The relevance of origin information at the point of sale

Recently, Liefeld (2004) questioned both the importance of a product’s country of origin (CO) in consumer purchase decisions and the core findings in this area of study. He criticised CO studies for relying on obtrusive attitude measures of independent and dependent variables in non-purchase contexts. Therefore, he offered the following conclusion: ‘None of the published CO research reports what consumers do, when choosing between product alternatives’. In this study, we followed the recommendations of Liefeld (2004) and applied his ‘knowledge test approach’ for packaged meat, dairy products and beer in four outlets of the largest German food retailer, EDEKA. To this end, purchasers were intercepted as they exited the cash register with a purchase. In this study, we aimed to determine whether origin plays a role in consumer decisions to purchase food and whether there are differences in consumer awareness of the origin of different product categories. As a second step, a Controlled Store Test (CST) with the protected geographical indication (PGI) of Bavarian beer was conducted to highlight the assumption that origin is important, even in real market scenarios. The results of the ‘knowledge test approach’ demonstrated that origin may play a role in the choice among available packaged meat, dairy products and beer for approximately one-fifth of the consumers in this survey. Furthermore, the CST revealed that consumers are willing to pay an additional € 2.00–€ 2.60 per crate of beer if such crates are labelled with the GI Bavarian beer designation.

► In our contribution we analyse the importance of origin for the buying decision.
► The majority of origin studies rely on obtrusive attitude measures.
► We applied the knowledge test approach and a Controlled Store Test.
► In this study origin played a role for about one-fifth of the consumers.