Sustainable Consumption and the “Last-Mile” Problem: Cultural and Neural Mechanisms of Near-Expiration Date Bias in Meat Purchases

ABSTRACT Food waste poses escalating environmental costs and economic losses, with near-expiration-date bias limiting the effectiveness of discount-based waste-reduction initiatives. This study examines how expiration-date cues, interacting with consumer identity, shape responses to discounted meat products through emotional and neural mechanisms in China and Spain. Combining online (3???2) and lab (2???2) experimental design, electroencephalography and survey data were collected from two neuromarketing laboratories and online panels. We demonstrate that near-expiration-date cue triggers culturally distinct processing patterns (?transparency-as-trust? in Spain versus ?safety-as-risk? in China), which in turn influence purchase intentions. Meat identity moderates these mechanisms differently, revealing divergent psychological pathways behind consumer decisions. By identifying culture-specific neurocognitive responses, this research contributes a novel cultural-cognitive perspective to sustainable consumption behavior. These findings provide actionable implications for retailers and policymakers seeking to align near-expiration product strategies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 12.3.2.