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02.27.2008

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ORDER TODAY » Pulse Report Consumer Understanding of Buying Local Consumer Understanding of Buying Local provides timely insights into the different consumer interpretations of "buy local" and the potential for converting them into marketing opportunities. Order your copy today! »

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For more Hartman Group articles on LOCAL, click here...

01.24.2007 What Makes 'Local' Special?

07.14.2005 Is Buying Local the Real Deal?

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Consumer Understanding of Buying Local

Like organic products in the late 1990s, the fervor for all things "local" seemingly has hit its stride here in the early part of the 21st century. Local is not just about the community farmers' market or roadside fruit or veggie stand; there is a much broader cultural curiosity for locally sourced goods and services that extends well beyond the world of food consumption.

Of course, contemporary food scares from tainted imports, growing environmental awareness and concern, continued desire for less processed foods, and the increased demand for goods deemed to be unique, distinctive and handcrafted has elevated interest in, and given credence to, the "buy local" movement.

At their elemental roots, local products are believed by consumers to have traveled shorter distances, to be fresher, to have less pesticides, and, in general, to be of higher quality and to be more authentic than those items that are "mass produced" or imported from unknown shores.

How Consumers Define Local Products

Our Pulse Report: Consumer Understanding of Buying Local, finds that the concept of "local products" is much like that of the multi-faceted term sustainability where the term means different things to different consumers and takes on diverse connotations depending on place, culture and lifestyle. For many consumers local products are understood in terms of a relative distance from their home: Half of consumers (50%) define "local product" to mean "made or produced within 100 miles," while one-third of consumers (37%) understand local to mean "made or produced in my state." Beyond these boundaries, regional or national notions of local are considerably less popular. Only 4% of consumers choose regional (e.g., "New England") or national terms ("Made in the USA") as possible definitions for buying local (Figure 1).

In terms of language used to define local products, consumers are more likely to describe it in terms of agricultural products grown and produced in their communities or towns (e.g., "fruits and vegetables," "meat," or "milk"). Consumers also equate local products with those made in their community including arts and crafts, and artisan foods like cheese or bread.

The "Buy Local" Influence

The phrase "buy local" has long been used by advocates within local food and crafts movements to stimulate connections in the minds of the public between community-focused consumption and local producers. Such connections, in particular between food and local consumption, are quite strong in the public mindset. Over half of consumers (57%), for example, completely agree that "buy local" means buying food products grown “close to home and sold within their community” while 47% of consumers completely agree that it means "buying food products grown within 100 miles."

Moving away from a food-centric focus, many consumers embrace a more holistic, civic understanding of what it means to buy local: 43% of consumers completely agree with the statement, "buying products that support small businesses such as farmers, artisans and crafts persons in my community" (Figure 2).

On the surface, the interest among consumers in local products might be misconstrued as a growing fascination with fresh fruits and vegetables culled from the increasingly ubiquitous community farmers’ market. To be sure, fresh agricultural products and romanticized notions of family farms are a central part of what make up "buying local" in the minds of consumers. Yet when presented with other possible definitions of what "buy local" means we see that nearly as many consumers are interested in supporting local businesses and producers as they are in buying food grown near to them. A key element behind such motivations lies in the consumer belief that they are supporting businesses that reflect the values of the community in which they live.

In many ways, while farmers and their products have helped put a face on the overall image of local products, another cultural context for local goods has to do with support of "the little guy" (small local businesses) as much as local farmers. The support of "mom and pop" establishments is perceived by consumers as an antidote to the "big business" commoditization and industrialization of today's branded goods, conventional mass market stores and chain restaurants.

For many consumers, the purchase of local goods and services is about perpetuating values. Consumers choose to live in a certain place in a certain way because it reflects their values at a very basic level and because the pace of change today is very rapid, consumers feel that they run the risk of losing their way of life. For these consumers, it is important to buy local and support local as a way to exert some control over change.

For those consumers most active in health, wellness and sustainability lifestyles (e.g., those in the "Core" of the World of Wellness ) buying local is equated to thinking globally by acting locally. Such consumers equate buying local with decreasing "food miles" (e.g., the distance that food travels), shrinking carbon footprints and as a measure that ensures food safety. For those consumers in the Periphery of wellness and sustainability lifestyles, buying local is more likely to be seen as protecting the local economy and environment, and consequently one’s self and one’s family.

For Big Brands, Local Has to Be Real

In the industry, there is a belief that you can only be local if you are a small and authentic brand. This isn't necessarily true; big brands can use the notion of local to their advantage as well. There are a lot of ways for a big brand to be local by having limited edition and/or seasonal products. A nutrition bar, for example, could have a nut in it that is grown in a certain area that gives it better taste perceptions.

It is important for manufacturers, marketers and retailers to understand that quality markers, such as use of local ingredients and narratives of local production and origin, are factors that resonate most strongly with consumers when it comes to determining what is authentically local.

As local continues to evolve in sophistication as a marketing concept, the ultimate success of the "buy local" message (e.g., selling more products, increased revenues, higher profit margins, improved quality image, repeat purchases, etc.) and its sustainability over time depends on any number of cultural, societal and lifestyle factors, all covered by this overarching principle: you can’t fake authenticity.

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