Browsing by Subject "ympäristökestävyys"

Online grocery store is a service that has grown in popularity in recent years. It is used especially to ease busy everyday life, optimization of time use and convenience. Online grocery store can reduce emissions in the food chain, so it can be a more environmentally sustainable option compared to brick-and-mortar stores. The objective of this research was to increase the understanding of consumer behaviour in the online grocery store. The aim was to study how environmental sustainability is reflected in the actions of consumers in the online grocery store. The theoretical framework of the research is based on the environmental sustainability of food consumption and three themes: heuristics of buying food, routines, and the usability of the online service. Using routines and heuristics, consumers aim to make everyday chores easier. The online grocery store is a new service for many consumers, and its use presents different perspectives and even challenges. The research material consisted of eight thematic interviews. In the interviews the discussed themes related to buying food, using online grocery stores, and environmental sustainability. In addition, the interviewees placed an order from an online grocery store during the interview. The material was analysed using thematization and theory-driven content analysis. The results are divided into themes according to the theoretical framework. Consumers described new routines and their formation when they became users of the online service. The online grocery store is used to make everyday life easier, and routines and heuristics are modified accordingly. Compromises are emphasized in the heuristics. In heuristics various factors important to the consumer are realized in purchases as well as possible. There are challenges in the usability of the online service that consumers hope for development. Based on the results, environmental sustainability is perceived as an important issue. To be better implemented in the consumption of food, it should settle easily into the consumer's routines and fit into existing heuristics. Developing the usability of online grocery store according to consumers' wishes could support this change.