Consumer interferences – exploring the attitude-behavior gap for domestic food products

A persistent gap exists between consumers’ positive attitudes toward domestic food products and their actual purchasing behavior. In an empirical study of situated consumer behavior, this paper introduces and empirically grounds the concept of interferences to highlight the situational and processual retail dynamics that prevent consumers from acting on their stated intentions. The study offers a set of starting points for reimagining various aspects of retailing in ways that help bridge the attitude-behavior gap related to domestic food products. Using qualitative methodology, the research draws on empirical material collected with 13 Swedish households through interviews and in-store observations to capture the complexities of purchase intentions, actions, and reflections at the point of purchase. The findings identify five categories of interferences that prevent consumers from translating attitudes into behavior: message overload, shopping on autopilot, perceived price, competing value judgements, and lack of knowledge. Using the concept of interferences, the findings contribute to the existing literature by consolidating and nuancing prior understandings of the attitude-behavior gap specific to domestic food products. By addressing such interferences, retail practitioners and researchers can develop new strategies to bridge the attitude-behavior gap and promote more sustainable purchasing patterns.