Perceived freshness and the intention to repurchase fresh food products online

Purpose Fresh food products remain one of the most challenging product categories for e-commerce managers. The literature emphasizes the importance of perceived freshness in explaining their purchase behavior. However, studies on online purchases of fresh food products are scarce, especially regarding repurchase intentions, and the role of perceived freshness in online settings has so far been disregarded. This research addresses this gap by examining the role of perceived freshness in the intention to repurchase fresh food products online. Design/methodology/approach Guided by the expectation confirmation theory (ECT) and the perceived risk theory, this study defined a set of hypotheses tested through structural equation modeling. Participants were consumers with previous experience in purchasing fresh food products online. Findings The findings indicate that the importance of sensory attributes negatively affected the perceived freshness of fresh food products purchased online, while the importance of non-sensory attributes had a non-significant impact. Expectations of freshness positively affected perceived freshness and confirmation of freshness, as suggested by ECT. The hypothesized positive effects of confirmation on satisfaction and of satisfaction on intention to repurchase fresh food products online were also supported. Finally, it was found that repurchase intention was negatively affected by perceived performance risk and financial risk. Originality/value This article contributes to the limited literature on online purchase of fresh food by focusing on perceived freshness as a determinant of repurchase intention.