Greener green is better - the importance of sustainability in garden centre purchasing. An empirical study focusing on the purchase of plants and flowers based on a customer survey at garden centres in South Germany
by Daniela Ludin; Wanja Wellbrock; Erika Mueller; Dominik Boeck; Karen Fendrich
International Journal of Services Technology and Management (IJSTM), Vol. 28, No. 5/6, 2023

Abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate the relevance of sustainability in plant and flower purchasing decisions. The theoretical background is set by the scientific fields of sustainable retail management and sustainable consumption. An exploratory survey of garden centre customers in regions in the South of Germany was applied to give an overview on purchasing behaviour. To comply with the minimum distance regulations as well as contact restrictions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, an online survey was conducted. Access to the questionnaire was provided digitally via a link leading to the online survey. Furthermore, a QR code of the link was generated, which was printed out on small flyers and displayed at the checkouts of five garden centres. The results show that customers are increasingly willing to buy sustainable products, such as plants and flowers. Customers associate sustainability in particular with the ecological aspect of the triple bottom line principle. On the one hand, ecological motives persuade customers to buy sustainable products, and on the other hand, customers pay attention to ecological aspects when buying these products, while social and labour-related aspects were less relevant in purchasing decisions related to plants and flowers.

Online publication date: Thu, 30-Nov-2023

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Services Technology and Management (IJSTM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com