Factors affecting microgreens vegetable purchasing decisions of consumers in Chiang Mai

Abstract

Changes in population structure that shift towards aged society, migration, and technological advances have affected consumer behaviours as there is a growing preference and willingness to pay more for healthy products. As a result, microgreens have become another alternative for modern consumers. Not only they are safe, microgreens also offer a variety of types, packaging options, safety standards, price, and distribution channels. However, so far there is no study dedicated specifically to exploring consumer-desired attributes of microgreens. Therefore, this study aims to examine microgreen attributes that affect consumers’ purchase decisions in Chiang Mai using data from a survey of 200 microgreen buyers. Conjoint analysis was conducted to analyze the collected data. The study found that the main reasons for choosing microgreens are health benefits, freshness, cleanliness, and the absence of pesticides. On average, respondents were found to spend more than 200 Baht per purchase. The most desired attribute are microgreens packed in a 500-gram plastic container with GAP certification at the price of 25 Baht. The least desirable attribute are microgreens packed in a 250-gram plastic container without any certification at the price of 150 Baht. This reflects the fact that the most significant attribute influencing buying decision is product certification written explicitly on the packaging, followed by price, size, net weight, and packaging, respectively.