Green food packages' effects on consumers' pre- to post-consumption evaluations of restaurant curbside pickup service

PurposeThis study aims to assess green food packages' role in sustaining a restaurant's curbside pickup service on three stages of consumer experiences: choosing a restaurant, evaluating their experiences of a recent purchase and weighing their post-consumption behavioral intentions after the recent purchase. Design/methodology/approachThe service encounters framework and relevant literature guided the development of the questionnaire. A Qualtrics panel data of 314 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed with choice experience, ordinary least squares regression and PROCESS modeling. FindingsFirst, word-of-mouth (WOM) and function encounters significantly influence consumers' first-time curbside pickup purchasing decisions. Then, service results encounter (besides distributor encounter) most significantly affects consumers' overall curbside pickup experience. Finally, green food packages increase consumers' shares of future purchases through their positive WOM intentions and extra efforts of revisiting the restaurant. Consumers' perceived importance of green restaurant practices strengthens green food packages' positive impact on extra efforts. Practical implicationsThis study provides operational and marketing insights for restaurants to use food packages and sustain their curbside pickup service. Originality/valueBesides assessing consumers' evaluations and behavioral intentions for an off-premises restaurant service expected to stay beyond the pandemic, this research uniquely focuses on green food packages, a sustainability issue lacking research attention. The findings add new empirical insights to studies about sustainability and restaurant/food-retail operations.