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Abstract

Although interest in sustainable food has increased substantially in recent years, the actual demand for such products has typically proceeded quite unevenly across consumers. Making sense of the variable pace of behavioral change requires that we explore the foundations of sustainable consumer behavior, especially the importance attached to particular attributes and the types of tradeoffs that exist. For this reason, this study utilizes a discrete choice experiment (DCE) that integrates the type of retail format to establish the potential for interaction effects with attributes. Stated-preference methods like DCEs have proven useful to explain how and why individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for qualities such as organic, fair trade, and locality can differ. However, by mostly focusing on product qualities alone, the importance of the retail formats where products are actually purchased – and their potential impact on the valuation of attributes – is left unexplored. Framing this DCE in relation to sustainable tomato consumption, we can conclude that the type of retail format is a significant determinant of purchasing behavior, both on its own and in its interaction with the other qualities.

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