Assessment of the consumer purchase intentions of organic food at the Hazel food market in Pretoria, South Africa

This study on environmental economics has noticed that a growing concern for healthy food and environmentally friendly production has resulted in increased attention towards organic food. In South Africa, the market for organic food is still in the infancy stage. Food marketers continue to grapple in designing marketing campaigns to attract organic food consumers. Using a survey method, self-completed questionnaires were collected from customers aged 18 and above, by means of convenience sampling technique from a sample of 120 customers at the Hazel food market (HFM) in Pretoria. A total of 118 questionnaires were received back. STATA software was used to analyze the data. This is a quantitative study in which data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test and reliability analysis. The results suggested that customers at HFM have the intention to purchase organic food. The major findings of the study indicated that factors such as consumer values, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control significantly influence consumer’s intention to purchase organic food. This study intends to provide valuable insights into current studies of consumer behavior towards organic food in South Africa. Potential beneficiaries of this research study include consumers, vendors and government agencies.

Keywords: environmental economics, consumer purchase intention, theory of planned behavior, organic food.
JEL Classification: Q5, M31