Elaborating on the attitude–behaviour gap regarding organic products: young Danish consumers and in-store food choice

Even though most consumers hold positive attitudes towards organic food, attitudes appear not to translate into respective behaviour to the same extent. It has been found that the high price and availability are major reasons for this attitude–behaviour gap, especially among young consumers. In Denmark, supermarkets offer a comparatively broad organic food range at relatively small price premiums; however, even in Denmark, market growth rates are moderate. To explore in detail young consumer's barriers to act upon their attitudes, we aimed at researching their thoughts and product associations at the point of sale. Qualitative accompanied shopping interviews with 10 young consumers holding positive attitudes towards organic were conducted. The analysis resulted in a model of the point-of-sale thoughts concerning organic food, showing that the conditions (expected quality, price premium) met in the store and the personal context (moral beliefs, household member influence) impact the argumentations, which lead to a choice decision and subsequent elaboration of the consequences of this choice. Price is discussed as a main barrier, but a temporary one: young consumers argue that they postpone organic purchases until a later stage in life. We conclude that to increase young Danish consumers' choice of organic, the high price premium image needs to be lessened and the differentiation from conventional food improved. Furthermore, communication might trigger young consumers to consider acting now upon ethical values, instead of postponing it.