From information to action: exploring the relationship between fair-trade message informativeness and consumer behavioral intentions

Sustainability encompasses more than environmental protection, acknowledging the societal context in which it operates. It simultaneously expresses concern for individuals. Fair-trade products have garnered significant interest, particularly within agrifood systems and consumer intention toward fair-trade items has been widely studied. However, limited attention has been given to how fair-trade advertisements, as a distinct stimulus, shape consumer perception and subsequently influence their behavioral intention. Underpinning the Stimulus-Organism-Response model, this study investigates the influence of informativeness on fair-trade practices on purchase intention, word-of-mouth and willingness-to-pay through mediating role of ad attitude using survey responses. The study employed an accidental sampling technique for collecting data from Indian Gen-Z consumers. The study reveals the positive impact of informativeness on ad attitude and a significant influence of ad attitude on word-of-mouth, purchase intention and willingness-to-pay, depicting the consumers’ social and monetary preferences. This encourages future research to explore the interrelationships between factors such as perceived value, skepticism, product quality and their potential in understanding consumer intentions toward fair-trade practices and framing of effective marketing strategies.