New research from Purdue University and the University of Kentucky shows that labeling carbon footprints and organizing products can encourage online shoppers to choose plant-based foods. Bhagyashree Katare, an agricultural economics professor at Purdue, notes that while many studies focused on physical stores, their research aims to explore this in online grocery shopping.
Katare and her colleague Shuoli Zhao used the Open Science Online Grocery platform, which lists over 11,000 food products, to gather their data. They found that small nudge strategies can effectively guide consumers towards healthier choices like plant-based products.
The results of their study are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlighting the importance of sustainability in food choices. This research was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
Previous efforts to promote sustainable eating, especially in restaurants and cafeterias, had some success. However, fewer studies have examined how well consumers understand the environmental impact of their food choices when shopping online. The researchers pointed out that while it’s known that carbon footprint labels can nudge consumers toward sustainable options in supermarkets, many past studies relied on hypothetical surveys that might not reflect real shopping behaviors.
According to a 2021 report, more than 45% of consumers shop for groceries online. This trend made it necessary to evaluate how effective carbon footprint labels are in a setting that closely resembles actual shopping experiences. Over 2,350 U.S. residents participated in the study, choosing from various categories like meat and dairy. The participants added more than 5,200 plant-based items to their virtual carts, despite plant-based options being slightly more expensive on average—$3.65 compared to $3.13 for animal products. Notably, around 16% of participants chose none at all.
Interestingly, the study found that labeling had the strongest impact. Katare emphasized that simply providing information about food choices isn’t as effective as combining it with nudges, such as labeling and product categorization.
This isn’t the first time Katare has explored nudges. In 2018, she investigated how to boost gym attendance with two different strategies. A financial incentive worked moderately well, while highlighting peer activity had little effect.
Looking ahead, Katare and her team are eager to develop new features for the online shopping platform. They aim to see if these methods can also tackle food access issues, especially in rural areas. By enhancing online shopping options, they hope to help residents access healthier diets more easily.
In summary, this research underscores the potential of small changes in online shopping environments to influence consumer choices and promote healthier eating habits.
Reference: Katare B, Zhao S. Behavioral interventions to motivate plant-based food selection in an online shopping environment. PNAS. 2024;121(50):e2319018121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2319018121.
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