Fairtrade Consumers and “Global South” Producers Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Fairtrade supply chains lack information linking commodity producers with Fairtrade shopper behaviour. This paper aims to show how supermarket loyalty card data of over 1.7 million shoppers can be analysed using paired-samples t-test analysis to objectively profile the Fairtrade shopper and address its supply chain management implications. The paper demonstrates the huge marketing potential that segmentation based on actual behaviour brings to supply chain management. The results show that global South producers – including those in Africa – have more incentive to adopt a supply chain orientation by understanding the characteristics of Fairtrade shoppers that drive consumer satisfaction and repeat buying behaviour.