a treasure trove of topics to tackle in the next ten years, many of which will carry profound substantive importance. While research approaches will evolve, the core goals will remain consistent—namely, to generate theoretically insightful, empirically supported, and substantively impactful research (Table 3 ).

5 Conclusion

At any given moment in time, the focal concepts, methods, and aims of consumer-behavior scholarship reflect both the prior development of the field and trends in the larger scientific community. However, despite shifting trends, the core of the field has remained constant—namely, to understand the motivations, thought processes, and experiences of individuals as they consume goods, services, information, and other offerings, and to use these insights to develop interventions to improve both marketing strategy for firms and consumer welfare for individuals and groups. Amidst the excitement of new technologies, social trends, and consumption experiences, it is important to look back and remind ourselves of the insights the field has already generated. Effectively integrating these past findings with new observations and fresh research will help the field advance our understanding of consumer behavior.

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Malter, M.S., Holbrook, M.B., Kahn, B.E. et al. The past, present, and future of consumer research. Mark Lett 31 , 137–149 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-020-09526-8

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Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior toward Green Products: A Systematic Literature Review

Andreea barbu.

1 Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management, University Politehnica of Bucharest, RO-060042 Bucharest, Romania

2 Academy of Romanian Scientists, RO-050044 Bucharest, Romania

Ștefan-Alexandru Catană

3 Faculty of Business and Administration, Department of Business Administration, University of Bucharest, RO-030167 Bucharest, Romania

Dana Corina Deselnicu

Lucian-ionel cioca.

4 Faculty of Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Management Department, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, RO-550025 Sibiu, Romania

Alexandra Ioanid

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Not applicable.

In the last few decades, humans have consumed more resources than in all of previous history. Hence, we are living in times in which the topic of environmental protection is a global concern. The paper aims to conduct a systematic literature review on consumer behavior, as well as identifying the main factors that interfere with consumer behavior toward green products. A total of 37 studies were found and systematized using inclusion and exclusion criteria. The papers were selected only if they featured research on consumer perceptions of green products. Using this search strategy, a literature analysis was performed based on papers extracted from Web of Science, Emerald Insights, Springer Link, and Science Direct. As a result, various factors that influence consumer behavior toward green products were identified, such as social norms, natural environmental orientation, the company’s perceived green image, green product characteristics, perceived risks and inconvenience of buying green products, perceived benefits of buying green products, institutional trust, sociodemographic characteristics, and consumer confidence. Even though completing a systematic literature review is not something new in academic research, the novelty of this paper is found in its theme: consumer behavior toward green products. Although the analyzed articles highlight quite varied reasons, the articles emphasize that the green products should take into account the needs, expectations, and perceptions of customers.

1. Introduction

In the last few decades, humans have consumed more resources than in all of previous history. Hence, we are living in times in which the topic of environmental protection is a global concern. There are estimations that almost 70% of the planet’s greenhouse gas footprint depends on which products customers choose and whether they use and dispose of them in a sustainable manner [ 1 ]. Thus, consumers are becoming more interested in environmental topics and reflecting their interest in their decision to buy green products [ 2 ]. The United Nations Environment Programme (2011) [ 3 ] has estimated that the green products market doubles annually. Another international study has indicated that 73% of consumers across 60 countries are determined to pay more for sustainable products [ 4 ]. In a survey developed by Harvard Business Review [ 1 ], 65% of the consumers surveyed said they want to buy eco-friendly products, but only 26% of them do so, thus this is a contradictory desire.

The topic of increasing consumer interest in green products has rapidly expanded globally over the last few years [ 5 ]. The global market for green products is estimated at USD 44 trillion, more than half of global GDP [ 6 ]. The global market for low-carbon environmental goods and services is estimated at EUR 4.2 trillion [ 7 ]. Moreover, the global green technology and sustainability market size was valued at USD 11.49 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow to USD 13.76 billion in 2022 [ 8 ]. This phenomenon is facilitated by the COVID-19 pandemic when the heightened attention to hygiene and wellness led to increasing demand for safe products for both consumers’ families and the environment [ 9 ]. In Romania, a European Union country with an emerging economy, 73% of the consumers state that they are willing to pay more for green food grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, 49% would agree to pay more for renewable energy, and 36% would pay more for products with biodegradable components [ 10 ].

The state-of-art review confirms the absence of a universal, effective, and well-structured definition of a green product [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Although there is no internationally recognized definition, a green product (or ecological product/eco-friendly product/sustainable product) is “a sustainable product designed to minimize its environmental impacts during its whole life-cycle and even after it is of no use” [ 15 ]. In essence, a green product has two main characteristics: reducing waste and maximizing resource efficiency [ 16 ]. The literature analyzed focused on green products from a variety of viewpoints, presenting both their benefits and barriers [ 17 ]. Researchers have linked ecological products with environmental protection [ 18 ], sustainability [ 19 ], reduced wastage during production [ 20 ], social quality [ 21 ], economic benefits [ 22 ], low energy consumption [ 23 ], low emissions [ 24 ], less packaging [ 14 ], etc. However, other authors have revealed the negative aspects of sustainable products as follows: higher price [ 25 ], costly green certifications [ 26 ], and the short durability of the product [ 27 ].

Many researchers have explored consumer behavior toward the green products topic and have presented different viewpoints on this subject. First of all, the green products consumers use contribute to the protection of the environment by consumers’ refusal to buy products that are harmful to the environment [ 28 , 29 ]. Secondly, a green consumer can be defined as an individual who adopts environmentally-friendly behaviors and buys green products rather than standard products [ 30 ]. Thirdly, consumers with environmental awareness are not only interested in the consumption process, but also in the production, the scarcity of consumed resources, and post-use processes of products [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ].

Against this background, this paper seeks to identify and analyze the factors that influence consumer behavior toward green products. To achieve the aims of the paper, the authors employed a systematic literature review. Even though completing a systematic literature review is not something new in academic research, the novelty of this paper is in its theme: consumer behavior toward green products. Although the analyzed articles highlight quite varied reasons, the topic of green products should take into account the needs, expectations, and perceptions of customers. Moreover, to determine the main factors that influence consumer behavior toward green products, the authors of this paper also analyzed if the factors treated by each of the analyzed paper confirmed the existing correlations between these factors and the consumer behavior toward green products.

This paper is structured as follows. Section 2 presents the Materials and Methods. The Results and Discussion are presented in Section 3 and Section 4 , respectively. Section 5 summarizes this study and illustrates the Conclusions, along with their limitations and research perspectives.

2. Materials and Methods

In order to achieve the aims of the paper, the authors carried out a systematic literature review that encompassed several phases ( Figure 1 ), based on the methodology presented by Glogovețan et al. (2022) [ 34 ]. Firstly, the authors of this paper designed the plan for the scientific research by setting the research objectives. Secondly, they defined the conceptual boundaries. The main identified research directions are composed of consumer behavior regarding green products.

Phases of the systematic literature review.

Thirdly, the authors used the inclusion and exclusion criteria reported by [ 34 , 35 ] and they performed a literature analysis through a combination of the following keywords ( Figure 2 ) in several electronic databases such as Web of Science, Science Direct, Springer Link, SAGE, and Emerald Insight.

Keywords used for search strategy.

The initial search generated 119 papers, of which 37 titles fit the considered criteria ( Table 1 ); therefore, they were analyzed further. The articles were evaluated to identify if they deal with consumer perception on green products.

The methodological criteria.

Source: [ 34 , 35 ].

The publications were selected only if they featured research on consumer perceptions regarding green products and were retained for further analysis only if they simultaneously fulfilled the eight methodological criteria ( Table 1 ) proposed by [ 34 ] and [ 35 ]. The final set of articles included in the present systematic literature review consists of 37 publications.

To achieve the goal of this paper, the authors divided the results of their analysis into three sections. The first section presents the methodology used in the reviewed studies and other significant information about the analyzed articles. The second section presents the main factors influencing consumer behavior toward green products observed by the authors in the reviewed studies, while the third part contains a brief analysis of each determined dimension.

3.1. Revision of the Studies

Out of the 37 reviewed articles ( Table 2 ), 5 of them were published in 2022, and 13 were published in 2021, while the rest covered the years 2017–2020. These articles were published in journals with the main focus being on business strategy and the environment (14), sustainability (11), consumer services (5), cleaner production (4), environmental psychology, and public health (3). The majority of the papers presented quantitative studies, with some of them also containing qualitative research.

Basic information of the reviewed articles.

Note: * total number of citations on Google Scholar on 1 August 2022.

Out of the 37 papers, 4 of them presented a literature review about different variables that can influence green product purchasing behavior. Moreover, in these papers, a variety of statistical procedures were used, such as the ANOVA Kruskal–Wallis test, the Mann–Whitney U test, Pearson’s Chi-square test, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test, personal interview and focus group discussions, multivariate data analysis techniques using structural equation modelling, and multiple regression analyses.

3.2. The Main Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

The analysis of the reviewed papers revealed a series of factors that can influence consumer behavior toward green products. 111 factors were analyzed, with most of them being quite similar in form and meaning. However, the authors of this paper were able to group these factors according to their form and meaning into eight main categories: social norms, natural environmental orientation, a company’s perceived green image, green product characteristics, perceived risks and inconvenience of buying green products, perceived benefits of buying green products, institutional trust, sociodemographic characteristics, and consumer confidence ( Figure 3 ):

Factors influencing consumer behavior toward green products.

Regarding the results of the analyzed studies, the authors of this paper also analyzed if the factors assessed by each paper confirmed the existing correlations and the buying behavior toward green products. Comments based on these correlations will be made in the following subsections, for each main category of identified factors.

3.3. Social Norms and Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

The reviewed papers highlighted that in the context of green product consumption, social norms describe the way society views environmental issues [ 47 ]. In addition, social norms refer to how people think and act pro-environmentally [ 72 ]. The reviewed studies present the role of social norms in predicting pro-environmental behavior and changing people’s green behaviors [ 41 , 47 , 53 , 62 , 72 ]. The results indicate that people are significantly influenced by society’s actions regarding pro-environmental issues and the way society presents normality in this context.

The factors that were grouped in this category also refer to green product knowledge [ 40 , 50 , 63 , 65 ], natural environmental orientation [ 67 ], green habit [ 67 ], knowledge about environmental damage and pollution [ 71 ], attitudes toward environmental protection [ 71 ], environmental concern habit [ 40 ], environmental consciousness [ 37 , 58 , 61 , 64 ], attitudes toward environmental issues [ 64 ], green trust [ 40 , 50 , 54 , 66 ] green involvement [ 54 ], environmental beliefs [ 59 , 60 ], environmental awareness [ 5 , 50 , 59 ], environmental concerns [ 36 , 58 , 59 ], green attitudes [ 50 , 61 ], drive for environmental responsibility [ 36 , 42 ], perceived ecological value [ 44 ], green practices [ 46 ], green product awareness [ 44 , 45 ], and consumer social responsibility [ 54 ].

All of the identified factors influence consumer behavior toward green products. Thus, to make positive changes in people’s behavior toward green products, it is necessary to make changes at a societal level regarding the attitudes toward environmental issues and also to educate people in this regard.

3.4. A Company’s Perceived Image and Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

Corporate image refers to the overall impressions of the organization’s stakeholders, as well as how stakeholders perceive the firm as a business [ 38 ].

In the last few years, environmental issues such as global warming and environmental damage have represented real concerns for people all over the world [ 73 ]. People have tried to be more responsible with their actions and have attempted to buy environmentally-friendly products [ 74 ]. In this context, companies have been forced to modify their services or products, offering clients solutions that would also meet the environmental protection needs. Thus, they have started to invest in building a strong green image or a green brand for their businesses, and therefore they are trying to influence the consumer behavior of buying green products [ 75 ].

The reviewed papers that addressed this topic also highlighted that a company’s perceived green image is built around several concepts such as eco-certification origin [ 43 ], brand image [ 40 , 48 ], brand love [ 48 ], brand loyalty [ 48 ], brand trust [ 66 ], green brand associations [ 5 ], green brand attitude [ 5 ], green brand knowledge [ 66 ], green communication [ 39 ], social media [ 42 ], and product innovation and segmentation [ 50 ].

However, not all the studies demonstrated that all of these concepts influence consumer behavior toward green products. For example, [ 40 ], as well as [ 69 ], argues that green brand knowledge, environmental knowledge, consumers’ environmental attitudes and green knowledge do not influence attitudes toward using green products, but investing in brand trust and brand image are key actions that influence consumer behavior [ 5 ].

3.5. Green Product Characteristics and Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

It is almost impossible to talk about green products without mentioning their characteristics or attributes. Cheung and To (2019) [ 64 ] found out that green product information can be a key determinant of consumers’ green purchase behavior. Zhang and Dong (2020) [ 55 ] claim that a green product needs to be credible in order to be appreciated by potential buyers, so the eco-label can affect the consumers’ buying behavior [ 55 ]. In addition, besides eco-labels, consumers are taking into account other aspects such as the quality of the green products [ 45 , 51 , 55 , 57 , 70 ] or the awareness about green products [ 44 , 45 , 54 , 55 ], with all of them having a significant impact on consumer behavior toward green products.

After analyzing the selected papers, the authors of this research concluded that consumer behavior toward green products can be influenced by the following product characteristics: price [ 45 , 57 ], quality [ 45 , 51 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 64 , 70 , 71 ], availability [ 45 , 46 , 55 , 68 ], packaging [ 55 ], eco-label [ 45 , 46 , 55 ], material [ 46 ], functional value [ 46 ], and green product information [ 64 ].

The availability of green products is an important factor that can positively influence consumer behavior toward green products [ 45 ]. This factor can also influence the consumers’ buying behavior, because they can choose between different types of green products or different brand names. In addition, the perceived quality of green products can impact consumers’ green purchasing intentions [ 46 , 64 ], with the packaging also playing an important role in influencing the perceived quality of green products [ 45 ].

3.6. Perceived Risks and Inconvenience of Buying Green Products and Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

Perceived risk refers to the subjective evaluation of customers regarding the possible consequences of wrong purchasing decisions [ 70 ], while perceived inconvenience of buying green products refers to aspects such as: the price, difficulty in evaluating them depending on how ecological they are, difficulty in finding green products in regular stores, and additional time and effort to get to the specialized stores where they are marketed [ 60 ].

In their research, Caniëls et al. (2021) [ 60 ] started from the idea that higher perceived inconvenience is associated with a negative attitude towards buying green products. Their paper highlights that green products are more expensive than normal products, they are not easy to find in stores and it is also hard to determine their actual degree of “greenness”. Therefore, consumers need to make an extra effort in order to find green products, to analyze the specifications written on the label and their relevance, and of course, to buy them at a higher price. Furthermore, the analyzed paper also focuses on the relationship between the inconvenience of buying green products, pro-environmental beliefs, and social values. According to the consumers’ pro-environmental beliefs, the green buying behavior of young people who perceive the high inconvenience of buying green products is largely influenced by the social value attached to buying green products [ 60 ]. Moreover, Wasaya et al. (2021) [ 51 ] state that those customers who attach great importance to the environment, who are aware of its problems, have a risk perception in their mind that the product or service they use will not be according to the claims they have made. This situation generates uncertainty and brings negative changes regarding the attitudes of customers regarding the purchase of products or services. Thus, the perceived risk becomes a subjective assessment of potential clients that is associated with the possible consequences of wrong decisions. Regarding the types of perceived risks, Wang (2017) [ 70 ] states that they can refer to product performance, social aspects, psychological aspects, physical aspects, and loss of time.

Regarding this section, by analyzing the selected papers of this study, the authors found out that consumer behavior toward green products can be influenced by the following factors: green perceived risk [ 51 , 70 ], perception of recycled product risk and uncertainty [ 71 ], and perceived inconvenience of buying green products [ 60 ].

Sun et al. (2018) [ 71 ] analyzed the case of recycled products and discovered that the perception of recycled products risk is negatively related to the perception of quality for recycled products and positively to the pro attitude toward environmental protection. Their results showed that concepts such as risk and uncertainty associated with green products negatively influence consumers’ buying behavior. Wasaya et al. (2021) [ 51 ] also highlight that there is a negative and significant relationship between environmental awareness and green perceived risk.

3.7. Perceived Benefits of Buying Green and Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

Regarding the attitude toward eco-social benefits, Cheung and To (2019) [ 64 ] claim that this concept measures the degree to which the potential consumers of green products agree that purchasing those products will bring social benefits and have a positive moral value.

When it comes to the relationship between the benefits of green products and consumer behavior toward green products, the authors of this paper extracted from the selected papers some important factors that can be grouped into a single dimension: attitude toward eco-social benefits [ 64 ], company benefit belief, personal benefit belief [ 47 ], and perceived consumer effectiveness [ 38 , 40 ]

Concern for the environment may lead consumers to maximize the eco-social benefits. Buying eco-friendly products brings them more psychological benefits, and they perceive life improvement through using green products [ 64 ]. In addition, as green products consume less energy, consumers believe that green products can bring even more benefits, while their attitude towards environmental protection will also be improved. Therefore, this study asks how a consumer’s target knowledge (the belief that the consumer will benefit from good quality) and agent knowledge (the belief that the company will benefit from it) are associated with their purchase intentions from companies, following environmentally sound practices.

Besides personal benefit beliefs, company benefit beliefs significantly predicted purchase intentions [ 47 ]. In their research, Ham et al. (2022) claim that the company benefit belief is one of the strongest predictors of purchase intentions across all generations. In the case of the companies that use corporate social responsibility and also green marketing, potential customers are more attracted to buy from them and seem to appreciate their efforts to be eco-friendly. Moreover, if a customer believes that a company implements green practices, he/she is willing to support that company and buy green products from it [ 47 ].

Perceived consumer effectiveness becomes an important predictor of green purchase behavior, with it being even more significant than environmental attitudes alone [ 38 ]. Perceived consumer effectiveness positively influences green purchase behavior and also the company’s perceived green image [ 38 ]. Wang et al. (2019) [ 40 ] highlight the fact that companies should attach environmental protection labels to green product packaging to enhance perceived consumer effectiveness. Thus, by specifying such information on the label, such as resources saved or carbon emissions reduced, companies can encourage consumers to contribute to the protection of the environment by purchasing green products.

3.8. Institutional Trust and Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

Institutional trust refers to trust in institutions, whether we are considering governments or companies. This is an important aspect to be studied in the case of green product buying behavior, mainly when consumers do not have enough knowledge or time to analyze their options regarding green products [ 68 ].

In the papers selected for this study, the authors found that there is a significant relationship between institutional trust and consumer behavior toward green products, with this relationship being mediated by factors such as institutional trust [ 68 ] and government support [ 44 ].

In their paper, Ricci et al. (2018) studied the trust-to-go-green concept and discovered that institutional trust in food supply chain-related actors influences the attitudes of consumers towards green products and also the concern about the environmental and health-related impacts of agricultural practices. Their results indicate that the more consumers trust supply chain-related actors, the more they would be willing to buy green food [ 68 ].

An important role is played by government support, which should act in the sense of promoting a sustainable market, and positively influencing consumer attitudes toward green products [ 76 ]. Al-Kumaim et al. (2021) [ 44 ] analyzed the relationship between government support and purchase intention toward green products purchase behavior. According to them, one of the government’s roles is to provide guiding principles to consumers that can affect their buying attitudes based on the health and safety values of green products. In addition, the government’s policies regarding the environment positively impact consumers’ attitudes toward green products [ 44 , 77 ] the government’s support and institutional trust play an important role in consumer behavior toward green products.

When green companies manage to raise the consumers’ level of trust in institutions, they can also improve the consumers’ probability to choose green products [ 68 ]. Thus, institutional trust can be considered as an important factor that can be used to promote green acquisitions to consumers who are not particularly involved in eco-friendly behavior [ 68 ].

3.9. Sociodemographic Characteristics and Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

Sociodemographic characteristic seems to also be an important factor that can influence consumer behavior regarding green product acquisitions [ 52 , 55 ]. This dimension was represented in the specialty literature by items such as age [ 47 ], gender, education, number of children [ 40 ], place of residence, or financial situation [ 40 , 52 ].

When it comes to the influence of gender on green product acquisition, Witek and Kuźniar (2021) [ 52 ] highlighted the fact that women are more sensitive about environmental issues than men, more interested in health and living in a safe environment, and more interested in buying eco-products than men, even if they need to pay higher prices for green products.

Even if some pieces of research have demonstrated that age does not influence green behaviors [ 36 ], the results obtained by Witek and Kuźniar (2021) [ 52 ] show that the older age the of consumers, the greater the social pressure for purchasing green products, and older consumers expressing green purchase intentions [ 47 ]. Thus, older people seem to be more responsible in addressing environmental problems through actions than the younger generation [ 47 ].

Regarding the impact of education on green product acquisition, there is still room for improvement. The results obtained by Witek and Kuźniar (2021) [ 52 ] did not support the hypothesis according to which education has a positive impact on the consumers’ green purchase intentions, while other studies show the opposite [ 40 , 78 , 79 ].

Income [ 40 ] and personal financial situation are factors that can influence green behavior too, as the personal financial situation highly influences the consumers’ willingness to pay more for green products [ 52 ]. The number of children has an impact on the frequency of green product purchases as well, as mothers are very concerned about their children’s health and safety, which is why they tend to buy more green products [ 52 ].

3.10. Consumer Confidence and Consumer Behavior toward Green Products

Consumer self-confidence is associated with buying intention, as well as green product quality and price perceptions [ 57 ]. Self-confidence is related to a positive experience in supermarkets or other marketplaces [ 76 ].

By analyzing the papers selected for this research, the authors of this paper discovered that some similar concepts that can influence consumer behavior toward green products could be grouped into consumer confidence [ 37 ], consumer protection confidence, and consumer self-confidence [ 57 ].

To predict consumers’ purchase decisions, it is necessary to understand consumer confidence, which is an indicator of customers’ evaluations of the national economy and their financial situation [ 80 ]. In their research, Han et al. (2022) [ 37 ] discussed consumer confidence and its positive relationship with green purchase intention. They found that this relationship is partially mediated by environmental and status consciousness. Moreover, they highlighted that the results of their paper can help retailers in developing better marketing tactics by understanding how consumer confidence fluctuations can influence the major economic growth-driven environmental challenges.

In their paper, D’Souza et al. (2020) [ 57 ] discussed the level of the consumers’ perceived ability to make sound decisions and also the ability to acquire and use information by looking at consumer self-confidence and consumer protection self-confidence.

When it comes to consumer self-confidence, manufacturers, and retailers need to analyze the consumers’ confidence in their ability to obtain and understand green product information, their ability to choose the right product based on that information, their confidence regarding how their choices correspond with their expectations, and how they can improve satisfaction [ 57 ].

Similarly, regarding consumer protection self-confidence, it is important to analyze the marketers’ strategies used to persuade consumers to buy green products and also the level of consumers’ confidence in dealing with these strategies and consumers’ rights. Thus, through their paper, D’Souza et al. (2020) [ 57 ] claim that consumer self-confidence moderates the relationship between the price and the quality of green products in the decision to buy green products, highlighting the fact that consumer protection confidence has no moderating effect on these relationships. In addition, consumer self-confidence can modify consumers’ purchasing intentions.

4. Discussion

This systematic review reveals the most important factors influencing consumer behavior of green products. From the analysis of the selected 37 papers, a series of common characteristics were identified, highlighting various representative factors for this field, even if the methodologies used in these studies were different or the results obtained were somewhat contradictory regarding the relationship between the studied variables. Thus, the most used factors in influencing user behavior toward green products could be grouped into eight distinct categories: social norms, a company’s perceived green image, green product characteristics, perceived risks and inconvenience of buying green products, perceived benefits of buying green products, institutional trust, sociodemographic characteristics, and consumer confidence.

This grouping made by the authors of this paper, as well as the establishment of the eight categories of factors, can be seen as a new contribution to the specialty literature, thus coming in as a gap analysis that has the role of both filtering, extracting, and presenting the most representative factors that influence consumer behavior regarding the purchase of green products.

Although in the past, social norms represented one of the most used factors influencing consumers’ environmental behaviors [ 81 ], this concept is still an important one when it comes to making consumers act pro-environmentally [ 41 , 47 , 53 , 62 , 72 , 82 ]. Letting people know how others act regarding the protection of the environment can be the key to how social norms can influence green buying behavior [ 81 ]. Consumers need to choose products that do not harm the environment and take care of their buying behavior as well. Their attitude towards using and buying green products can influence other members of society, which is why they need to be responsible for their actions. Consumer social responsibility is positively related to green purchasing intention [ 54 ], therefore “people must be aware of their role in reducing ecological issues and respond appropriately” [ 83 ].

Even if the majority of the papers from our study have shown that the subjective norms directly affect consumer behavior toward green products [ 36 , 51 , 54 , 61 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 71 ], there is evidence to support the fact that this factor does not directly impact green purchase intention, but it indirectly relates to future purchase intention [ 38 , 43 , 66 ]. This relationship is mediated by a company’s perceived green image when a green corporate image is a long-term goal for the management. In a competitive market, the green image could play a key role in building a company’s brand, which can differentiate a company’s offerings from competing ones [ 47 ], with the image of a company being valuable for increasing customer satisfaction [ 84 ]. Thus, companies should focus on communication and green marketing techniques which deliver information that influences consumer behavior to be more eco-friendly [ 85 ].

Also, making consumers aware of green product information can be a key determinant of green purchase behavior [ 64 ]. Most of the time, when customers are concerned about the environment and its preservation, they tend to buy green products if these products have eco-certifications or are produced under eco-certification schemes and respect rigorous regulations [ 45 , 46 , 49 , 55 ].

For the potential customers who find the green product characteristics on the eco-labels, the decision to buy the product is easy to make, with this analysis making them pay even higher prices for green products that might cause less harm to the environment [ 64 ]. Thus, if the information regarding green product characteristics convinces consumers that their attributes, designs, and functions are beneficial to them or the environment [ 45 ], people are willing to pay more for that functional value.

When it comes to green product buying behavior, perceived risk is also a factor that should be analyzed [ 51 , 60 , 70 , 71 ]. This perceived risk is consumers’ valuation, which is associated with the possible consequences of wrong decisions [ 86 ]. The analyzed scientific papers of this research topic highlight that risks and uncertainty regarding green products negatively influence potential customers’ buying behavior, with environmental awareness being an important factor that can affect green perceived risk [ 51 ]. Therefore, in order to reduce risks, consumers can use different strategies, such as pre-purchase deliberation, seeking additional information, reliance on brand image, personal recommendations, or the security of warranties [ 70 ].

Also, the perceived benefits of buying green products can influence consumers’ behavior toward green products [ 38 , 40 , 47 , 64 ]. Perceived consumer effectiveness refers to the consumer’s belief that the efforts of his/her actions can make significant differences in solving environmental problems [ 87 ]. Therefore, consumers who think that their choices to buy green products will bring benefits to the environment tend to buy more green products [ 40 ].

Although trust is considered to be an important factor that can influence consumer behavior [ 88 , 89 ], there is still a lot of debate about how institutional trust can affect consumer behavior toward green products, especially when trust levels may be influenced both positively and negatively [ 90 ]. Ricci et al. (2018) [ 68 ] highlight the fact that institutional trust can influence consumer risk perception and attitudes, with the level of trust negatively affecting those variables [ 91 ]. Concerning the relationship between trust and consumer attitudes, several studies have shown that the higher the level of consumer trust, the higher the probability to develop a positive attitude and, thus, choosing products with eco-friendly characteristics [ 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 ].

This research also revealed that sociodemographic characteristics can be important factors that influence consumer behavior toward green products [ 52 , 55 ]. While the results obtained by Witek and Kuźniar (2021) [ 52 ] showed no relationship between the consumers’ education and their buying behavior toward green products, other studies claim the opposite [ 58 , 78 , 79 ]. In addition, sociodemographic characteristics such as gender [ 47 ], age [ 52 ] or personal financial situation [ 47 ] can influence consumer behavior toward green products, while other studies claim they are not important when it comes to the final decision of buying green products [ 63 , 96 , 97 ]. Moreover, our analysis showed that there is a positive relationship between consumer confidence and consumer behavior toward green products [ 37 , 57 ], with this being one of the factors that can significantly influence potential customers’ behavior.

The papers from the specialty literature that separately analyze the interaction between various factors and the attitude of consumers and their behavior regarding the purchase of green products make the mission of researchers, and also merchants, quite difficult in terms of understanding and managing these situations. On one hand, researchers who want to make important contributions to the green products industry should start from a clear set of factors that generally influence the purchase of green products. After understanding these concepts and how they are correlated with the perceptions of potential consumers, they should customize them for specific green product industries and test if the same types of correlations exist in their case. However, if there is not a clear enough basis regarding the main factors from which their analysis must start, then the future results that will be obtained by them could be incomplete or less relevant for all those who want to know more about generic green products. On the other hand, green product traders must research the existing case studies in the specialized literature to analyze the type of variables taken into account for testing the conceptual models presented in the scientific works. They must understand the basic concepts used, check if they all match their types of specialized green products, and if the conclusions and directions formulated by the authors of the papers present information that could be useful to them in the case of the industries in which they are used. The efforts of retailers should first focus on papers that present the basic concepts absolutely necessary in managing the behavior of customers interested in green products, and only then should they focus on specific case studies. Thus, this paper comes as a cornerstone in the green products industry in order to be able to create an overview necessary for both researchers and green product traders in relation to the main factors that can determine the purchase of green products.

5. Conclusions

Considering that in the last few decades humans have consumed more resources than in all of previous history, the topic of environmental protection is a global concern. In this vein, consumers’ interest in green products has witnessed an impressive rise.

From a theoretical point of view, this paper provides valuable new insights into the expansion of the scientific literature on consumer perceptions on green products. In this line, the green products acquisition process should take into account the factors influencing consumer behavior. Moreover, the paper discusses the positive and negative influence of several key factors that influence consumers’ behavior toward green products: social norms, natural environmental orientation, company’s perceived green image, green product characteristics, perceived risks and inconvenience of buying green products, perceived benefits of buying green products, institutional trust, sociodemographic characteristics, and consumer confidence.

From a practical point of view, the topic of green products should take into account the needs, expectations, and perceptions of consumers. Firstly, by taking into consideration all the factors influencing consumer behavior, companies from the ecological sector should design and implement several strategies to target interested consumers. Secondly, government authorities should support and promote a culture of green products. Thirdly, companies should create a good institutional image, highlighting that consumers should choose products that do not harm the environment.

The present study has certain limitations. First of all, considering the research strategy (which takes into account only papers that fit into the mentioned criteria), the authors of this paper may have omitted some pertinent articles. This brings about the possibility that the removed papers include information that could affect our conclusions. Secondly, there is a need for future research related to factors influencing the consumer behavior toward green products, considering the discrepancy between nations or areas. Thirdly, since this study was based on only some of the factors that influence consumer behavior toward green products, future research should be conducted to identify and analyze other important factors.

Funding Statement

The publication of this article has been funded by the University Politehnica of Bucharest (UPB) through the PubArt Programme.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Ș.-A.C. and A.B.; literature review, Ș.-A.C. and A.B.; data curation, Ș.-A.C., A.B., D.C.D., L.-I.C. and A.I.; formal analysis, Ș.-A.C., A.B., D.C.D., L.-I.C. and A.I.; methodology, A.B., D.C.D. and Ș.-A.C.; supervision, L.-I.C. and D.C.D.; writing—original draft, Ș.-A.C. and A.B.; writing—review and editing, Ș.-A.C., A.B., D.C.D., L.-I.C. and A.I. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Consumer Buying Behaviour in Online Shopping: An Empirical Study with Reference to Delhi, India

Proceedings of the International Conference on Innovative Computing & Communication (ICICC) 2022

14 Pages Posted: 13 Mar 2023

Rinku Dixit

New delhi institute of management, shailee choudhary, nikhil govil, gla university mathura.

Date Written: February 5, 2023

India was ranked as the 8th largest e-commerce market globally in 2021, placed ahead of Indonesia and lagging behind France and valued at USD 67.53 billion. The major revenue share comes from Electronics & Media at 34%, followed by fashion at 26%, food and personal care at 24%, toys and DIYs at 11% and furniture at 5%. (Ecommercedb, 2021). The Indian e-commerce industry is expected to reach a size of $111.4 billion in 2025, from $46.2 billion in 2020. It is further estimated to grow to USD 350 billion in 2030 (IBEF Report, 2021). Flipkart saw an increase in purchase of laptops and desktops by 3 times in 2020. Amazon witnessed an increase in grooming and wellness products, in addition to essential products and online work enablers (The Economic Times, 2021). The main reasons behind these trends are the convenience for those with hectic schedules, one-day delivery for hasty requirements, easy returns, extreme variety across brands, comfortable in-house shopping experience and so on. The online shopping trends saw multifold increase during the COVID pandemic as most people chose to avoid crowded areas. This accelerated the sales of the ecommerce giants as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, etc. who gained huge profits. To maintain this steep rise and retain the consumers, there is a need to understand factors that influence the buying behavior of the online consumers. This study is an effort in the same direction. The authors have used questionnaire for collecting primary data from responses focusing on demography, personal and family details and various factors that may affect online shopping experience and inclination. The data has been collected from 250 respondents and has been used to study relation between the various factors using advanced statistical and analytical techniques on analytical and visualization softwares. The results suggest that demographic factors have a substantial impact on the buying behavior of the online consumers. COVID lockdown had substantial impact on the pre and post covid sales but the general trend points towards orientation of citizens in Delhi towards online buying. The authors have also tried to figure out the levels of satisfaction among online buyers and how it changes with the time they spend choosing articles. The study also identifies the key drivers that influenced the consumer online purchasing intention during COVID. The results also suggest that preference towards e-commerce platforms remains uniform across the various zones. Extending this study to pan-India level can get better insights of the online shopping patterns of the consumers. This study is highly beneficial to e-commerce platform companies as it would help them to understand customer perspective, region-wise e-commerce preference, major underlying factors, correlations, etc.

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Meet the ‘new consumer’: How shopper behaviour is changing in a post-inflation world

Lecturer in the Ted Rogers School of Retail Management, Toronto Metropolitan University

Assistant Professor, Retail Management, Toronto Metropolitan University

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After a long anticipated wait, the Bank of Canada has finally decided to cut interest rates by 25 basis points . The decision marks a departure from the series of interest rate hikes that were previously implemented to curb inflation .

The recent decrease appears to be signalling that inflation is finally starting to stabilize in Canada.

Over the past few years, Canadians have felt the strain of inflation . Many individuals turned to deal-chasing and savings as a way to build financial safeguards, giving rise to what we, as retail researchers, call the “new consumer.”

This “new consumer” phenomenon appears to be more than just a temporary response to economic hardships. It has since evolved into a more permanent behavioural shift, reflecting a broader transformation in consumer habits and preferences.

As inflation stabilizes and the economy adjusts to a new normal, businesses must adapt to meet the changing needs and preferences of this demographic.

Who is the ‘new consumer’?

The new consumer is marked by value consciousness , digital savviness and a preference for experiences over material goods .

Despite the recent stabilization of consumer prices , the new consumer has retained habits formed during economic uncertainty , continuously seeking deals and discounts.

According to the latest Future Consumer Index report by consulting firm Ernst & Young Global Limited, U.S. consumers are increasingly prioritizing savings over brand loyalty.

The survey revealed that nearly half of participants would download a brand’s app to access loyalty promotions or exclusive deals, while 70 per cent were inclined to join loyalty programs for free shipping benefits.

Read more: The rising cost of living is eroding brand loyalty as consumers seek more cost-effective alternatives

Additionally, 45 per cent of respondents have used discount codes or vouchers during online shopping in the past six months. This trend highlights the significant shift towards cost-conscious consumer behaviour.

Consumers are also actively using digital platforms to compare prices and read reviews , making more informed purchasing decisions than ever before. This digital savviness allows them to navigate the online marketplace efficiently, ensuring they get the best value for their money.

Physical store experience is still key

Despite the emphasis on looking for deals and reviews online, the new consumer still values in-store experiences. According to the Ernst & Young survey, 59 per cent of consumers visit stores to see, touch and try items before buying, and 57 per cent prefer in-store shopping to avoid shipping hassles.

Additionally, human interaction is increasingly important during the post-purchase journey. Fifty-six per cent of U.S. consumers consider it crucial for product returns and refunds, and 55 per cent value it for discussing product questions or concerns.

There’s also a notable shift towards experiential spending . Consumers are now more inclined to invest in travel, dining and unique activities over accumulating material possessions. This trend reflects a desire for meaningful and memorable experiences that offer greater satisfaction than physical goods.

Understanding these characteristics is essential in the new age of retailing. The new consumer’s focus on value, informed by digital tools and a shift towards experiential spending, defines their behaviour in a post-inflation world.

This evolving consumer profile presents both challenges and opportunities for brands and retailers, shaping the future of the retail landscape.

How retailers can cope

In an era where digital commerce continues to grow, physical retail stores are being forced to reinvent themselves, moving away from transaction points to vibrant hubs of brand experience. For instance, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, retail e-commerce sales increased 67.9 per cent in Canada from February 2020 to July 2022.

This shift underscores the evolving role of physical stores, which are becoming places where consumers can learn, experience and play. As retailers adapt to changing consumer expectations, the notion that a store must be more than a place to transact is becoming a fundamental aspect of retail strategy.

A prime example of this trend is the Nike store in Manhattan , which epitomizes the concept of the store as a medium rather than just a marketplace. Far from the traditional retail setup, this location serves as a “playground” centred around experience.

The store includes a basketball half-court with adjustable hoops and digital screens, an enclosed soccer trial area, a treadmill facing a jumbotron for simulated outdoor runs, a customization shoes bar, touchscreens throughout and dedicated coaches to assist customers testing new sneakers.

The transformation of stores into experience-rich environments reflects a broader trend in retail where the value of a physical location is measured not just by traditional sales per square foot, but by the ability to engage consumers in a more meaningful ways. Retailers who invest in making their stores true extensions of their brand are primed to set themselves apart in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Loyalty first

To thrive in this new retail landscape, leveraging loyalty programs is essential for retailers . These programs can help bridge the gap between digital and physical retail experiences by offering personalized rewards and exclusive deals that drive both online and in-store traffic.

Retailers should focus on creating loyalty programs that not only reward purchases but also enhance the overall customer experience.

For instance, integrating mobile apps that provide real-time notifications on deals and events, offering exclusive in-store experiences for members and using data analytics to tailor rewards to individual consumer preferences can significantly enhance engagement and retention.

In essence, the future of retail lies in these dynamic, personalized and interactive spaces where shopping is only part of the appeal.

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• retail industry

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State of the Consumer 2024: What’s now and what’s next

If you think you know consumer behavior, think again. Middle-income consumers are feeling the squeeze and worrying about inflation but aren’t holding back on splurges. Rather than sticking to tight budgets in retirement, aging consumers are splurging too. Speaking of older shoppers, it turns out that the brand loyalty they’ve long been known for is a thing of the past. And young consumers in Asia and the Middle East are more likely than those in Western markets to switch to higher-priced brands.

These are just some of the large-scale shifts taking place in the global consumer landscape. Consumers have continued to defy expectations and behave in atypical ways , keeping consumer goods manufacturers and retailers on their toes. More than ever, companies that cultivate a detailed, up-to-date understanding of today’s and tomorrow’s consumers—who they are, what they want, and where and how they shop—will be best positioned to succeed.

You’re invited

Join us for a discussion of our report, Rescuing the decade: A dual agenda for the consumer goods industry , on June 26 at 10:00 a.m. ET | 4:00 p.m. CET.

In this article, we draw on our ConsumerWise  research to delve into nine trends shaping the global consumer sector and four imperatives to help consumer businesses move from “now” to “next.”

Nine trends defining the global consumer market

To forecast where the global consumer landscape is heading, we surveyed more than 15,000 consumers in 18 markets that together make up 90 percent of global GDP. Their answers revealed surprising nuances about demographic groups, seemingly contradictory consumer behaviors, and categories poised for growth.

Who is the future consumer?

Consumers no longer fit into traditional archetypes. Some of the most influential consumers of tomorrow are currently underserved.

1. Young people in emerging markets. By 2030, 75 percent of consumers in emerging markets will be between the ages of 15 and 34. Our data indicates these consumers may be optimistic about the economy and willing to spend.

Among this group, young consumers aged 18 to 24 in Asian and Middle Eastern nations, such as India and Saudi Arabia, will be particularly important to consumer businesses, given their pent-up demand and willingness to spend. These consumers indicate a strong desire to spend on premium products, so much so that they are up to two times more likely to trade up—meaning opt for higher-priced brands and retailers—than young consumers in advanced economies. They are also up to three times more optimistic about their respective economies (Exhibit 1). This optimism could translate into higher levels of future consumption. It’s worth noting that young consumers in Latin America are actually less likely to trade up than young consumers in other emerging economies.

2. Retired and ready to spend. Longer life expectancies and declining birth rates, particularly in advanced economies, are pushing the global population of people older than 65 to increase at a quicker rate than the population of people younger than that age. 1 “Ageing,” United Nations, accessed May 29, 2024. Yet for all the data relating to aging populations, older consumers are often misunderstood.

Despite the financial constraints that may accompany retirement, aging consumers across all income levels are willing to spend on discretionary items. In experiential categories such as travel, older consumers’ intent to splurge is even higher than that of millennials, who have historically been big travel spenders. High-income baby boomer and Silent Generation consumers (those whose household incomes exceed $100,000) are a sizable cohort in the United States, making up 30 percent of the market—and they’re more likely to spend on discretionary purchases, such as home improvement and gardening, compared with lower-income consumers their age.

In emerging markets, it’s not just younger consumers who are ready to spend but their parents, too. Wealthy aging consumers in emerging markets are more optimistic, expect to spend more on discretionary items, and plan on treating themselves more than wealthy aging consumers in advanced markets. In one of the starkest examples, 42 percent of wealthy aging consumers in emerging markets 2 Forty-two percent of consumers in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. said they expect to spend more on entertainment, compared with 7 percent of comparable consumers in Europe 3 Throughout this article, we will refer to “Europe” to indicate France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. and 11 percent in the United States. We see a similar willingness to spend in categories such as home improvement, airline flights, and hotel stays. Consumer businesses that market exclusively to younger consumers are thus missing out; they ignore wealthy aging consumers at their own risk.

3. The squeezed-but-splurging middle. We expect that cost-of-living increases in advanced economies will continue to put pressure on middle-income consumers. While conventional wisdom would suggest that these consumers will clamp down on discretionary spending as a result, our data reveals something different: instead, middle-income consumers in Europe and the United States say they plan to splurge on discretionary items at a rate that is comparable with that of high-income consumers.

This intent to splurge appears across various categories, including experience-based categories such as travel and dining out, as well as groceries and discretionary goods. Middle-income consumers might typically be expected to delay purchases during economically challenging times, but our research shows that they’re only slightly more inclined to delay purchases than wealthier consumers. They’re also not much more likely to trade down than higher-income consumers.

What will consumers want?

What consumers want is changing too. Weakened brand loyalty, affordability over sustainability, and heightened interest in wellness products and services reflect the preferences and priorities of consumers across ages and geographies.

4. Brand exploration. When they couldn’t find exactly what they needed because of pandemic-era supply chain disruptions, roughly half of consumers  switched products or brands. That behavioral change has proved quite sticky: consumers continue to be open to exploring alternatives, and brand loyalty is fading across demographic groups.

In advanced markets, over a third of consumers have tried different brands, and approximately 40 percent have switched retailers in search of better prices and discounts (Exhibit 2). Inflation and economic uncertainty are almost certainly inducing this behavior.

This weakening of brand loyalty is not limited to a specific age group. In the past, older consumers remained consistently loyal to their preferred brands, but today, they’re just as likely to embrace new brands and retailers. In Europe and the United States, Gen Zers and millennials are only slightly more likely than older consumers to trade down to lower-priced brands and retailers.

One beneficiary of this rampant downtrading is private labels. Thirty-six percent of consumers plan to purchase private-label products more frequently, and 60 percent believe private brands offer equal or better quality.

5. Sustainability: Value upstages values. In recent years, young consumers in our survey data said they prioritized sustainability considerations when making purchases. It wasn’t all talk: in the United States, sales of products with sustainability-related claims  outpaced sales of products without such claims.

While young consumers still say they care about sustainability, they are now making clear trade-offs in the face of economic uncertainty and inflation. In Europe and the United States, fewer Gen Zers and millennials ranked sustainability claims as an important purchasing factor at the beginning of 2024 than in 2023 (Exhibit 3).

Younger consumers aren’t just deprioritizing sustainability in their purchase decisions; they’ve also become less willing to pay a premium for sustainable products. In Europe and the United States, the percentage of young consumers willing to pay a premium for products with sustainability claims declined by up to four percentage points across product categories. Among these consumers, only a very small percentage were willing to pay a premium for personal care and apparel products with sustainability claims.

6. The worldwide wellness wave. We estimate the global wellness market to be worth more than $1.8 trillion , growing 5 to 10 percent annually. 4 “ The trends defining the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024 ,” McKinsey, January 16, 2024. In advanced economies, health and wellness products and services have been in high demand over the past several years. Today, these categories are also growing quickly in emerging markets, and in some cases, growth in intent to spend on health and wellness products in emerging markets is outpacing growth in advanced markets.

In emerging markets such as China, India, and the Middle East, the percentage of consumers who intend to increase their spending on wellness products and services is two to three times higher than in advanced markets such as Canada and the United States (Exhibit 4).

It’s not only Gen Zers and millennials who are propelling growth in this space, but also Gen Xers and baby boomers. To be sure, regional variations appear. According to our research, for example, 63 percent of baby boomers in China intend to spend more on fitness in the near future, while only 4 percent of the same cohort in India plan to do so.

Weight management products and services, in particular, could help induce growth in the wellness sector over the next several years.

By 2035, just over half of the world’s population is projected to be overweight or obese. At the same time, the availability of weight management drugs is expected to grow as more health plans approve coverage, doctors are able to prescribe them for more uses, and doses are made available in pill form. Adoption of these drugs, compared with other weight management solutions (such as dieting or exercise), will depend on cultural norms and beliefs, too. Less than 30 percent of Chinese and UK consumers consider weight loss drugs to be very effective . 5 “ The trends defining the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024 ,” McKinsey, January 16, 2024.

7. Wellness for women. Investments in women’s wellness are also growing . Consumers in both advanced and emerging markets are indicating a greater interest in spending on women’s wellness products and services, as well as on adjacent personal-care categories. We estimate that closing the women’s health gap could be worth $1 trillion annually  by 2040. 6 Kweilin Ellingrud, Lucy Pérez, Anouk Petersen, and Valentina Sartori, Closing the women’s health gap: A $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies , McKinsey Health Institute, January 17, 2024.

A higher percentage of women in emerging markets (48 percent), in fact, indicate an intent to splurge on beauty and personal-care products and fitness, compared with women in advanced markets (27 percent). And young women are especially interested in wellness: Gen Z women across both emerging and advanced markets said they expect to spend more on personal-care goods and services, compared with Gen Xers and baby boomers. As innovation in women’s health continues to push the sector forward, we expect spending to increase as well.

Where will consumers shop?

Knowing what consumers want means little if businesses do not meet consumers where they are. Global migration patterns—both to and from major urban hubs—are changing where consumers spend their time and money in the physical world, while growth in social commerce accounts for new movement in the digital world.

8. The new urban hot spots. In both advanced and emerging markets, people are moving to seek out new opportunities and a better quality of life. In advanced markets like the United States, consumers are moving away from larger cities in the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast to “secondary cities,” or those with populations between 50,000 and 500,000 people. Two-thirds of the fastest-growing US cities are in the South and West. In these cities, the cost of living is lower than in larger cities, and remote work opportunities are plentiful. Millennials, Gen Xers, and boomers are propelling this trend.

Just because US consumers are moving to scaled-down versions of metropolises does not mean they are curtailing their spending: just as many consumers in secondary cities say they plan to splurge as do consumers in the largest American cities. Meanwhile, 1.3 times more consumers in secondary cities say they plan to splurge, compared with US consumers in rural areas.

Emerging markets will continue to see urban-population growth in both megacities and secondary cities as consumers move in search of better economic opportunities and improved well-being. By 2035, for example, 43 percent of the Indian population may reside in urban areas, up from 35 percent in 2018. In China, the percentage of middle-class households is expected to increase in both tier-one and tier-two cities as well as in tier-three and tier-four cities by 2030. And by 2040, there will be 537 million people in African urban centers, making the African urban population the largest in the world.

9. Social commerce takes flight. For several years, China has led the world in the adoption of social commerce, in which consumers browse and buy directly through social media and content creation platforms. Today, social-commerce markets in both China and India continue to mature, while those in other emerging-market countries—such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—are close behind (Exhibit 5). Consumers in these countries consistently spend more on purchases made through social media platforms, compared with consumers in Europe and the United States.

Attempts to grow the social-commerce market  in the West have had limited success. Companies simply may have been too early to embrace this opportunity. We expect social commerce in the United States to expand to $145 billion by 2027, up from $67 billion today. 7 “ Social commerce: The future of how consumers interact with brands ,” McKinsey, October 19, 2022. Gen Zers and millennials are propelling this growth: they make purchases on social media four times more often than older generations do. More than a third of Gen Z and millennial survey respondents said they had made a purchase on social media in the prior three months.

Four imperatives to win the consumer of the future

In light of these nine forward-looking themes, what should consumer companies do? The most successful ones will be those that act on four imperatives:

Build microtargeting capabilities

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QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s AI arm, helps companies transform using the power of technology, technical expertise, and industry experts. With thousands of practitioners at QuantumBlack (data engineers, data scientists, product managers, designers, and software engineers) and McKinsey (industry and domain experts), we are working to solve the world’s most important AI challenges. QuantumBlack Labs is our center of technology development and client innovation, which has been driving cutting-edge advancements and developments in AI through locations across the globe.

Rather than putting consumers in predefined—and often outdated—boxes, companies should focus on microtargeting to build a richer understanding of consumer preferences. This involves taking a “smart reach” approach , whereby consumer businesses use their consumer data to target specific microsegments of consumers who may demonstrate particular shopping behaviors or preferences. Generative AI can help consumer businesses reach these microsegments  at scale by increasing creative output and automating marketing outreach. Through microtargeting, companies can engage high-potential consumer groups—for example, younger people in emerging markets or wealthy aging individuals—and provide personalized experiences that build brand love and loyalty and propel future purchases.

Invest in wellness

A rise in both consumer interest and purchasing power presents tremendous opportunities in the $1.8 trillion global-consumer-wellness space. Consumer goods leaders have a chance to reevaluate their product development road maps and consider whether they have more opportunities to introduce personalized-wellness products to priority consumer groups. Consumers across the globe want data- and science-backed health and wellness solutions. Best-in-class companies should evaluate opportunities to lean into these offerings and other wellness growth areas (such as women’s health and healthy aging).

Propel the social–digital experience

Companies should take steps to engage with consumers on social media and other digital platforms. This involves identifying the right channels and platforms, creating attractive content, and tailoring strategies to meet evolving consumer needs. This is especially important as industry lines blur (for example, as consumer companies enter the healthcare space and vice versa) and as ecosystems (networks or partnerships that cut across different industries)  become more important.

We see innovative, international companies testing new approaches to social commerce to connect with consumers on a local level. Some are mobilizing local key opinion leaders to precisely target consumers and create viral digital campaigns that resonate with them. Social media and private chats through platforms such as WeChat help to continually engage consumers.

Offer premium products where they matter

Offering premium products in relevant categories can help improve brand loyalty. Consumer brands should identify which categories are ripe for this, such as experiential travel—where splurge activity is common even across middle-income and aging consumers. Conversely, some categories are more suitable for value plays based on trade-down behavior or frequent brand exploration. Integrating loyalty and pricing strategies , instituting pricing tiers, and tailoring product assortments at the local and channel levels are ways that consumer businesses can provide value to consumers, while also managing economic pressures.

In this consumer landscape—one in which standards, complexity, and stakes are all higher—leaders should understand the new nuances that define who the “next” shoppers are, what they care about, and how they shop. These insights, which should then inform strategic category and channel investments, can lead to long-term, profitable growth and sustained competitive advantage.

The authors wish to thank Cait Pearson, Heather Gouinlock, and Keir Sullivan for their contributions to this article.

This article was edited by Alexandra Mondalek, an editor in the New York office.

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