Food shopping is not a leisure activity: Consumer heuristics and their impact on the effectiveness of ecolabels on Australian dairy products
Burstow, A., Witt, BG., Thompson, C.
Abstract
Background:
There is increasing pressure on food industries, including the Australian Dairy sector, to communicate sustainability credentials to consumers, often through ecolabels. However, limited evidence exists on how consumers actually interact with and interpret ecolabels during real-world food shopping. This study aimed to explore how conscious consumers engage with, understand, and use ecolabels on Australian dairy products, and the implications for effective sustainability communication.
Design:
Qualitative study using semi-structured online interviews conducted in 2022.
Setting:
Australia
Participants:
Conscious Australian dairy consumers (n = 16), defined as adults who consume dairy and consider ethical or sustainability aspects of dairy consumption.
Main outcome measures:
Consumer perceptions and understanding of ecolabels, decision-making processes during food shopping, use of heuristics, and preferences for ecolabel design and sustainability communication.
Analysis:
Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis informed by a constructivist framework, with coding conducted in NVivo and reviewed for consistency across researchers.
Results:
Food shopping was not perceived as a leisure activity but as a time-pressured, routine task. Participants relied heavily on heuristics such as brand, price, taste, and quality to streamline decision-making. Ecolabels were found to have limited influence on product choice due to confusion, scepticism, required prior knowledge, and price premiums associated with ecolabelled products. Brand functioned as a dominant proxy for sustainability and trust, often overriding ecolabel information. Participants expressed a preference for ecolabels that were simple, front-of-pack, visually clear, and supported by specific, easily understood metrics.
Conclusions and implications:
Despite positive attitudes toward sustainability, ecolabels alone were insufficient to meaningfully influence purchasing decisions among conscious consumers. Ecolabels in their current form are unlikely to be effective as standalone sustainability communication tools and should be paired with trusted brands and broader consumer education to improve clarity, credibility, and impact.
Burstow, A., Witt, B. G., Thompson, C. (2025). Food shopping is not a leisure activity: Consumer heuristics and their impact on the effectiveness of ecolabels on Australian dairy products. Food and Humanity, 4, 100531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foohum.2025.100531
Jasmine Solomou
BNutrSc Graduate, Deakin UniversityNPR Consulting