Designing customer-centric experience to foster sustainable food consumer behaviour

Abstract

The food industry plays a vital role in environmental issues and the depletion of natural resources, with consumer behaviour being a central aspect of these challenges. A notable gap, known as the "attitude-behaviour gap," is evident in sustainable food consumer behaviour, illustrating a disconnect between attitudes towards sustainable food practices and actual behaviours. The thesis explores how customer experience can be designed to foster sustainable food consumer behaviour. Employing a systematic literature review, the research analyses 37 selected articles from a comprehensive pool of 2710 documents spanning the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The research identifies seven key issues in customer experience influencing sustainable food consumer behaviour, including sensory perceptions, product attributes, sustainability practices, packaging, green awareness, customer touchpoints, and technology. It also outlines managing and incorporating them into a cohesive design framework. This thesis contributes by generating a conceptual framework for designing the customer experience to accelerate sustainable food consumer behaviour, providing several propositions for further research, and developing actionable implications for governments, non-profit organizations, and businesses.