The Effect On Sound Nudging on Customer Behaviour and Vegetable Sales in a Supermarket: a case- and intervention study in REMA 1000

Abstract

Baggrund: Den danske befolkning lever ikke op til det anbefalede indtag af grønt. Der er blevet foretaget forskellige sundhedsfremmende initiativer, deriblandt informationskampagner. Som særskilte initiativer har de vist sig ikke at være effektive selvom forbrugerne har fået viden om sundhed. Således vil dette studie bruge denne viden som grundlag til at bruge nudging. Ansvarsfordelingen har ændret sig og det offentlige og det private har fået et ligeligt ansvar for at påvirke den danske befolkning i en sundere retning. Supermarkederne er ligeledes blevet mere interesseret i kundernes trivsel, heriblandt at gøre det sunde valg det nemme valg. Dette studie har i samarbejde med en supermarkedskæde, som mål, at øge salget af grøntsager, ved at påvirke kundernes indkøbsvaner, ved at bruge et ‘lyd nudge’ Metoder: Et lyd nudge blev udviklet til en intervention, der blev foretaget i fem faser: pre, primo, medio, ultimo og post. Efter udviklingen af lyden, blev to studier udført samtidigt i et supermarked. Et casestudie, der undersøgte kundernes adfærd, og et interventionsstudie der undersøgte salgsændringer. Resultater: Lyden af en gulerod der blevet skrællet, skåret og spist blev betragtet som den mest passende lyd at bruge som lyd nudge i et supermarked. Efter implementeringen viste det sig at den mest effektive del af interventionen skete i ultimo fasen, på grund af en statistisk signifikant stigning i salget af grønt mellem pre og ultimo. Konklusion: Den mest effektive lyd for både at ændre kundeadfærd og øge salget af grøntsager statistisk signifikant, var lyden af en gulerod der blev spist. Kundegruppen der blev påvirket mest af ‘lyd nudget’, var hovedsageligt kunder med et universitets- eller professionshøjskoleuddannelse. Dette indikerer at et ‘lyd nudge’ kan påvirke kunder og øge salget af grøntsager med hensyn til faktorer som spotlight effect, ansatte og tilbud. Dermed er der dog stadig brug for yderligere forskning til kunne forstå potentialet ved brugen af ‘lyd nudges’.

Setting: The Danish population does not meet the official vegetable consumption requirements. Different health promoting initiatives have been made, including campaigns to increase the knowledge in the general public. As separate initiatives, these have proven insufficient though the consumers have gained knowledge on health. Thus this study uses their knowledge as a foundation for using nudging. By a change in governance, the public and private have become equally responsible in affecting the Danish population towards being healthier. Supermarkets have become increasingly interested in the welfare of the customers, including making the healthy choice the obvious choice. In corporation with a supermarket chain, this study aims at increasing the sales of vegetables by affecting the customers’ shopping behavior, by using a ‘sound nudge’. Methods: A sound nudge was developed for an intervention, conducted in five phases: pre, primo, medio, ultimo, and post. Two concurrent studies were made in a supermarket after the development of the sound nudge. A case study, investigating the customers behavior, and an intervention study, investigating the sales changes. Findings: The sound of peeling, cutting and eating a carrot was considered the most suitable to use as a sound nudge in a supermarket. After implementation, it was found that the most effective part of the intervention was during the phase ultimo, due to statistically significance in the vegetables sales between pre and ultimo. Conclusion: The most effective sound nudge in both changing customer behavior and increasing the sales of vegetables in a statistically significant way, was the sound of a carrot being eaten. The customer group being most affected by the sound nudge was primarily customers with a university or a college university degree. This indicates that a sound nudge can affect the customers and increase the sales of vegetables after considerations of factors such as spotlight effect, staff and sales offers. Thus, further research is needed to fully understand the significance in using sound nudges.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

The Effect On Sound Nudging on Customer Behaviour and Vegetable Sales in a Supermarket: a case- and intervention study in REMA 1000