The impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intention
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to unprecedented transformation of consumer behaviors. Despite the abundance of research on this subject, less is known about why and how consumers processed health information and subsequently decided to purchase food during the pandemic. This study emp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87343-7 |
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| author | Yaoze Gong Fareyha Said Wajiha Haq Jiankun Gong Iffat Aksar |
| author_facet | Yaoze Gong Fareyha Said Wajiha Haq Jiankun Gong Iffat Aksar |
| author_sort | Yaoze Gong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to unprecedented transformation of consumer behaviors. Despite the abundance of research on this subject, less is known about why and how consumers processed health information and subsequently decided to purchase food during the pandemic. This study employed a survey questionnaire to collect the data. The sample size consisted of 590 consumers in China. The data were analyzed via SPSS and SmartPLS version 3.2.9 to explore the relationships among variables. The results showed that health information-seeking behavior has a significant impact on healthy food product purchasing intention. Similarly, health-related internet use also has a positive impact on health information seeking. Moreover, the impact of motivation for healthy eating on health information seeking is significant. The results indicate a significant moderating role of social influence (i.e., interaction between health information seeking and healthy food product purchasing intention). Multigroup analysis revealed differences between income and age in terms of health-related internet use and purchasing intention. This study assessed healthy food product purchasing intention in a timely manner by incorporating health communication. variables and social influence into consumer behavior research in the context of COVID-19. It thus expands the extant literature and provides insights into the knowledge and practices concerned. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-905155d5f02649c597af98cdb74e4fb2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-905155d5f02649c597af98cdb74e4fb22025-02-09T12:30:49ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-87343-7The impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intentionYaoze Gong0Fareyha Said1Wajiha Haq2Jiankun Gong3Iffat Aksar4Department of Media and Communication Studies, University of MalayaFaculty of Business and Accountancy, University of MalayaDepartment of Economics, National University of Sciences & TechnologyInternational College, Krirk UniversitySchool of Communication, Xiamen UniversityAbstract The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to unprecedented transformation of consumer behaviors. Despite the abundance of research on this subject, less is known about why and how consumers processed health information and subsequently decided to purchase food during the pandemic. This study employed a survey questionnaire to collect the data. The sample size consisted of 590 consumers in China. The data were analyzed via SPSS and SmartPLS version 3.2.9 to explore the relationships among variables. The results showed that health information-seeking behavior has a significant impact on healthy food product purchasing intention. Similarly, health-related internet use also has a positive impact on health information seeking. Moreover, the impact of motivation for healthy eating on health information seeking is significant. The results indicate a significant moderating role of social influence (i.e., interaction between health information seeking and healthy food product purchasing intention). Multigroup analysis revealed differences between income and age in terms of health-related internet use and purchasing intention. This study assessed healthy food product purchasing intention in a timely manner by incorporating health communication. variables and social influence into consumer behavior research in the context of COVID-19. It thus expands the extant literature and provides insights into the knowledge and practices concerned.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87343-7Health information seekingCOVID-19MotivationHealthy and functional foodPurchasing intentionSocial influence |
| spellingShingle | Yaoze Gong Fareyha Said Wajiha Haq Jiankun Gong Iffat Aksar The impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intention Scientific Reports Health information seeking COVID-19 Motivation Healthy and functional food Purchasing intention Social influence |
| title | The impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intention |
| title_full | The impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intention |
| title_fullStr | The impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intention |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intention |
| title_short | The impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intention |
| title_sort | impact of health information seeking and social influence on functional food purchase intention |
| topic | Health information seeking COVID-19 Motivation Healthy and functional food Purchasing intention Social influence |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87343-7 |
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