Consumers' willingness to pay for ethical consumption initiatives on e-commerce platforms

Despite China?s fast-growing e-commerce and its great achievement in promoting poverty alleviation through consumption, little is known about Chinese consumers? online ethical consumption. Using the payment card elicitation method, this paper designs a within-subject survey and a between-subject survey to investigate Chinese consumers? quality perception and preference for apples from poverty-stricken areas. The results show that before ?information shock?, emphasizing that taste and safety attributes of apples from poverty-stricken areas are the same as the conventional ones, Chinese consumers on average are willing to pay a 31% premium for apples from poverty-stricken areas. After ?information shock?, both the within-subject and between-subject designs show a minimal drop of the premium, implying that the ethical attribute is the main motivation for buying apples from poverty-stricken areas. The regression results show that quality perception of private attributes has significant effect on consumers? willingness to pay (WTP) for apples from poverty-stricken areas, and trust in government supervision of e-commerce plays an essential role in motivating online ethical consumption.

Automated summary

This study investigates Chinese consumers' perception and willingness to pay for apples from poverty-stricken areas, revealing that ethical attributes play a significant role in motivating online ethical consumption. Quality perception and trust in government supervision of e-commerce are key factors influencing consumers' willingness to pay for these products.