Fair trade comprises a growing proportion of supermarket
sales of bagged coffee, and is increasingly being adopted by
cafe´s. How this is promoted in-store and perceived by
customers may determine the extent to which it is a successful
differentiation strategy. This study of customers at six cafe´s in
Auckland shows that customers claim to have a reasonable
subjective knowledge of the objectives of fair trade, although
assessed knowledge is lower on average. More knowledgeable
consumers placed a greater emphasis on the taste of coffee,
having fair trade present in the cafe´, and the atmosphere of
the cafe´ (to which FT promotional material contributes). This
partially supported H1, for assessed (objective) knowledge but
not for claimed (subjective) knowledge. H2 was supported, in
that customers who believed they were at cafe´s selling FT
coffee placed a greater emphasis on the cafe´ atmosphere, but
this effect weakened once the analysis was changed to whether
the cafe´ in question actually sold FT coffee. H3a investigated
cafe´ atmosphere for customers who more frequently purchase
FT coffee; this was not supported. H3b was partially
supported, in that some cafe´ quality attributes were given
greater importance ratings for regular FT customers (notably
coffee and food, with the exception of customer service).
Finally, customer price perceptions were measured though an
importance question (H4), which was not supported for more
knowledgeable customers; and through an absolute price and
relative price fairness question (H5). This was supported, in
that customers stated they were willing to pay a higher price
for FT coffee, although perhaps not as much as is currently
the norm, and respondents were willing to pay more for nonFT
coffee as well.
The promoted presence of fair trade coffee in cafe´s can
therefore add value, achieving better bottom line returns for
both the cafe´ and the coffee bean growers, if customers follow
through from mouth to wallet. Fair trade customers rated
satisfaction with their chosen cafe´ as significantly higher for
two key attributes: the taste of coffee, and the atmosphere of
the coffee house, which may assist in the building of a
differentiated product and service. However, it remains a