Sustainability cues on packaging: The influence of recognition on purchasing behavior

The aim of this research was to examine United Kingdom (UK) consumers' recognition levels, insinuated purchasing intention (IPI) and insinuated purchasing behavior (IPB) associated with sustainability cues on packaging. Empirical research was conducted using an online questionnaire (n = 254) to determine the level of recognition and reported influence of 13 different sustainability cues. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 24. The conversion of sustainability cue recognition (24%-97% of respondents depending on the cue) to actual IPB was shown in this study to be cue specific and low at 10% or less except the Fairtrade logo at 22%. Statistically significant differences within the sample population were observed for recognition by age, income and education and for IPB by income and education (p < 0.05) but again this was cue specific. Four distinct consumer clusters were identified with income being a differentiating factor for the cluster with high awareness and high IPI. The research contributes to a wider understanding of the use of sustainability cues the level of consumer recognition and the level of influence on purchasing behavior. The research demonstrates the weak translation of recognition of sustainability cues through to intended sustainable purchasing behavior. Crown Copyright (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.