Abstract: The availability of broadband internet and increased
access to computers has been instrumental in the rise of internet
literacy in Malaysia. This development has led to the adoption of
online shopping by many Malaysians. On another note, the
Government has supported the development and production of local
herbal products. This has resulted in an increase in the production and
diversity of products by SMEs. The purpose of this study is to
evaluate the influence of the Malaysian demographic factors and
selected attitudinal characteristics in relation to the online purchasing
of herbal products. In total, 1054 internet users were interviewed
online and Chi-square analysis was used to determine the relationship
between demographic variables and different aspects of online
shopping for herbal products. The overall results show that the
demographic variables such as age, gender, education level, income
and ethnicity were significant when considering the online shopping
antecedents of trust, quality of herbal products, perceived risks and
perceived benefits.
Abstract: Changing in consumers lifestyles and food
consumption patterns provide a great opportunity in developing the
functional food sector in Malaysia. There is only a little knowledge
about whether Malaysian consumers are aware of functional food and
if so what image consumers have of this product. The objective of
this research is to determine the extent to which selected socioeconomic
characteristics and attitudes influence consumers-
awareness of functional food. A survey was conducted in the Klang
Valley, Malaysia where 439 respondents were interviewed using a
structured questionnaire. The result shows that most respondents
have a positive attitude towards functional food. For the binary
logistic estimation, the results indicate that age, income and other
factors such as concern about food safety, subscribing to cooking or
health magazines, being a vegetarian and consumers who have been
involved in a food production company significantly influence
Malaysian consumers- awareness towards functional food.