Measuring food preferences through experimental auctions: A review

Abstract

In this article, we present and critically discuss the current and future key challenges of non-hypothetical experimental auctions (EA) to measure consumer preferences for new food products/attributes. The paper is composed by two complementary parts: a commentary of the core issues, identified in literature, related to internal and external validity of EA studies and a discussion of scholars' views (collected through a survey) on specific issues faced by EA research analysing consumer food preferences. Specific practical implications for EA studies performed by food researchers are also presented. Results highlight the opportunity to perform in-store experiments and the need to provide additional experimental details to allow replicability of research. Scholars also underline the increasing importance of a shared agreement on the use and regulation of deceptive practices in EA studies.

Keywords: Consumer valuations; Deception; External validity; Food preferences; Internal validity; Scholar survey.