Beyond the Eco-Label: How Credibility Shapes Sustainable Food Choice Online

Eco-labels are important information cues for evaluating the environmental attributes of food products online, yet their effectiveness depends on whether consumers perceive these claims as credible and decision-relevant. This study examines how perceived food eco-label credibility shapes sustainable food purchase intention through two complementary cognitive mechanisms-perceived diagnosticity and perceived value-and whether these processes are contingent on food traceability and price sensitivity. Survey data were collected from 496 consumers of Hema Fresh, a major Chinese online grocery retail platform, and analyzed using structural equation modeling, bootstrap mediation analysis, and moderation analysis. Eco-label credibility positively influenced perceived diagnosticity (β = 0.415, p < 0.001) and perceived value (β = 0.417, p < 0.001), which subsequently increased sustainable food purchase intention (β = 0.372 and 0.295, respectively; both p < 0.001). Bootstrap results confirmed significant indirect effects through perceived diagnosticity (effect = 0.154, 95% CI [0.099, 0.215]) and perceived value (effect = 0.123, 95% CI [0.075, 0.179]). Food traceability strengthened the effects of eco-label credibility on both perceived diagnosticity (β = 0.215, p < 0.001) and perceived value (β = 0.103, p < 0.001). Price sensitivity weakened the perceived diagnosticity-purchase intention relationship, whereas its moderation of the perceived value-intention relationship was not significant. These findings reveal how credible eco-label information is translated into sustainable food choice through complementary information-diagnostic and value-evaluation processes, while identifying traceability and price sensitivity as distinct boundary conditions in online grocery retail.