Department of Consumer Science and Behavioral Research Insights Through Experiments Lab, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
Center for Economic and Social Research and Department of Economics, University of Southern California, USA.
Appetite. 2018 Feb 1;121:237-248. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.11.082. Epub 2017 Nov 11.
Displaying bundles of healthy foods at the grocery store is a health nudge that simplifies shopping and may have the potential for increasing fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchasing. To evaluate the impact of food bundling, we conduct an artefactual field experiment with community participants in a laboratory set up as a grocery store. Dual-self theory suggests that food choices may differ depending on whether shoppers are under cognitive load - in our experiment, we exogenously vary whether bundles are displayed (with and without a price discount) and whether shoppers are under cognitive load. Our findings align with prior studies that suggest unhealthy options are more likely to be selected when cognitive resources are constrained. When bundles are displayed, we observe increased F&V purchasing. We also observe a significant interaction between cognitive load and price discounting. We find discounted bundles are more effective in the absence of cognitive load, but non-discounted bundles are more effective when shoppers are under cognitive load. Although more research is warranted, our findings suggest that when shopping under cognitive load, it is possible that discounts impose additional cognitive strain on the shopping experience. For retailers and policymakers, our results point to the potential power of bundling as a strategy for increasing healthy food purchasing.
在杂货店展示健康食品束是一种健康促进措施，可以简化购物过程，并有可能增加水果和蔬菜（F&V）的购买量。为了评估食品捆绑的影响，我们在一个实验室环境中（模拟成一个杂货店）进行了一项准实验研究，参与者是社区居民。双重自我理论表明，食品选择可能会因购物者的认知负荷而异——在我们的实验中，我们外生地改变了捆绑是否展示（有或没有价格折扣）以及购物者是否处于认知负荷状态。我们的研究结果与先前的研究一致，这些研究表明，当认知资源受到限制时，不健康的选择更有可能被选中。当捆绑销售时，我们观察到 F&V 的购买量增加。我们还观察到认知负荷和价格折扣之间存在显著的相互作用。我们发现，在没有认知负荷的情况下，有折扣的捆绑销售更有效，但在购物者处于认知负荷的情况下，没有折扣的捆绑销售更有效。尽管还需要更多的研究，但我们的研究结果表明，当在认知负荷下购物时，折扣可能会给购物体验带来额外的认知压力。对于零售商和政策制定者来说，我们的研究结果表明，捆绑销售作为一种增加健康食品购买的策略具有潜在的力量。
