Visual attention and attribute choice for specialty coffee labels

Abstract

Abstract This study uses eye-tracking metrics to quantify the visual attention given to differentiation attributes in specialty coffees. Two Discrete Choice-type experiments were developed using the packaging as a stimulus to analyze visual attention and the probability of choice for each attribute. Experiment 1 (466 observations) included the evaluation of the attributes price, brand, coffee variety, organic label and origin. Experiment 2 (279 observations) tested price, score, altitude and roast. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that the use of the Time Fixation Duration (TFD) and Visit Count (VC) metrics were efficient in evaluating the effect of visual attention on the choice of each attribute present in the packaging. In experiment 2, the Time to First Fixation (TFF) and the willingness-to-pay (WTP) metrics were also significant, the latter of which had a value higher than the highest price indicated by the retailer. The packaging label could be considered a first potential activation regarding the novelty that these attributes represent, and the findings of this study can direct the efforts of the coffee industry to educate its customers about the main quality attributes related to the consumption of specialty coffees that are still poorly understood, but which may generate future profitability.