An Analysis of Consumers’ Purchase Intention and Willingness to Pay for Low-Carbon Seafood Products

This study analyzes consumers’ perceptions, purchase intention, and willingness to pay for low-carbon seafood products. As the transition toward carbon neutrality has become an important policy agenda, reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the seafood supply chain has emerged as a key challenge for the seafood industry. To this end, an online survey was conducted among 300 adult consumers with seafood purchase experience in Korea. An ordered logit model was used to analyze purchase intention, and an interval regression model was employed to estimate willingness to pay. The empirical results show that the perceived need for low-carbon seafood certification and the perceived influence of the Green Card program were positively associated with both purchase intention and willingness to pay. Seafood purchase frequency also showed a positive association, although its effect on purchase intention should be interpreted as exploratory. Conversely, preference for discounted foods was negatively associated with both purchase intention and willingness to pay, suggesting that price sensitivity may act as a barrier to the diffusion of low-carbon seafood products. These findings suggest that the development of low-carbon seafood markets may require a reliable certification system, consumer-oriented incentives, strengthened information provision, and initial-stage measures to reduce consumers’ price barriers. This study contributes to the literature by empirically applying the concept of low-carbon transition to seafood products and by offering policy implications for consumer demand-based strategies in the seafood industry.