Sustainable and purchasing behaviour of online food shoppers: Survey results from Italy, Ireland, and Germany

Abstract

This chapter presents survey results on sustainable food behaviour and purchase frequencies of online food platform users in Italy, Germany, and Ireland from January 2021. The participants were recruited from alternative food networks in Italy and Germany and online supermarket users in Ireland. We report on age and gender differences and differences between early adopters and newcomers to online food platforms during the pandemic in 2020. Most Italian and German respondents purchased fresh fruits and vegetables monthly online, whereas less than 30% frequently bought other food categories online. In contrast, the Irish online supermarket users showed a more evenly distributed purchase frequency among food categories. Differences in product selection available on the online platforms used for sampling can largely explain the variation in purchasing frequencies. Only minor differences were observed in all three countries when comparing behaviour and frequencies between early adopters and newcomers. Most online food consumers expect to maintain or increase their online food shopping in the future. Expectations among newcomers vary, with a higher percentage of Irish newcomers expecting to decrease their online food purchases post-pandemic than German and Italian newcomers. These findings should be considered when developing sustainable online food platform strategies.