FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER INTENTION TO PURCHASE ORGANIC FOOD: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS IN DHAKA CITY

Abstract

The trend of buying organic food is growing among consumers, particularly in urban areas in Bangladesh. This empirical study seeks to determine purchase intention by analyzing the effect of factors such as age, education, monthly income, price, environmental concern, healthy lifestyle, nutritional value, availability, and advertisement by using probit regression model. The primary data were collected from two supermarkets in Dhaka metropolis. A total of 110 consumers were selected by using two stage random sampling technique. Data were collected from the respondents between August to October in 2023. The study findings indicate that consumers’ purchase intention towards organic food is influenced by several key aspects, including the availability of organic food, adoption of a healthy lifestyle, environmental concern, and exposure to advertising. Furthermore, a significant proportion of young graduates and service holders have a higher awareness regarding the advantages of organic food, which is why a majority of them choose to acquire it. Significant obstacles that restrict the purchasing of these products include higher price, quality concerns, ambiguous labeling, and limited availability. The study recommends that the concerned authorities should establish a standardized principle based on FAO recommendations in order to decrease obstacles and motivate producers and supermarket owners to adhere to it