Why do consumers purchase energy-efficient kitchen appliance? An analysis based on online review comments

Kitchen appliances constitute a significant portion of residential energy consumption. Promoting consumer purchases of high-energy-efficient kitchen appliances can effectively facilitate the transition to a low-carbon society. However, the role of energy saving in the current purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers regarding kitchen appliances remains unclear. Based on user-generated content from online e-commerce platforms (N = 59,908), this study investigates whether Chinese consumers consider energy efficiency and its influencing factors when purchasing kitchen appliances through natural language processing and structural equation modeling techniques. The study findings reveal that: (1): Perceived energy saving is an important consideration for consumers to adopt kitchen appliances. (2): Prices benefits increase consumers' willingness to purchase energy-efficient appliances. (3): Consumers prioritize energy saving in the purchase of large kitchen appliances. (4): the effect of perceived energy saving on intention to purchase kitchen appliances is much stronger among high energy-efficient appliances. The results of this study propose specific policy recommendations to ensure the continuity of current demand-side energy efficiency policies related to kitchen appliances, utilize pricing mechanisms to incentivize consumers to purchase high-energy-efficient appliances, emphasize the importance of energy consumption of different types of kitchen appliance in environmental education, and establish stricter energy efficiency standards for kitchen appliances.