Consumer Preference for Sustainable Attributes in Plants: Evidence from Experimental Auctions

Experimental auctions were employed to investigate U.S. and Canadian consumers' willingness to pay for sustainable attributes in plants. The results show consumers are willing to pay a price premium for energy and water savings in plant production of $0.15 and $0.12, respectively. Consumers are only willing to pay $0.08 more for sustainably labeled product. Latent class segmentation analysis identifies three distinct consumer segments: Import-Liking, Mainstream, and Eco-local. Mainstream Consumers were the largest segment and willing to pay only modest premiums for eco-friendly attributes. Eco-local consumers comprised 14% of consumers and they were willing to pay the highest amount for the improved production methods and container types, while having the highest willing to pay for local and domestic products. [EconLit citations: D44, M31].