Prompting vegetable purchases in the supermarket by an affordance nudge: Examining effectiveness and appreciation in a set of field experiments

Abstract

The supermarket is a promising location for stimulating healthier food choices by nudging interventions. However, nudging healthy food choices in the supermarket has shown weak effects to date. The present research introduces a new nudge based on the concept of affordances - i.e., an animated character - that invites interaction with healthy food products and examines its effectiveness and appreciation in a supermarket context. We present findings of a series of three studies. In Study 1, evaluations of the new nudge were collected, revealing that the nudge was appreciated. In Studies 2 and 3, field experiments were conducted to test the nudge's effect on vegetable purchases in a real-life supermarket. Study 3 demonstrated that vegetable purchases increased significantly (up to 17%) when the affordance nudge was placed on the vegetable shelves. Furthermore, customers appreciated the nudge and its potential for implementation. Taken together, this set of studies presents compelling findings illustrating the potential of the affordance nudge for increasing healthy choices in the supermarket.

Keywords: Affordances; Food choice; Nudging; Supermarket; Vegetable purchases.