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Consumer Behavior (consumer + behavior)
Selected AbstractsLife Cycle Cost Disclosure, Consumer Behavior, and Business ImplicationsJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Evidence From an Online Field Experiment Summary Comprehensive assessments of final consumption have identified "housing" as a major contributor to total environmental impacts. Within this category, electrical-energy-using products are important. Do consumers opt for more energy-efficient household appliances if they are provided with life cycle cost (LCC),that is, the sum of purchase price and operating cost estimated over the life span of the appliance? And what consequences does LCC disclosure have for business? Physical energy figures shown on appliance labels may be cognitively demanding for consumers, whereas monetary information promises to simplify the decision problem. Despite the rising interest in monetary cost disclosure, its effectiveness relative to physical cost disclosure has not been rigorously evaluated. This research approached the question of effectiveness with an online field experiment for washing machines. Customers of a commercially operating online shop were randomly assigned to two groups. The control group was provided with regular product price information; the treatment group received additional LCC information. A total of 2,065 clicks were recorded and analyzed with multiple regression that controlled for several product characteristics. The evidence suggests that LCC disclosure decreases the mean specific energy use of chosen washing machines by 0.8% (p < 0.01) and their mean specific water use by 0.7% (p < 0.05). As to business implications, LCC disclosure had no effect on the indicator of retail volume, which makes it unattractive for retailers to provide LCC on their own initiative. [source] The Consumer Revolution in Urban China; Japanese Consumer Behavior: From Worker Bees to Wary ShoppersAMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 4 2001Hai Ren The Consumer Revolution in Urban China. Deborah S. Davis, ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. xiii + 366 pp., illustrations, tables, photographs, bibliography, index. Japanese Consumer Behavior: From Worker Bees to Wary Shoppers. John McCrcery Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2000. ix + 278 pp., illustrations, photographs, bibliography, index. [source] Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer BehaviorTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2006Steve Guerin No abstract is available for this article. [source] Pure Altruism, Consumer Behavior and Choice Modeling,ASIAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006Jungho Suh Q51; D64; D12 An important assumption underlying non-market valuation is that it is not the environment but the human preference that is valued. This paper attempts to test whether individual consumer behavior is influenced by a purely altruistic motive, examining the attitude of hikers towards the hypothetical removal of the Muju ski resort from the Mount Togyu National Park in South Korea. Data were collected from samples of hikers and skiers who visited the national park. The respondents were forced to consider trade-offs between the recovery of the lost environmental assets in the Muju ski resort area, skiers' additional travel time, and willingness-to-pay amounts for the hypothetical environmental improvement. It was found that hikers did not take into account skiers' disutility represented by additional travel time. [source] Consumer Self-Confidence in Searching for InformationJOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2009CÄZILIA LOIBL Consumer behavior is often driven by the extent to which consumers feel confident regarding their decisions, which frequently hinge, especially in high-stakes situations, on their information search. This article examines a multidimensional self-confidence concept to explore how consumer self-confidence influences information search. Findings of a mail survey document that high-confidence consumers engage in more intensive search activities and that demographic patterns shape consumer self-confidence scores. The findings empirically support a multidimensional measurement of self-confidence to predict search behavior and suggest avenues to enhance the self-confidence needed to produce positive marketplace experiences. [source] The behavioral ecology of brand choice: How and what do consumers maximize?PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 9 2003Gordon R. Foxall Matching theory predicts choices on concurrent variable ratio schedules on which consumers' brand selection occurs will show maximization via exclusive choice of the richest schedule. However, aggregate studies of consumer choice indicate two modes of consumer brand purchase within a product category: either exclusive purchase of one brand or multibrand purchasing. This article uses brand-selection data from individual consumers to determine whether, at this level of analysis, (a) consumers' purchasing patterns show matching, (b) consumers maximize returns, and, if so, (c) what they maximize. Consumer behavior for fast-moving goods exhibits matching, but in the form of multibrand purchasing rather than exclusive choice. Moreover, for substitutes, brand selection is price sensitive, suggesting both melioration and maximization; for nonsubstitutes, choice is not price sensitive but still appears consistent with maximization of price- and nonprice-related sources of value. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] WHY ARE AMERICANS ADDICTED TO BASEBALL?CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 1 2008AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF FANDOM IN KOREA AND THE UNITED STATES Theories of rational addiction posit that certain habit-forming goods,characterized by an increasing marginal utility of consumption,generate predictable dynamic patterns of consumer behavior. It has been suggested that attendance at sporting events represents an example of such a good, as evidenced by the pricing strategies of commercial sports interests. In this essay, we provide new evidence in support of rational addiction for the case of Major League Baseball but fail to find such support in data from the Korean Professional Baseball League. We then review the scientific literature on sports fans from the perspective of human behavioral ecology and propose a theory of endogenous habit formation among sports fans that could explain our findings. (JEL C32, D83, D87, D91, L83) [source] Consumption Over the Life CycleECONOMETRICA, Issue 1 2002Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas This paper estimates a structural model of optimal life-cycle consumption expenditures in the presence of realistic labor income uncertainty. We employ synthetic cohort techniques and Consumer Expenditure Survey data to construct average age-profiles of consumption and income over the working lives of typical households across different education and occupation groups. The model fits the profiles quite well. In addition to providing reasonable estimates of the discount rate and risk aversion, we find that consumer behavior changes strikingly over the life cycle. Young consumers behave as buffer-stock agents. Around age 40, the typical household starts accumulating liquid assets for retirement and its behavior mimics more closely that of a certainty equivalent consumer. Our methodology provides a natural decomposition of saving and wealth into its precautionary and life-cycle components. [source] Jonson's Joyless Economy: Theorizing Motivation and Pleasure in VolponeENGLISH LITERARY RENAISSANCE, Issue 1 2008Oliver Hennessey Departing from a tradition of expedient, often pious, interpretations of Volpone as a straightforward fable of avarice, miserliness, and material misappropriation, this essay takes a fresh look at old Volp's actions in the light of radical reconsiderations of consumer motivation by the contemporary economist, Tibor Scitovsky. Scitovsky's The Joyless Economy broke with conventional economic doxa by asking whether modern consumer behavior was in fact irrational, and, further, whether Americans are encouraged to pursue styles of life that foster ennui. Applying the Scitovskian paradigm to another commodity culture, Volpone's seventeenth-century Venice, forces us to confront an aspect of the play most usually finessed: the joy of gulling. Volpone, and early modern city comedy more generally, offers us a chance to examine the multi-faceted response of individuals in the early Seventeenth Century coming to terms with Europe's expanding commercial scene and the commodity culture to which the playhouse responded, and within which it was implicated. [source] How regulatory focus influences consumer behaviorEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Lioba Werth According to Higgins (1997) the theory of regulatory focus says that in terms of both information processing and motivation it makes a difference whether people have a promotion or prevention focus. In this paper, this theory will be applied to the area of consumer psychology. In three experiments we show that consumer's regulatory focus either measured or induced in a given situation influences product evaluations. Study 1 shows that consumers are interested in different product features depending on their focus; whereas in the prevention focus they are more interested in safety-oriented aspects, in the promotion focus they concentrate more on comfort-oriented qualities. In Study 2, a typical prevention product and a typical promotion product are compared with one another and data shows that focus compatible products are evaluated more positively. In Study 3 we demonstrate that advertisments that correspond to the focus of the consumer lead to more positive evaluations of the product than advertisments that are incompatible with the focus of the consumer. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Consumer-based assessment of product creativity: A review and reappraisalHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 2 2006Diana Horn In the current value-based economy, organizations compete to match customer needs and requirements by adding various types of value to products or programs. One example of this added value is product creativity, which is defined as the originality and appropriateness of a product that elicits a positive affect compatible with the consumer or judge. In this article, the authors review current research on creativity, product development, and consumer behavior and reappraise the current tools to measure product creativity. The overall conclusion of this review and reappraisal is that whereas product creativity shows relevance to consumer behavior, a more detailed model of product creativity and measurement tool needs to be developed and validated before fully understanding the impact of product creativity on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 16: 155,175, 2006. [source] Improving media campaigns promoting physical activity: the underutilized role of genderINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 3 2008Dan J. Graham As the obesity epidemic worsens in the United States and globally, resources are increasingly being allocated to address this public health threat. Media campaigns promoting physical activity are receiving funding from government and private sources, and some of these campaigns have achieved modest success. Still, more can be done to increase the effectiveness of these campaigns. Drawing on facets of consumer behavior, psychology, and public policy, this work represents a cross-disciplinary theoretical analysis suggesting that the effectiveness of media-based campaigns promoting physical activity could be enhanced by making use of gender-specific advertising. Research is reviewed suggesting that gender differences in information processing styles and values lead to gender-specific responses to media campaigns. Recommendations are made to help practitioners improve physical activity campaigns by crafting advertisements that specifically appeal to the unique preferences of each gender. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The influence of service performance and destination resources on consumer behaviour: a case study of mainland Chinese tourists to KinmenINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 3 2009Chien Min Chen Abstract This paper draws upon the responses of 603 mainland Chinese tourists in Kinmen and attempts to understand their consumer behavior on the aspects of intentions, preferences, decision-making process, satisfaction, and willingness to revisit. Variables such as service performance and destination resources that affect visitor's satisfaction are also tested. The findings reflect a ,myth of mysteriousness' of mainland Chinese visitors to the destination and suggest that it is essential for the market segmentation to participate in the tourism planning of Kinmen to develop an integrated policy for promotion and marketing, in order to enhance consumers' interest. In addition, this research has implications for tourism planning in Kinmen and provides references for other destinations striving for tourists from mainland China. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Optimal booking limits in the presence of strategic consumer behaviorINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006John G. Wilson Abstract We consider a two-period airline yield management problem where customers may act strategically. Specifically, we allow for the possibility that a customer may decide to defer purchase in the hope that a ticket cheaper than those currently on offer will become available. We also allow for the possibility that some customers will buy a more expensive ticket if the cheaper tickets are not available. We show how to find optimal booking limits in the presence of such strategic customer behavior. We also explicitly incorporate the fact that, once a booking limit has been reached, demand distributions are now censored distributions. [source] The Taxonomy, Model and Message Strategies of Social BehaviorJOURNAL FOR THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, Issue 3 2007TSUEN-HO HSU ABSTRACT In an era of rising social awareness, both academics and practitioners have been concerned about the effectiveness of pro-social consumer influence strategies. The main assumption here is that for social marketing to succeed one must first understand the factors underlying pro-social consumer behavior. Firstly, drawing on two dimensions (i.e. the welfare receiver and restitution intention) the authors first identify four types of social behavior (altruism, compensation, reciprocity, and egoism). Next, the model describes social behavior as a result of preceding social behavior motivation and actual social behavior intention. Norms and economic evaluation have an impact on social behavior motivation, which in turn influences social behavior intention, eventually leading to actual social behavior. Actual control factors, such as the availability of resources and opportunities, decide whether social behavior intention can really translate into actual social behavior. Finally, authors propose message strategies (incorporating message appeal, message frame and central/peripheral processing) for each type of social behavior. [source] Interaction Effects in the Theory of Planned Behavior: The Interplay of Self-Identity and Past BehaviorJOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 11 2007Joanne R. Smith This research used a revised theory of planned behavior (TPB) model, which incorporated self-identity and past behavior,and the interaction between these constructs,in order to improve the model's predictive power in relation to consumer behavior (purchasing one's preferred beer). At Time 1, respondents (N = 108) completed measures of attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, self-identity, past behavior, and intentions. Behavior was assessed 1 week later. All predictors were positively related to intentions. Self-identity and past behavior interacted to influence intentions: Self-identity had a stronger influence on intentions at low, rather than high, levels of past behavior. Intentions and past behavior were predictive of Time 2 behavior. These findings emphasize the need to consider identity issues in the TPB. [source] The malleable bicultural consumer: effects of cultural contexts on aesthetic judgmentsJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2010Veena Chattaraman Grounded in the cognitive framework of processing fluency, this study proposes further support for the experiential perspective in aesthetics by positing that aesthetic response to the same object may be malleable, depending on how the symbolic properties of the object interact with different cultural contexts which either facilitate or debilitate the processing experience of the perceiver. The study employed an Internet experiment to test the hypotheses among 105 female Hispanic college-aged students enrolled at a large midwestern university. The findings revealed that symbolic attributes of products interact with cultural contexts to affect aesthetic judgments of (Hispanic) consumers. Aesthetic judgments were more positive when evaluating culturally symbolic product attributes after exposure to congruent contextual cues that facilitate fluent processing. The study furnishes support for the impact of environment/context on consumer behavior and aesthetic judgment, thus establishing further support for the cognitive framework of conceptual fluency in explaining aesthetic response. The study also contributes to recent literature on "frame-switching" among bicultural consumers by suggesting that these consumers navigate between competing cultural frames in response to visual primes, with resultant shifts in aesthetic judgments. Important marketing insights emerge from these findings. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Brains and brands: developing mutually informative research in neuroscience and marketingJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 4-5 2008Tyler K. Perrachione Advances in neuroimaging technology have led to an explosion in the number of studies investigating the living human brain, and thereby our understanding of its structure and function. With the proliferation of dazzling images from brain scans in both scientific and popular media, researchers from other fields in the social and behavioral sciences have naturally become interested in the application of neuroimaging to their own research. Commercial enterprises have long been interested in the prospects of literally "getting inside the heads" of customers and partners, with a variety of goals in mind. Here we consider the ways in which scholars of consumer behavior may draw upon neuroscientific advances to inform their own research. We describe the motivation of neuroscientific inquiry from the point of view of neuroscientists, including an introduction to the technologies and methodologies available; correspondingly, we consider major questions in consumer behavior that are likely to be of interest to neuroscientists and why. Recent key discoveries in neuroscience are presented which will likely have a direct impact on the development of a neuromarketing subdiscipline and for neuroimaging as a marketing research technique. We discuss where and how neuroscience methodologies may reasonably be added to the research inventory of marketers. In sum, we aim to show not only that a neuromarketing subdiscipline may fruitfully contribute to our understanding of the biological bases of human behavior, but also that developing this as a productive research field will rest largely in framing marketing research questions in the brain-centric mindset of neuroscientists. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Materialism as a predictor variable of low income consumer behavior when entering into installment plan agreementsJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 1 2008Mateus Canniatti Ponchio This paper explores the influence of materialism on consumer indebtedness among low income individuals who live in poor regions of Sao Paulo. A materialism scale was adapted to this context and used to describe the level of materialism among the population surveyed. Results obtained relative to the relationship between materialism and socio-demographic variables are compared to those of previous studies. A logistic regression model was developed in order to characterize individuals who have an installment plan payment booklet,the main source of consumer credit for the population studied,and to differentiate them from those who do not, based on the materialism level, socio-demographic variables and purchasing and consumer habits. The proposed model confirms materialism as a behavioral variable that is useful for forecasting the probability of an individual getting into debt in order to consume. Income had the biggest relative influence on the regression model, followed by materialism and age, controlled by gender. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Deterring illegal downloading: the effects of threat appeals, past behavior, subjective norms, and attributions of harm,JOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2-3 2007Aron M. Levin The study employs two experiments to examine the effectiveness of various strategies used to dissuade consumers from downloading music illegally. The research investigates two specific strategies that the recording industry has used: (1) fear or threat appeals (e.g., the threat of punishment, such as fines and/or jail time), and (2) attribution of harm (informing consumers of the harm caused by the illegal downloading of music, such as financial loss to either the artist or the recording company). The study also considers whether past illegal downloading behavior reduces the effectiveness of these disincentive strategies. Finally, the impact of subjective norms (i.e., whether subjects think their friends would approve of downloading music) was also investigated. A 3 (level of threat: low, moderate, or high) X 2 (who is harmed by illegal downloading: artist or recording company) experimental design was employed for study one. Undergraduate students (n,=,388) participated in the study. Study two expanded on the design of the first study by adding a variable of subjective norms and by including previous downloading behavior in the model. Undergraduate students (n,=,211) also participated in the second experiment. Findings indicate a significant effect of threat appeal such that stronger threat appeals were found to be more effective than weaker threat appeals in reducing illegal downloading. The first study also showed that prior illegal downloading behavior does not curtail the effects of threat appeals aimed at reducing illegal downloading. In addition, results reveal no differences in downloading behavior in terms of attribution of harm deterrent strategy (harm to either the recording artist or company). The most interesting finding from the second study is that subjective norms appear to equalize low versus high past downloaders, but only under conditions of weak fear. The current manuscript is the first to examine the impact of four different variables (threat appeals, attribution of harm, subjective norms, and previous downloading behavior) on subjects' likelihood to illegally download music in the future. In particular, this research illuminates the potential importance of social norms in discouraging a type of undesirable consumer behavior but shows that this occurs only under a restricted set of conditions: when threat is low and the consumer is not a habitually high downloader. It should be of interest to those in fields where intellectual property can be pirated on the Internet. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Measuring Word of Mouth's Impact on Theatrical Movie AdmissionsJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 4 2007Charles C. Moul Information transmission among consumers (i.e., word of mouth) has received little empirical examination. I offer a technique that can identify and measure the impact of word of mouth, and apply it to data from U.S. theatrical movie admissions. While variables and movie fixed effects comprise the bulk of observed variation, the variance attributable to word of mouth is statistically significant. Results indicate approximately 10% of the variation in consumer expectations of movies can be directly or indirectly attributed to information transmission. Information appears to affect consumer behavior quickly, with the length of a movie's run mattering more than the number of prior admissions. [source] Factors influencing olive oil brand choice in Spain: an empirical analysis using scanner dataAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009Juan C. Gázquez-Abad Olive oil consumption is growing all around the world as a consequence of the extension of the Mediterranean diet. Because of limited production, pricing, promotions, and consumer-related variables are essential to explain olive oil consumer behavior. As a consequence of this increasing consumption, it is fundamental to analyze the main factors influencing consumers' olive oil choices for both brands and retailers to be able to compete more efficiently and satisfy consumer needs more closely. But, few such studies are concerned with olive oil (although a great many works in the literature analyze the influence of these factors in other product categories). In a sociocultural context like the Spanish market, in which brand awareness is strong and the use of the product is very high, these factors are even more important. Thus, the main objective of this article is to determine and assess how different marketing variables, such as price, price discounts, use of store flyers and loyalty, explain olive oil brand choice. [Econlit citations: M310, Q130]. © 2009 wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Spanish wine consumer behavior: A choice experiment approachAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2006Nadhem Mtimet Overall wine consumption in Spain is decreasing, while at the same time, designation of origin (DO) wine consumption is increasing gradually. This study examines Spanish DO wine consumer behavior by the use of a choice experiment technique. A main-effects model as well as an interaction-effects model is estimated based on four attributes: designation of origin, price, wine aging, and grape variety. Willingness-to-pay estimates, depending on the price segment, is derived for switching from one attribute level to another. Consumer segmentation is undertaken based on purchase frequencies. Market simulations are presented for consumer segments. Empirical results indicate the importance of the DO and the wine aging attributes on wine selection. The interaction-effects model shows the importance of attribute interactions on consumers' choice process. Differences as well as similarities are detected among consumer segments. [EconLit citations: D120, Q120, Q130]. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 22: 343,362, 2006. [source] A Dynamic Integrated Analysis of Truck Tires in Western EuropeJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2000Pieter J. H. van Beukering Summary By evaluating tires from a perspective of industrial metabolism, potential novel and practical ways to reduce their environmental impact can be found. This may be achieved by focusing on technological issues such as choosing materials, designing products, and recovering materials, or by looking at institutional and social barriers and incentives such as opening waste markets or changing consumer behavior. A model is presented for the life cycle of truck tires in Western Europe that is dynamic in nature and values both environmental and economic consequences. Various scenarios are simulated including longer tire lifetimes, better maintenance of tire pressure, increased use of less-expensive Asian tires, and increased use of fuel efficiency-enhancing tires ("eco-tires"). Tentative results indicate that, among other things, more than 95% of the overall environmental impact during the life of a tire occurs during the use of the tire, due to the impact of tires on automotive fuel efficiency. Better maintenance of tire pressure and use of eco-tires produce greater environmental and economics benefits than more-durable and/or less-expensive (Asian) tires. These results imply that the emphasis in environmental policies related to tires should shift from the production and the waste stages to the consumption stage. It also suggests that the focus on materials throughput and associated improvements through factor 4 or factor 10 advances in reduction in mass are less important than the quality of the tires and their management. [source] Self-Monitoring: Individual Differences in Orientations to the Social WorldJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2006Christopher Leone ABSTRACT In their articles in this special section of the Journal of Personality, the authors have focused their attention on the role of individual differences in self-monitoring for a variety of interpersonal phenomena. In so doing, the authors have provided an overview of the theoretical and empirical contributions of the psychology of self-monitoring to the domains of interest: close relationships, consumer behavior, behavior in the workplace, and social interaction. As each of the contributing authors to this special section suggests, much more theoretical and empirical work is in order if the impact of individual differences in self-monitoring for the phenomena reviewed here is to be fully appreciated. Moreover, the four domains of interest represented in this special section by no means exhaust the areas to which theorists and researchers have applied or can apply the psychology of individual differences in self-monitoring. Given the large nomological network that currently exists involving the self-monitoring construct, it is anticipated that the breadth and depth of applications of the psychology of self-monitoring will only continue to expand as it has in the last 30 years since the appearance of the construct in the literature. [source] Characterizing and Reaching High-Risk Drinkers Using Audience SegmentationALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2009Howard B. Moss Background:, Market or audience segmentation is widely used in social marketing efforts to help planners identify segments of a population to target for tailored program interventions. Market-based segments are typically defined by behaviors, attitudes, knowledge, opinions, or lifestyles. They are more helpful to health communication and marketing planning than epidemiologically defined groups because market-based segments are similar in respect to how they behave or might react to marketing and communication efforts. However, market segmentation has rarely been used in alcohol research. As an illustration of its utility, we employed commercial data that describes the sociodemographic characteristics of high-risk drinkers as an audience segment, including where they tend to live, lifestyles, interests, consumer behaviors, alcohol consumption behaviors, other health-related behaviors, and cultural values. Such information can be extremely valuable in targeting and planning public health campaigns, targeted mailings, prevention interventions, and research efforts. Methods:, We described the results of a segmentation analysis of those individuals who self-reported to consume 5 or more drinks per drinking episode at least twice in the last 30 days. The study used the proprietary PRIZMÔ (Claritas, Inc., San Diego, CA) audience segmentation database merged with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) database. The top 10 of the 66 PRIZMÔ audience segments for this risky drinking pattern are described. For five of these segments we provided additional in-depth details about consumer behavior and the estimates of the market areas where these risky drinkers resided. Results:, The top 10 audience segments (PRIZM clusters) most likely to engage in high-risk drinking are described. The cluster with the highest concentration of binge-drinking behavior is referred to as the "Cyber Millenials." This cluster is characterized as "the nation's tech-savvy singles and couples living in fashionable neighborhoods on the urban fringe." Almost 65% of Cyber Millenials households are found in the Pacific and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. Additional consumer behaviors of the Cyber Millenials and other segments are also described. Conclusions:, Audience segmentation can assist in identifying and describing target audience segments, as well as identifying places where segments congregate on- or offline. This information can be helpful for recruiting subjects for alcohol prevention research as well as planning health promotion campaigns. Through commercial data about high-risk drinkers as "consumers," planners can develop interventions that have heightened salience in terms of opportunities, perceptions, and motivations, and have better media channel identification. [source] CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF IRRADIATED FRUIT: A CASE STUDY USING CHOICE-BASED CONJOINT ANALYSISJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 2 2010ROSIRES DELIZA ABSTRACT Papaya is a popular fruit among Brazilian consumers, but one problem is that fruit ripens quickly due to the high temperatures of the country. Irradiation is an effective way of slowing down ripening, hereby increasing shelf-life, but consumer acceptance of this novel technology is paramount for its successful introduction by industry. Using conjoint analysis, this research measures consumer acceptance of irradiated papaya fruit in a sample of urban Brazilian consumers. The study assesses the joint influence of product appearance, price and information about the use of irradiation for consumer choice. Real fruit was used and consumer responses were collected through intercept interviews in supermarkets. These two empirical aspects add external validity to the research. The responses from a convenience sample of 168 consumers from Rio de Janeiro revealed that the product appearance, as a proxy for product quality, was the most important factor influencing decision to purchase papaya. Price was of lesser importance. The participants in this study did not reject papaya due to the labelled information about the use of irradiation. This suggests irradiation as a viable alternative for fruit producers. Consumers demonstrated no knowledge about food irradiation, and education initiatives may be useful as a strategy to aid commercial introduction of irradiated papaya in Brazil. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This study has important practical implications for Brazilian agribusinesses because it contributes to our understanding of the relationship between market changes, consumer behavior, food products and processing technologies. It has shown that sensory appearance was the key factor influencing Brazilian consumers' choice of papaya, however, more education and information regarding irradiation technology should be provided. The results suggest that irradiation could be used in Brazil and provide a viable alternative to fruit producers. As a consequence, these results are useful for strategic planning of consumer education regarding food irradiation (with emphasis on the benefits of processing and addressing the myths), something which could, eventually, contribute to a more favorable consumer response to the technology. [source] PERCEPTION OF MOUTHFEEL SENSATIONS ELICITED BY RED WINE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SENSITIVITY TO 6-N-PROPYLTHIOURACILJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 3 2006GARY J. PICKERING ABSTRACT This study investigated the relationship between sensitivity to the bitterness of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) , a genetically determined trait used as an index of general taste acuity , and a range of oral sensations elicited by 16 varietal red wines. Seventeen subjects were trained using descriptive analysis (DA) techniques and developed a lexicon consisting of three taste and 10 tactile attributes representing sensations experienced both in-mouth (IM) and after expectoration (AE). Analysis of variance showed that PROP super-tasters (ST) (n = 8) rated 11 of these 13 sensations differently compared to PROP nontasters (NT) (n = 8), specifically acidity, saltiness, heat/irritation, tingle/prickle, particulate IM, particulate AE, smoothness IM, smoothness AE, grippy/adhesive, mouthcoat and overall astringency. The greater sensitivity of ST to the textural components of red wine is discussed in the context of greater lingual acuity and implications for DA panels, psychophysics and wine consumer behavior. [source] Calorie intake and income elasticities in EU countries: A convergence analysis using cointegration,PAPERS IN REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2001Ana M. Angulo European food demand; calorie intake; cointegration; convergence Abstract. We want to determine here whether the trans-European consumer reacts to changes in total food consumption or changes in income equalise in the long run. Do total calorie intake elasticities and income elasticities converge in the long-run? A demand system is estimated for each European country. The proportional caloric intakes of the various food groups are analyzed as endogenous variables, and two exogenous variables (total calorie intake and income), are both defined in log terms. As all variables are I(1) and non-cointegrated, demand systems are specified in first differences. Finally, we use Johansen and Juselius's multivariate cointegration tests to test for the convergence of calorie intake and income elasticities. Empirical results indicate a very limited convergence between certain products and countries considered, suggesting that country idiosyncrasies still play an important role in consumer behavior. [source] Book review: Spent: Sex, evolution, and consumer behaviorAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Trenton G. SmithArticle first published online: 5 MAY 2010 No abstract is available for this article. 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