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Table of contents
1. International online marketing of foods to US consumers............................................................................ 1

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Document 1 of 1

International online marketing of foods to US consumers

Author: White, Gregory K
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Abstract (Abstract): US consumers' reactions to 20 domestic and international Internet sites marketing specialty
food products are examined.
Abstract: US consumers' reactions to 20 domestic and international Internet sites marketing specialty food
products are examined. Respondents' ratings of site characteristics and use of descriptive adjectives are
analyzed and it is determined that international sites were viewed significantly lower than domestic sites on
virtually all measures. Those differences were correlated with a lower likelihood of purchase. International
companies hoping to market their products to US customers via the Internet should expect to have online
consumers apply a more stringent standard of site design and quality. However, those companies which meet
these standards can expect to be competitive with US companies.
Full text: Gregory K. White: Department of Resource Economics and Policy, University of Maine, Orono, Maine,
USA
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: This research was funded by the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station and
the University of Maine and is MAFES No. 2123.
Introduction
Internet shopping is beginning to show signs that it may live up to its early revolutionary projections. It is now
estimated that 23 per cent of US and Canadian residents over the age of 16 use the Internet, and as of March
1997, 17 per cent of this population had used the World Wide Web (WWW) in the previous month.
(CommerceNet, 1997) Nearly three quarters of these Web users have searched the Internet for information
about products and services, and 15 per cent have made an online purchase.
Thousands of firms marketing food and beverages worldwide are among those trying to attract the attention,
and buying power, of these Internet shoppers. It is now possible to purchase specialty Italian cheeses direct
from a cybershop in Italy or New York. Consumers interested in smoked fish can pay a virtual visit to companies
in Alaska or Iceland from their home computers.
Internet users are an attractive target group for specialty food and drink producers. Like the overall Internet
population, people who visit food and drink sites online are relatively young (median age of 37), wealthier than
most (median income of $58,000), and well educated (91 per cent have attended some college and 75 per cent
have at least a four-year degree) (White and Cheng, 1996). They also mirror those consumers who purchase
specialty food and drink products through traditional markets (Dietrich, 1992).
The Internet population is also international, although more than 80 per cent of Internet users are estimated to
reside in the USA (Pitkow and Kehoe, 1996a). This means that any business with a presence on the Internet
automatically becomes a multinational company (Quelch and Klein, 1996). The question for food and beverage
firms on the Internet is: are international sales a realistic expectation?
Background
Researchers at the University of Maine conducted two surveys from June-September 1996 in which
respondents evaluated a total of 32 commercial Web sites marketing specialty food and drink products. In each
survey, respondents were asked to evaluate six sites with regard to a series of site characteristics and to
indicate their likelihood of making a purchase from the online site or, hypothetically, from the company by mail
order or at a local retail outlet (White and Manning, 1997a).
Non-US residents comprised 8.8 per cent of the respondent population of the initial two surveys, and they

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completed 8.0 per cent of the site evaluations. While they were equally likely to make a purchase from the
companies in the survey if their products were available at a retail store in their area, they were four to five times
less likely to make an online purchase.
This contrasts with data collected in GVU's bi-annual surveys of Internet users, which indicate that there was no
significant difference between US and international Internet users' purchasing activity of "food/condiments/
beverages" online in the previous six months (Table I) (Pitkow and Kehoe, 1996b). Therefore, it would appear
that international and US consumers are equally likely to purchase food and drink products online, but US
companies on the Internet do not currently appeal to foreign consumers.
This project was designed to determine if consumers in the USA have similar concerns with making
international food and beverage purchases over the Internet. It examines US residents' reactions to a sample of
international commercial WWW sites, compares their likelihood of purchase from international companies to
that from US companies, and analyses reviewer comments to determine why they might view international sites
and potential purchases differently.
Methodology
An on-line survey was conducted from 11-31 December 1996 in which consumers interested in food and drink
sites on the Internet evaluated 20 commercial WWW sites. Fifteen were US companies which marketed one or
more of the following products: barbecue sauce, cheese, olive oil, and potato chips. Five companies were from
Germany, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, and the UK. They marketed chocolate, seafood, olive oil, and/or gourmet
gift baskets. This was the third in a series of Internet site evaluation surveys. The previous two studies
evaluated consumer reaction to 32 US and Canadian cybershops which marketed chocolate, coffee, fruit, salsa,
seafood, and/or wine.
The survey instrument was an interactive WWW site located on the University of Maine server
(http://www.ume.maine.edu/[similar]specfood/survey. html). Calls for volunteers were placed in a variety of sites
on the Internet which are visited by Internet users interested in specialty food and drink products. These
included commercial WWW sites marketing food and drink products, food- and drink-related electronic
magazines (e-zines), and food- and drink-related newsgroups. Some of these notices were posted by the
investigator; others were provided by companies and individuals interested in the project. The survey site was
also registered with several Internet search engines. Respondents who took part in the first and/or second
survey were contacted by e-mail and encouraged to take part the current survey. These methods were
designed to attract a sample of individuals who are likely visitors to commercial WWW sites marketing specialty
food and drink products. It was not intended to attract a representative sample of the Internet population as a
whole. A further description of the methodology and potential sampling and procedural biases can be found in
White (1996).
During the survey, each respondent was asked to evaluate six commercial WWW sites. In addition to basic
questions regarding familiarity with the company being reviewed and previous visits to its WWW site, the
company evaluation forms asked respondents to review each WWW site with regard to various site
characteristics. These included the speed at which the site loaded, the ease of navigating the site, company
information, product information, graphics, order options, as well as overall appeal of the site.
Respondents were also asked to identify descriptive words and phrases which, in their opinion, were applicable
to the sites they reviewed. They could select from a list of 15 words and phrases (innovative, fun, personal,
useful, clear, concise, attractive, interesting, informative, confusing, impersonal, wordy, hard to read, out-ofdate, and busy) which were frequent comments in the first two surveys.
Respondents were then asked to identify that product, if any, from among those available on the site which they
were most likely to purchase within the next six months. Each product, as well as the option "would not consider
purchasing any product" could be selected from a pull-down menu on the survey form. They were also asked to
identify their preferred method for placing an order from among those offered on the company's WWW site, and
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to indicate the likelihood of actually purchasing the selected product within the next six months. Since products
may not be available in local retail stores for most respondents, they were asked the hypothetical question "How
likely would you be to purchase that product from a retail store in your area (if it were available) in the next six
months?" A similar question was asked about the likelihood of purchase by mail order from a catalogue. The
scores for likelihood of purchase from retail stores, by mail order, and online are the primary measures by which
the research objectives for this project are evaluated.
Findings
A total of 874 site evaluations were completed by 163 respondents during the survey period. Females
comprised a slight majority of respondents (56.3 per cent); 43.0 per cent were male, and 0.7 per cent did not
indicate their gender; 86 per cent of respondents were aged 25-55, with an estimated median age of 41. The
group was well educated. Nearly 95 per cent attended some college, and 64.8 per cent had at least a four-year
college degree. The estimated median income was $57,000.
US residents comprised 93.3 per cent of the respondent population, and they completed 92.6 per cent of the
site evaluations. Because this paper addresses the likelihood of US consumers' willingness to purchase food
and beverages online, only those evaluations submitted by US residents have been considered.
In addition to a series of questions regarding the appeal and quality of the WWW sites being reviewed,
respondents were asked to evaluate the appeal of each company's products. The US companies' products were
rated either "good" or "excellent" by 78.2 per cent of respondents. This compares with 61.3 per cent of the
international companies. The difference is significant at the 99 per cent level. In order to understand better the
effects of the WWW sites alone, as opposed to the products marketed, the evaluations analysed in this paper
are further limited to those for which respondents rated the product appeal as "good" or "excellent". This
resulted in 485 reviews of US sites and 111 of international sites.
Respondents were more critical of the international WWW sites than the US sites. They were significantly less
likely to describe the international sites as "good" or "excellent" with regard to loading speed; ease of
navigation; company, product, or shipping information; order options; and overall site rating. There was no
significant difference in their opinions regarding the quality of the sites' graphics (Table II).
With respect to the 15 descriptive terms, respondents were also significantly less likely to describe international
companies' sites in positive terms. International sites were described as "fun" only half as often as domestic
sites (13.5 per cent and 27.2 per cent respectively) (Table III). They were 75 per cent less likely to be described
as "personal". The use of these terms, as well as "innovative", "useful", "clear", "concise", "attractive",
"interesting", and "informative", appear to be related to a higher likelihood of online purchase (White and
Manning, 1997b). As indicated in Table III, for those positive terms in which there was a significant difference in
usage between the US and international sites, the international sites scored lower in all cases.
The reverse was true of terms associated with a lower likelihood of purchase. The international sites were more
likely to be described as "confusing" (13.5 per cent), "impersonal" (9.9 per cent), and "hard to read" (12.6 per
cent) than domestic sites. There was no significant difference between the groups for the two terms (i.e. out-ofdate and busy) which the White and Manning study found to have no clear relationship to willingness to
purchase.
Respondents were asked to indicate the likelihood of making a purchase from each site within the next six
months by online ordering, by mail order, or from retail stores if the product were available locally. There was a
significant difference between the US and international sites for each possible method of purchase (Table IV).
Among this group of respondents who rated a company's product appeal as "good" or "excellent", more were
likely to make a purchase from a company within the USA than an international company. It would appear that
these differences are not necessarily solely due to issues of international shipment and/or payment, since even
purchases from local retail stores are significantly lower for the international companies, but are rather related to
the sites themselves.
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Each site evaluation was analysed and categorized according to whether the reviewer had used only positive
terms, neither positive nor negative, both positive and negative, or only negative terms to describe the site.
Respondents used only positive terms to describe 77.5 per cent of the US sites and 65.5 per cent of the
international sites. Respondents used only negative terms to describe international sites approximately three
times as often as they did describing US sites.
Table V also indicates the percentage of respondents who were somewhat or very likely to make a purchase
from the online site by the terms they used to describe the site. It is clear that if only positive terms were used to
describe the site, approximately one-third of respondents indicated a high likelihood of making a purchase from
companies regardless of their country of origin. However, if one or more negative terms were used, the
likelihood of an online purchase from an international company was virtually eliminated. Their likelihood of
purchase from a US company decreased with the application of negative terms, but the decrease was
significantly less than that of international sites.
Suggestions for international food producers
These findings suggest that international food and drink companies whose commercial WWW sites meet the
needs of US consumers can be competitive in the USA. Comments made by reviewers along with the results
reported above provide some guidance for firms hoping to market their food and drink products in the USA.
Language"
Poor spelling and grammar - I understand that this is an Italian company, however the repeated errors are
unprofessional."
Companies who wish to market their products in the USA must provide site content in English. (They might also
consider options in Spanish and other commonly spoken languages.) Reviewer comments, however, suggest
that international companies must be careful in their use of English and avoid grammatical and usage errors.
Availability of international shipping"
Shoot, they said worldwide, but I saw no US options!"
Companies that are prepared to make international sales should indicate that clearly on their WWW pages.
Without this information, and sometimes despite its presence, some respondents mistakenly believed that they
could not make a purchase from international companies.
Currency"
Interesting products ... I'd be tempted to order but there are no US dollar equivalents ... I can't tell how
expensive they are."
Shopping on the Web needs to be convenient. Therefore, consumers are unlikely to search for information on
currency conversion rates. Firms who wish to market their products internationally may consider adding a link
from their web pages to a currency converter or provide an approximate conversion rate for each country to
which they are prepared to make sales.
Shipping charges"
Shipping charges to USA are prohibitive."
Shipping charges may be beyond a company's control, but it is a concern for international customers. At a
minimum, Web sites should clearly indicate shipment costs to each country to which delivery is available.
Shipping information"
Products look good, but would be very dubious to buy ... and having it shipped all the way here."
In addition to the cost, respondents were often concerned about the time needed for international shipments
and its impact on the quality of the products. Companies should consider providing information on how the
products are shipped and precautions taken to ensure their quality on arrival. Quality guarantees and/or special
consideration for international returns or refunds may also be necessary.
Local availability"
Yummy looking/sounding food, but I'd think we have pretty comparable stuff from here."
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Respondents overwhelmingly preferred to purchase most food and beverage products at a local retail store.
International products are no exception. Therefore, companies on the Internet must distinguish their products as
unique and not available locally if they are to realize international Internet sales.
Summary
Survey respondents residing in the USA evaluated both domestic and international WWW sites marketing food
products. Among the responses which rated the appeal of the product as good or excellent, international sites
consistently were rated lower than domestic sites. The international sites were significantly lower on seven out
of eight site-related characteristics such as ease of navigation, company and product information, shipping
information, and overall site rating. Respondents also used positive descriptive terms to describe the
international sites significantly less frequently than domestic sites, and negative terms more frequently.
After reviewing the sites, respondents expressed a lower likelihood of purchasing products from the foreign
producers through online ordering, mail order, as well as local retail options. When the likelihood of purchase
ratings were compared to the use of the positive and negative descriptive terms, it was apparent that if
reviewers considered a site to have one or more negative aspects, it reduced the likelihood of purchase from a
domestic company by approximately 42 per cent, but it reduced the likelihood of purchase from an international
company by 87 per cent. Thus, international companies hoping to market their products via the WWW to US
customers should expect to have on-line consumers apply a more stringent standard of site design and quality.
Those companies which meet these standards can expect to be competitive with US companies. If food and
drink sites are viewed negatively in any way it will have a much greater impact on sales by international than
domestic companies.
International companies hoping to market specialty foods in the USA via the Internet should pay particular
attention to making the sites convenient and informative. They need to include a well-edited section in English
which includes clear information about international availability and shipping as well as guidance regarding
currency equivalents. Finally, the products must be presented in a manner which highlights the "specialty" in
their specialty foods. If the products are no different from those available in consumers' local retail stores, there
is no incentive for Internet shoppers to experiment with an international purchase.
References
1. "CommerceNet/Nielsen Media Internet Demographics and Electronic Commerce Survey" (1997),
http://www.commercenet.work/pilot/nielsen_96/press_97.tml
2. Dietrich, R. (1992, "Today's specialty food consumer", in NASFT Showcase, National Association for
Specialty Food Trade, Inc., New York, NY, March/April.
3. Pitkow, J. and Kehoe, C. (1996a, "Sixth GVU WWW user survey. High level summary and trend analysis",
October, GVU Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology.
http://www.cc.atech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/
4. Pitkow, J. and Kehoe, C. (1996b, "Sixth GVU WWW user survey", General Demographic and Information
Gathering and Purchasing Datasets, October, GVU Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of
Technology. http://www.cc.atech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/
5. Quelch, J.A. and Klein, L.R. (1996, "Opinion: the Internet and international marketing", Sloan Management
Review, Spring 1996, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 60-75.
6. White, G.K. (1996, "An online survey of food and beverage consumers on the Internet: an evaluation of the
survey methodology", Marketing Research Online, Vol. 1, pp. 39-59.
http://msc.city.unisa.du.au/msc/jems/MRO_Vol_One.html
7. White, G.K. and Cheng, T. (1996, "Purchase behavior of online specialty food and drink consumers: results
of an electronic survey", Proceedings, Allied Academies Annual Meeting: Marketing Studies Section, Maui,
Hawaii, October.
8. White, G.K. and Manning, B. (1997a, "Characteristics of likely Internet specialty food and drink consumers",
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Presented at American Marketing Association Future of Marketing Special Conferences, Dublin, Ireland, June.
9. White, G.K. and Manning, B. (1997b, "Commercial WWW site appeal: how does it affect online food and
drink consumers' purchasing behavior?" working paper.
Illustration
Caption: Table I; US and international Internet users food/ condiments/beverages purchases in previous six
months; Table II; Site characteristics ratings for US and international companies; Table III; Site descriptions for
US and international companies; Table IV; Likelihood of purchase from US and international companies; Table
V; Likelihood of online purchase by use of positive and negative site descriptions
Subject: Studies; Marketing; Consumer attitudes; Internet; Food; Online advertising;
Location: United States, US
Classification: 9190: United States; 7200: Advertising; 5250: Telecommunications systems & Internet
communications; 9130: Experimental/theoretical
Publication title: International Marketing Review
Volume: 14
Issue: 5
Pages: 376-384
Number of pages: 0
Publication year: 1997
Publication date: 1997
Year: 1997
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing, Limited
Place of publication: London
Country of publication: United Kingdom
Publication subject: Business And Economics--Marketing And Purchasing
ISSN: 02651335
Source type: Scholarly Journals
Language of publication: English
Document type: Feature
ProQuest document ID: 224310861
Document URL: http://search.proquest.com/docview/224310861?accountid=149759
Copyright: Copyright MCB UP Limited (MCB) 1997
Last updated: 2014-05-26
Database: ProQuest Research Library

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