Retail buyers’ decision-making and buy national campaigns

This study applies heuristic modes of decision making to retail buyer purchasing in the context of buy-national campaigns. Launching of a new buy-national campaign in New Zealand provides an opportunity to examine its influence on retail buyers’ purchase decisions. In-depth interviews with retail buyers in grocery and specialist chains reveal that these gatekeepers adopt a categorisation approach when assessing the likely success of new products. Country-of-origin and the influence of a buy-national campaign are largely irrelevant in their pragmatic and intuitive decisions. This mirrors their perceptions of consumers’ response to the campaign. The findings also suggest that a gap between retailers’ support for the ideals of the campaign and their pragmatic views of its irrelevance to consumers may undermine the intent and outcomes of such campaigns.

► This study explores retail buyers’ perceptions of a recent buy-national campaign.
► Buyers were interviewed about the criteria they use to assess new product success.
► These retail buyers adopt a categorisation approach to purchase decision making.
► Country-of-origin and the buy-national campaign were unimportant to them.
► Retailers’ views of its irrelevance to consumers may undermine its outcomes.