Fair Trade Loyalty a Myth

MELBOURNE, Australia, November 22, 2011 -

A major UK study shows consumers are switching between fair trade and non-fair trade brands, despite what they claim.

Victoria University branding expert Dr Maxwell Winchester surveyed 8,000 UK shoppers and found even those claiming a commitment to ethical shopping were more likely to buy large national brands than fair trade when both were available.

“A majority of consumers will confess to having strong ethical attitudes and practices including boycotting, but the reality of their actual behavior was shown to be otherwise,” Dr Winchester said. “Consumers are not taking their ethical concerns to the checkout.”

In one example, nearly half the respondents claiming to boycott Nestle products admitted they had actually bought Nestle coffee within their last three coffee purchases.

Dr Winchester said the findings challenged assumptions that ethical brands, because of what they stood for, could achieve more loyalty than would be expected for a normal brand.

“People did not just swap between fair trade brands but between fair trade and non-fair trade, showing there is no excess loyalty to fair trade brands,” he said.

He said the implication is that consumers were choosing a brand rather than its fair trade status.

“Purchasing of fair trade brands appears to be more a function of brand share rather than a function of ethical beliefs,” he said. “There is no reason why fair trade brands cannot compete with national brands but marketers need to be more realistic as to the reasons why consumers are purchasing fair trade brands.”

The Australian researcher said his study was based in England because it is the world’s largest fair trade market.

He said it was conducted in a major supermarket chain where fair trade and non fair trade items were sold.

The results will be published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of International Food and Agribusiness.

Available for Interview:
Dr Maxwell Winchester, Senior Lecturer in Marketing
School of International Business, Victoria University
(+613)-9919-4618; 0401-510-200; Maxwell.winchester@vu.edu.au

Media Contact:
Michael Quin, communications officer (research)
Marketing & Communications department, Victoria University
(+613)-9919-9491; 0431-815-409; Michael.quin@vu.edu.au

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