PLOS ONE

RESEARCH ARTICLE

What motivates consumers to buy organic

foods? Results of an empirical study in the
United States
Raghava R. Gundala1, Anupam Singh ID2*

1 Department of Business, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States of America,

2 Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland

a1111111111 * anupam.nitb@gmail.com
a1111111111
a1111111111
a1111111111 Abstract
a1111111111
Consumers perceive organic foods as more nutritious, natural, and environmentally friendly
than non-organic or conventional foods. Since organic foods developed, studies on con-
sumer behavior and organic foods have contributed significantly to its development. The
OPEN ACCESS presesent study aims to identify the factors affecting consumer buying behaviour toward
Citation: Gundala RR, Singh A (2021) What organic foods in the United States. Survey data are collected from 770 consumers in the
motivates consumers to buy organic foods? Midwest, United States. ANOVA, multiple linear regression, factor analysis, independent t-
Results of an empirical study in the United States. tests, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis are used to analyze the collected primary
PLoS ONE 16(9): e0257288. https://doi.org/
data. This research confirms health consciousness, consumer knowledge, perceived or
10.1371/journal.pone.0257288
subjective norms, and perception of price influence consumers’ attitudes toward buying
Editor: Ali B. Mahmoud, St John’s University,
organic foods. Availability is another factor that affected the purchase intentions of consum-
UNITED KINGDOM
ers. Age, education, and income are demographic factors that also impact consumers’ buy-
Received: January 7, 2021
ing behavior. The findings help marketers of organic foods design strategies to succeed in
Accepted: August 30, 2021 the US’s fast-growing organic foods market.
Published: September 10, 2021

Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the

benefits of transparency in the peer review
process; therefore, we enable the publication of
all of the content of peer review and author
responses alongside final, published articles. The Introduction
editorial history of this article is available here: What is organic food?
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257288
Foods that are cultivated without the application of chemical pesticides can be called organic
Copyright: © 2021 Gundala, Singh. This is an open
foods [1]. The feed cannot include antibiotics or growth hormones for the food products
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which labeled organic for foods derived from animals (e.g., eggs, meat, milk, and milk products) [2].
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and Organic foods are perceived as environmentally safe, as chemical pesticides and fertilizers are
reproduction in any medium, provided the original not used in their production. They also are not grown from genetically modified organisms.
author and source are credited. Furthermore, organic foods are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or syn-
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are thetic food additives [3]. Thus, these foods are considered environmentally safe, as they are
within the manuscript and its Supporting produced using ecologically sound methods.
Information files. When the world’s population was low, almost all agriculture was primarily organic and
Funding: The author(s) received no specific near-natural. However, these traditional practices, passed from one generation to the next, did
funding for this work. not produce enough food to meet the rapidly increasing global population’s demands. This led

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Competing interests: The authors have declared to the "green revolution," in which farmers used technological interventions to maximize out-
that no competing interests exist. puts to meet the growing need for food for the increasing population [4]. Unfortunately, this
increased food production also increased chemical pesticides and fertilizers, causing environ-
mental and health issues.
Consumers worldwide are now more concerned with the environment [5]. They are sensitive
to information about products, processing, and brands that might impact the environment [6].
Environmental issues are perceived as having a more direct impact on consumers’ well-being.
Consumers who know environmental degradation activities are willing to buy organic foods [7].
Heightened awareness of the environment and the consumer’s desire to buy organic foods
leads to increased corporate investment toward organic food production and marketing. They
are thus initiating significant innovations in the organic food industry [8]. As a result, the
organic food market is increasing [9]. In addition, effective campaigns create awareness about
the environment. Because of these effective campaigns, consumers are now ready to spend
more on green products [10].
Furthermore, people’s living standards have significantly improved in the past few decades.
With these improvements, the demand for better lifestyles and food has also increased. The
steady growth in purchases of organic foods is an emerging trend. Consumers want to learn
what organic foods offer before purchasing decisions [11].
Global organic food market. According to a recent report, the organic food market is
expected to grow with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16% during 2015–2020.
This growth might be due to consumers’ health concerns as they become aware of organic
foods’ perceived health benefits. Further, rising income levels, changes in living standards, and
government initiatives encourage the broader adoption of organic products [12].

Organic food market in the USA

In 2018, organic market sales were US$47.86 billion, and the market grew by 6.3% from 2017
to 2018 [13]. In 2017, the organic food market in the United States hit a record of US$45.2 bil-
lion in sales; this market consists of both the organic food market and the organic non-food
market (see Fig 1). It is predicted that the organic food market will grow at a consistent pace as
it matures. The demand for organic foods is flourishing as consumers seek nutritious and
clean eating, which they perceive as suitable for their health and the environment.
Understanding consumer buying behavior toward organic foods is essential to pursue bet-
ter marketing and management of the market. This can help us learn about the consumer deci-
sion-making process on organic foods and understand how consumers’ attitudes and beliefs
impact their consumption patterns. In addition, studying consumers’ willingness to pay a pre-
mium price and their response to organic food advertisements [14] is necessary for companies
to succeed in this growing market.
This study focuses on exploring the factors influencing consumers’ buying behavior of
organic foods. Although many factors can affect consumer buying behavior, we chose health
consciousness, knowledge, subjective norms, price, and availability for this study based on
Singh & Verma’s [1] study. Understanding these factors is vital for developing marketing strat-
egies for successfully marketing of these products.

Theory and research hypotheses

Earlier research in the area of consumer buying behavior of organic foods discussed reasons
why people buy. Even though there are some differences, the main reasons are product quality,
concerns related to environmental degradation, and health-related issues [15]. Subsequent stud-
ies on consumer buying behavior of organic foods confirmed this [16]. Consumers tend to

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Fig 1. Organic food and non-food sales in the United States from 2008 to 2018 (in billions of US dollars). Source:
Statista.com.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257288.g001

perceive organic foods as being healthier than conventional alternatives. This perception of
organic foods is one of the most commonly cited reasons for purchasing them. In two studies
[17, 18], it became evident that consumers tend to have a positive attitude toward organic foods.
However, they may not be purchasing organic foods due to environmental concerns. Instead,
purchasing decisions are driven by the perceived health benefits the foods offer, the desire to fit
in with a social group, try a new trend, or differentiate themselves from others [19].

Health consciousness (HEC)

Consumer attitudes are significantly influenced by their health consciousness [20]. Consumers
mainly purchase organic foods due to health benefits [21]. Several studies show that health fac-
tors significantly influence consumers’ willingness to buy organic foods [22–26]. One of the
significant reasons that influence consumers could be the deterioration of their health [22];
thus, consumers see consumers’ purchases as an investment for good health. Bourn and Pres-
cott [27] found that organic foods have a competitive advantage over conventional foods due
to organic foods’ nutritive attributes.
However, in a study conducted by Fotopoulos and Krystallis [28], taste is also another rea-
son consumers buy organic foods. Even though many studies said that the perceived health
benefits are the primary motivator, work by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist [29] and Michaelidou
and Hassan [25] did not find it to be a compelling driver. In the earlier studies, the health ben-
efit is the least significant influencer on organic foods. We examined our respondents’
thoughts on this topic with these different findings on the importance of health benefits. Based
on the above, we formulated Hypothesis 1:
H1: Health consciousness has a positive impact on buying behavior toward organic foods.

Consumer knowledge (CK)

The Theory of Reasoned Actions (TRA) supports our understanding of consumer behavior
development by exploring the motivational influences on how consumers behave [30]. TRA
offers a basis for predicting consumer attitudes and behavior [31]. Liu [20] further confirms
that TRA is the best theory to predict consumer behavior about organic foods. Consumers
want to be aware of what they are buying and satisfy their needs and wants. Therefore, knowl-
edge is essential in impacting consumer behavior on foods.

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Sapp [32] argued that knowledge involves a cognitive learning process. Consumer purchase
intentions differ based on the consumers’ levels of expertise [33]. Consumers’ purchase of organic
products cannot be separated from their knowledge and understanding of organic foods [34, 35].
Recent research on consumer awareness and knowledge about organic foods found that con-
sumer awareness worldwide is low relative to Europe’s awareness level. This elevated awareness
about organic food is due to its market, which is well developed compared to the rest [3, 36–39].
Studies also found that consumers’ knowledge about what is "organic" is inconsistent. For
example, in one study, respondents assumed that organic foods are produced without pesticides,
fertilizers, or growth regulators [40]. However, in a similar study done in the UK by Hutchings
and Greenhalgh [41], respondents thought that "organic" farming is free from chemicals and is
grown naturally. Further, respondents felt that organic foods are not intensively farmed.
In consumer purchase decisions of organic foods, awareness and knowledge about these
products are essential. Smith and Paladino [42] conducted a study on factors affecting organic
foods’ purchasing behavior. They found that learning about social and environmental issues
will positively impact consumers’ purchase behavior. However, from the above, it is evident
that consumers’ knowledge about organic foods is inconsistent. While they are likely to per-
ceive that organic foods are pure, natural, and healthy, this perception might be based on their
belief that organic foods are free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers. To evaluate the same,
we proposed Hypothesis 2 as:
H2: Consumer buying behavior is positively associated with consumer knowledge of organic
foods.

Perceived or subjective norms (PSN)

Ajzen [43] defines perceived or subjective norms (PSN) as "a perceived social pressure to per-
form or not to perform a behavior." Finlay et al. [44] said subjective norms are individuals’ per-
ceptions or opinions about what others believe the individual should do. Subjective norms had
an impact on consumer purchase behavior in the research conducted by Shimp and Kavas
[45], Sheppard et al. [46], and Bagozzi et al. [47]. Chang [48] tested the correlation between
attitudes toward consumer behavior and subjective norms. This study also examined the link
between norms and attitudes and found that subjective norms lead to behavior attitudes in a
meaningful manner. From the above, we formulated Hypothesis 3 as:
H3: Perceived or subjective norms will positively influence consumer buying of organic foods.

Perception of the price (PP)

Organic foods are priced higher than conventional foods. Aertsens et al. [49] and Hughner
et al. [16] confirmed that price is a significant barrier to organic food choice. Padel and Mid-
more [50] and O’Doherty et al. [51] indicate that high prices are likely to impede future
demand development; thus, price is crucial in organic food marketing. The research confirmed
that consumers switch products due to high prices [52], and Gan et al. [53] found that higher
costs hurt the chances of buying organic foods. However, Radman [54] concluded that some
consumers have a positive attitude toward organic foods and are willing to pay a higher price.
Meanwhile, Smith et al. [55] found that price does not significantly impact organic food pur-
chases. Since there are contradictory findings on the relationship between price and organic
foods, we decided to explore whether consumer perceptions of cost have any link to their buy-
ing behavior of organic foods, as stated in Hypothesis 4:
H4: Perceived price of organic foods is negatively associated with consumer buying.

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Availability of organic foods (AV)

Availability is one factor that encourages the purchase of organic foods [56]. Makatouni [24]
reiterated that organic foods’ availability could be a barrier to consuming the same. In a study
by Tarkiainen and Sundqvist [29], the authors showed that the easy availability of organic
foods positively affected their purchase behavior. In a survey conducted by Young et al. [57],
consumers prefer readily available products. Therefore, they do not want to spend time search-
ing for organic products.
However, recently, retailers across the country have noticed the growing popularity of
organic foods and have been adding organic foods to their shelves. Increased organic foods
marketing by large retail outlets and specialty stores has made organic foods accessible to
more consumers [58]. This discussion poses a question. Does availability have a positive
impact on purchase behavior? We decided to test this using Hypothesis 5:
H5: Availability of organic foods increases consumer buying behavior.

Purchase intention and actual buying behavior (PI and AB)

Planned behavior theory suggests that a reaction is a function of intentions and perceived
behavioral control. Sheppard et al. [31] showed evidence that a relationship exists between
choices and actions in different buying behavior types. Ajzen [43] stated that intentions or
willingness could significantly predict actual buying behavior. Studies by Tanner and Kast
[59] and Vermeir and Verbeke [60] found discrepancies between consumers who expressed
favorable attitudes and actual purchase behavior. Hughner [16] found that, even though
consumers have a positive attitude toward purchasing organic foods, very few people
bought them. Based on the above, researchers believe that there is a relationship between
attitudes and actions. This is in line with the study of Wheale and Hinton [61]. Attitudes
toward organically grown food products might positively and significantly affect purchase
behavior [62]. From this, it is assumed that the purchase of organic food results from an
intent to purchase.
The attitude-behavior gap is a gap in consumers’ favorable attitude and actual purchase
behavior of organic foods. This gap suggests that a positive attitude toward organic prod-
ucts might not always lead to a purchase. Many factors could influence this gap. Price,
availability, and social influence, among many others, can create a discrepancy among
consumer attitudes, purchase intentions, and actual buying behavior. We test the effects
of influencing factors (HEC, CK, PSN, PP, AV) on purchase intent (PI) and actual buying
behavior (AB).
H6: Consumer attitudes toward organic foods mediate the association between influencing
factors and purchase intention.
H7: Consumer attitudes and purchase intentions mediate the association between influencing
factors and actual buying behavior.

Sociodemographic factors
Behavior is not influenced by attitudes alone; many factors influence behavior. For example,
Voon et al. [62] found that sociodemographic factors influence buying behavior. One signifi-
cant factor is gender. For instance, Lockie et al. [63] confirm that women are more likely to
have positive attitudes than men toward organic foods. Similarly, adolescent girls are more
favorable than boys toward organic products [64].

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Research has found that age also influences the purchase of organic foods. For example,
Misra et al. [65] show that older individuals may be willing to buy organic foods due to health-
related reasons. However, Cranfield and Magnusson [66] found that younger consumers are
more likely to pay over 6% higher premiums to ensure that food products are pesticide-free. In
addition, Rimal et al. [67] found that older individuals are less likely to buy organic foods than
younger individuals. In contrast, younger people and women consider organic foods more
essential and include them in their purchases [68, 69].
In consumers’ demographic characteristics, income is another factor considered crucial for
influencing the purchase of organic food. In two studies conducted by Govidnasamy and Italia
[68] and Loureiro et al. [70], organic products are more frequently purchased by higher-
income households. Likewise, Voon et al. ’s [62] research found that household income posi-
tively relates to organic food purchases. Further, women in the 30–45, with children and hav-
ing a higher disposable income, include organic foods in their purchases [58].
Research by Cunningham [38] and O’Donovan and McCarthy [71] found a positive rela-
tionship between organic foods and education consumption. This is also true of Dettmann
and Dimitri’s [58] work. According to their study, individuals with a higher education level
are more likely to purchase organic foods than those with a lower education level. This was
also discovered by Aryal et al. [72]. They showed that education is another factor that might
influence the purchase of organic products.
Contrary to the above-referred research, some studies found a negative correlation [73, 74].
These negative correlations are also confirmed by the analysis of Arbindra et al. [75]. They
explain that organic food purchase patterns and levels of education are statistically significant.
Since there are different findings in the literature, we test the influence of demographic fac-
tors on buying, and the following hypotheses are formulated:
H8a: The age of the consumer and buying behavior toward organic foods are significantly
different.
H8b: Gender and buying behavior toward organic foods are significantly different.
H8c: Income and buying behavior toward organic foods are significantly different.
H8d: Education and buying behavior toward organic foods are significantly different.

Research method
Primary data were collected using a questionnaire developed from prior studies [1, 76–80].
The questionnaire has two sections. The first section contains questions about organic product
purchase behavior, with responses measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The second section
includes questions on respondents’ demographic information (see S1 Appendix).
The questionnaire was pilot tested on 50 respondents to ensure question and response clar-
ity. Changes were made where necessary based on the feedback of the pilot study. Convenience
and snowball sampling methods were used. Online surveys were conducted by sending out the
surveys to individuals known to both the researcher and the students taking a Market Research
course during Spring 2019. These individuals were asked to pass on the survey to their friends
and family members. The snowball sampling method was used to generate as many responses
as possible during May-August 2019. Respondents were asked to participate in the study via
email. The email sent to potential participants indicated that they voluntarily agreed to partici-
pate in the survey by clicking on the survey link. The email also mentioned that, at any time,
they could stop participating by merely closing the browser, and their responses will not be
saved. A total of 770 responses were received. After going through the questionnaires for

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

completeness, a total of 502 surveys were used for further analysis. The study is approved by
the Institutional Review Board of the University of Wisconsin-Stout as this involves a survey
from the consumers based on their consents. Further, the data were analyzed anonymously.

Results and discussion

The respondents’ demographic profile is reported in Table 1. The table indicates that 58% of
the respondents are men, while the remaining 42% are women. The plurality (37%) of the
respondents is 31–40 years old. Likewise, most (35%) are graduate students, followed by
undergraduate students (28%) and postgraduates/Ph.D. (21%). The analysis also shows that
respondents’ plurality has an annual income of over $100,000. The highest proportion of
respondents (38%) has a family size of 1–2 members living in their households. This family
size is closely followed by 3–4 people in the household (37%).

Reasons for purchase of organic foods

Respondents were asked if they have ever bought organic food products, and 55.6% said yes.
Then, these respondents were asked further questions about their purchases. When asked
about the purchase frequency, 51.8% said they purchase organic food products weekly, 26%
purchase at least once a month, and the remaining 21.6% purchase less frequently than once a
month.
Respondents mentioned health consciousness as the primary reason for purchasing organic
food. Further, non-use of pesticides, lower pesticide residues, environmentally friendly pro-
duction, and perceived freshness are other reasons respondents choose to buy organic foods
(see Fig 2). Health consciousness played an essential role in 48% of respondents, followed by
pesticide-free (19%) and environmentally friendly (15%) considerations.
To identify the factors influencing attitudes toward organic foods, Principal Components
Analysis (PCA) using varimax rotation is conducted. Before applying the factor analysis, the
Kaiser-Mayer-Olin (KMO) test and Bartlett’s test of sphericity are used to test data suitability.

Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics of respondents.

Characteristic N (%) Characteristic N (%)
Gender Family Annual Income
Male 291 (58) Less than $40,000 45 (9)
Female 211 (42) $40,001 to $60,000 80 (16)
$60,001 to $80,000 116 (23)
Age $80,001 to $100,000 126 (25)
18–30 years 105 (21) above $100,000 135 (27)
31–40 years 186 (37)
41–50 years 116 (23) Family Size
51–60 years 60 (12) 1–2 191 (38)
Above 60 years 35 (7) 3–4 186 (37)
5 or more 125 (25)
Education
High school 80 (16) Occupation
Undergraduate 141 (28) Student 55 (11)
Graduate 176 (35) Work full-time 186 (37)
Postgraduate/Ph.D. 105 (21) Self-employed 171 (34)
Retired 90 (18)
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257288.t001

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Fig 2. Reasons for purchasing organic foods.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257288.g002

The result shows the KMO measure of sampling adequacy as 0.82. Thus, the value exceeds the
cut-off value of 0.60. Bartlett’s test of sphericity (χ2 = 2,082, df = 132, p < .001) is also significant.
This indicates that the inter-item correlations are significant for PCA. KMO and Bartlett’s test
results support the data [81]. The results are shown in Table 2 to ensure scale reliability. Each
factor has a Cronbach’s alpha (α) value higher than the threshold value of 0.70 [82].
Multiple linear regression analysis is performed to test hypotheses H1–H5. The analysis
ascertains the impact of health consciousness, consumers’ knowledge, perceived or subjective
norms, availability, and perception of the price on consumer attitude (AT). As shown in
Table 3, HEC, CK, PSN, PP, and AV account for 33% of the explained variances (F (5, 177) =
32.51, p < .001, R2 = 0.33).
According to the results, the H1(β = 0.37, p = .016); H2 (β = 0.47, p < .001); H3 (β = 0.34, p
= .015); and H4 (β = 0.36, p = .001) are supported, as the β values are positive and significant.
However, the values for H5 (β = 0.29, p = .117) are statistically non-significant. This shows that
H5 is not supported. The findings confirmed that health consciousness, consumer knowledge,
perceptive or subjective norm, and perception of the price affect respondents’ attitudes toward
organic foods. However, it is also found that availability has no impact on consumers’ atti-
tudes, at least in our sample.
The hierarchical regression method was applied to test the association between purchase
intention and influencing factors (HEC, CK, PSN, PP, and AV) via the mediation of AT. The
mediation was ascertained using Baron and Kenny’s [83] approach. Certain criteria must be
met to declare the presence of mediation in the equation. The first necessary criterion is that
the independent variable (IV) must affect the dependent variable (DV). The second criterion
is that the IV must significantly influence the mediating variables. The third suggests the medi-
ating variables must affect the DV. When all of the above conditions are met, a full mediation
is confirmed if the IV no longer affects the DV after the mediator has been controlled for. Par-
tial mediation occurs when the effect of the IV on the DV is reduced after the mediators are
controlled for. The results indicate that all β values (for the effect on AT) are positive and sig-
nificant: HEC (β = 0.17, p < .001), CK (β = 0.29, p < .030), PSN (β = 0.33, p < .020), PP (β =
0.39, p < .010), and AV (β = 0.24, p < .050; see Table 4). The presence of mediation is also con-
firmed, as Baron and Kenny’s criteria are met. Thus, H6, which predicts that the attitude medi-
ates the relationship between the influencing factors and PI, is supported.
According to the results reported in Table 5, H7—which states that influencing factors have
a positive effect on actual buying behavior via the mediating effect of attitude and purchase
intention—is supported: AT (β = 0.24, p < .040) and PI (β = 0.26, p < .020). This confirms

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Table 2. Constructs, observable items, and factor loadings.

Construct Indicator Factor Loadings (λ) Cronbach’s α Variance (%)
Health Consciousness 0.78 37.12
HEC1 0.81
HEC2 0.78
HEC3 0.82
Consumers’ Knowledge 0.79 7.63
CK1 0.73
CK2 0.84
CK3 0.92
Perceived or Subjective Norms 0.87 5.60
PSN1 0.81
PSN2 0.86
PSN3 0.76
Perception Price 0.84 5.38
PP1 0.86
PP2 0.83
Availability of Organic Foods 0.70 3.76
AV1 0.81
AV2 0.76
Attitude 0.84 3.46
AT1 0.81
AT2 0.77
AT3 0.87
Purchase Intention 0.79 2.13
PI1 0.91
PI2 0.77
PI3 0.83
Actual Buying Behavior 0.82 1.69
AB1 0.91
AB2 0.74
AB3 0.87
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that AT and PI have a positive and significant effect on consumers’ actual buying behavior.
Furthermore, AT and PI mediate the association between influencing factors and AB since the
values of the corresponding regression coefficients of HEC, CK, PSN, PP, and AV are reduced
when the effects of AT and PI are controlled for. These results support H7.

Table 3. Results of multiple regression analysis on consumer attitudes.

Predictor Min Max Mean SD Β Regression Analysis Collinearity
SE t Sig TOL VIF
HEC 1 5 4.23 1.03 0.37 0.06 6.14 .016 0.84 1.20
CK 1 5 3.84 1.12 0.47 0.13 5.27 .000 0.67 1.50
PSN 1 5 4.44 1.66 0.34 0.18 3.56 .015 0.51 1.96
PP 1 5 4.06 1.45 0.36 0.15 5.25 .001 0.43 2.30
AV 1 5 3.74 1.12 0.29 0.08 2.41 .117 0.49 2.04
2
Notes: R = 0.33, F (5, 177) = 32.51

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Table 4. Results of purchase intention predictions using hierarchical regression analysis.

Predictor Step 1 Step 2 Collinearity
Β t Sig Β T Sig TOL VIF
HEC 0.26 6.14 .030 0.17 5.10 .000 0.72 1.40
CF 0.41 5.22 .000 0.29 3.23 .030 0.81 1.20
PSN 0.38 3.18 .010 0.33 2.79 .020 0.41 2.40
PP 0.41 6.99 .010 0.39 6.18 .010 0.38 2.60
AV 0.31 7.67 .040 0.24 3.55 .050 0.48 2.10
AT 0.39 4.67 .020 0.53 1.90
R2 0.43 0.46
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Demographic differences in the actual buying behavior

An independent t-test is conducted to see if the actual purchase behavior changes are due to
gender. Levene’s test (Table 6) indicates that the p-value for gender is more significant than
.05. The result confirms the homogeneous variance. Thus, the t-test is suitable for equal vari-
ance. Furthermore, the t-value of 0.08 (two-tailed) is higher than the significance level, suggest-
ing a non-significant difference, implying that the mean values (-0.19 and -0.16) are not
significant, supporting H8a.
Table 7A below shows the results of the one-way ANOVA test. The findings suggest that
respondents’ age (F = 7.01; p = .023) has a statistically significant effect on the purchase inten-
tion; thus, H8b is supported. However, further analysis of the respondents’ age groups is con-
ducted using the least significant difference (LSD) test. The results of the LSD test, as depicted
in Table 7B, indicate that the age group of 41–50 years has a statistically higher score than
other age groups.
Hypothesis H8c is supported, as the ANONA test reveals that annual income (F = 8.22; p =
.011) significantly affects purchase intention (see Table 8A). Further, the LSD Test for income
(Table 8B) implies that the income level of more than US$80,000 has a higher score on the
actual purchase as compared to those with incomes lower than US$80,000.
According to Table 9A, the level of education (F = 7.05; p = .001) affects consumer purchase
behavior toward organic foods. The LSD test (Table 9B) further clarifies that consumers hold
postgraduate/Ph.D. Degrees have a higher score on the AB of organic food products than

Table 5. Results of purchase intention predictions using hierarchical regression analysis.

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Collinearity
Predictor β t Β T Β T TOL VIF
� � �
HEC 0.27 4.28 0.63 5.54 0.22 5.44 0.45 2.22
CK 0.35 3.25� 0.44 4.77� 0.43 4.22� 0.35 2.86
PSN 0.39 4.18� 0.34 2.33� 0.33 4.19� 0.41 2.44
PP 0.48 5.77� 0.55 5.21� 0.45 6.75� 0.39 2.56
AV 0.43 0.33� 0.27 4.81� 0.33 7.67� 0.43 2.33
AT 0.46 5.23� 0.24 5.39� 0.49 2.04
PI 0.26 7.67� 0.34 2.94
ΔR2 0.55 0.07 0.08
ΔF 117.77 18.55 22.77

Notes: � p < .05;

��
p < .001

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Table 6. Gender: Independent t-test.

Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances T-Test for Equality of Means
F Sig. T Df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval
Difference Difference of the Difference
Lower Upper
Equal Variances 2.61 .153 -1.21 500 .081 -.19 .07 -.32 -.01
Equal Variances not assumed -1.08 472.55 .069 -.16 .08 -.32 -.01
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257288.t006

consumers with only a high school diploma or undergraduates. The test also shows that gradu-
ate degree-holders are more likely to purchase organic food than any other group.

Conclusions
This study tested Singh and Verma’s [1] model on US consumers. We initially investigated the
factors influencing consumer attitudes. Then we studied how these influencing factors and
attitudes together affect the actual buying behavior of consumers. There has always been a
debate on consumers’ intention to purchase compared to their actual purchase. Evidence of
previous studies suggests that actual purchase behavior is not always the consequence of intent
to purchase. Consumers sometimes intend to buy but often fail to do so. Therefore, this study
also looked at the impact of demographic variables (such as gender, income, education, and
age) on the consumers’ actual buying. This study confirms that all five factors—namely, health
consciousness, consumer knowledge, availability, perception of price, and subjective norms—
influence consumer attitudes. In contrast, attitudes and purchases were found to have mediat-
ing roles between influencing factors and actual buying behavior toward organic foods.
Further, the t-tests and ANOVA test results explored a more in-depth understanding of the
relationships between demographic factors and actual buying. LSD tests were conducted to
understand which sub-group in a demographic variable is significantly different from its coun-
terparts. The findings of this study suggest that gender does not affect the actual buying of
organic foods. Meanwhile, income, age, and education do affect consumers’ actual purchases.
Furthermore, the LSD test shows that 41–50 years of age, consumers are more likely to buy
organic foods than those in other groups. Not surprisingly, income is found to be another

Table 7. A. Age groups: ANOVA test. B. LSD test for respondent’s age groups.
A
Actual Buying Behavior Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F p-values
Between Groups 7.18 4 3.36 7.01 .023
Within Groups 156.13 498 .41
Total 163.31 502
B
Dependent Variable Respondent’s Mean p-value
age Difference
(I) (J) (I−J)
Actual Buying Behavior 18–30 years 0.30 .020
41–50 years 31–40 years 0.21 .000
51–60 years 0.32 .000
above 60 years 0.43 .000

Notes:
1. p-values are rounded off to three decimal places.
2. Statistical significance is tested at p < 0.05.

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Table 8. A. Annual income: ANOVA test. B. Annual income: LSD test.

A
Actual Buying Behavior Sum of df Mean Square F Sig
Squares
Between Groups 15.10 5 4.22 8.22 .011
Within Groups 144.86 497 0.35
Total 159.96 502
B
Dependent Variable Respondent’s annual income ($) Mean Sig.
Difference
(I) (J) (I−J)
Actual Buying Behavior 40,001 to Less than 40,000 0.47 .000
60,000 40,001 to 60,000 0.43 .011
80,001 to 100,000 0.37 .023
80,001 to Less than 40,000 0.61 .042
100,000 40,001 to 60,000 0.44 .000
60,001 to 80,000 0.41 .000
above 100,000 0.42 .046
above 100,000 Less than 40,000 0.60 .018
40,001 to 60,000 0.53 .000
60,001 to 80,000 0.47 .000
80,001 to 100,000 0.41 .030

Notes:
1. p-values are rounded off to three decimal places.
2. Statistical significance is tested at p < 0.05.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257288.t008

critical determinant of actual buying decisions. This may indicate that income is directly pro-
portional to organic food buying (i.e., the higher the income level, the more likely the con-
sumer is to buy organic foods). The findings also indicate the same trend with education.
Higher levels of education correspond to a higher likelihood of purchasing organic foods. This

Table 9. A. Education levels: ANOVA Test. B. Education levels: LSD Test.

A
Actual Buying Behavior Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F p-value
Between Groups 11.81 4 3.78 7.05 .001
Within Groups 137.31 498 0.39
Total 142.12 502
B
Dependent Respondent’s education level Mean Difference p-value
Variable (I) (J) (I−J)
Actual Buying Graduate High School 0.40 .000
Behavior Undergraduate 0.34 .018
Postgraduate/Ph. High School 0.53 .000
D. Undergraduate 0.51 .210
Graduate 0.37 .000

Notes:
1. p-values are rounded off to three decimal places.
2. Statistical significance is tested at p < 0.05.

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

could be because education might increase the consumer’s knowledge, and informed consum-
ers could be health-conscious and aware of organic foods’ benefits. Many studies have stated
different reasons for buying organic foods in developed and developing countries. However, if
we compare and contrast our research findings with recent work in developed countries, simi-
lar results have been obtained. Health consciousness, food safety, environmentally friendly
procedures, consumer’s knowledge on organic foods, perceived or subjective norms, availabil-
ity of organic foods, and demographic factors, like gender, education, and income are the most
substantial reasons for buying organic food, irrespective of the country (developed or develop-
ing; [1, 3, 25].

Implications
The findings of this research may guide companies dealing with organic foods. The study sug-
gests the companies can craft marketing strategies to increase consumers’ awareness of the
benefits of organic food consumption. Providing additional information about the benefits of
organic food products may help convince consumers to make the purchase. This study will be
helpful to retailers to segment their consumers based on their demographics. The study will
also help retailers understand the factors that are likely to influence consumers’ organic food
purchases and design strategies to increase their sales. Since availability (access) is one factor
in buying decisions, retailers should reach out to local shops/areas to enhance market cover-
age. As subjective norms are another significant factor, marketers should promote organic
food consumption through family, celebrities, and society.
This study offers important implications but with some limitations. First, direct factors
related to consumer purchase decisions were measured. The second limitation is the sampling.
Since the data is collected using an online survey forwarded by students and researchers to oth-
ers, it could constitute snowballing. Any data collected using snowballing should be cautiously
used to generalize the outcomes. Further research in this area may consider advertisements,
federal and state regulations, and consumption patterns of organic foods. Of course, in organic
food consumption, more studies in different regions with a higher sample size would validate
our findings.
Covid-19 pandemic crisis affecting all aspects of the population’s daily life, in particular,
dietary habits [85]. However, Covid-19 perceptions on adopting healthy food habits are not
investigated in the present study. Any further research in this area should consider post-pan-
demic behavior. Recent studies suggest that parental attitudes affects dietary habits [84–86].
Therefore, future research should also consider how parental attitudes influence the purchase
of organic foods.

Supporting information
S1 Dataset.
(XLSX)
S1 Appendix. Survey questionnaire.
(DOCX)

Author Contributions
Conceptualization: Raghava R. Gundala, Anupam Singh.
Data curation: Anupam Singh.
Formal analysis: Anupam Singh.

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PLOS ONE What motivates consumers to buy organic foods?

Investigation: Raghava R. Gundala.

Methodology: Anupam Singh.
Project administration: Raghava R. Gundala.
Software: Anupam Singh.
Writing – original draft: Raghava R. Gundala, Anupam Singh.
Writing – review & editing: Raghava R. Gundala, Anupam Singh.

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