The Effect On Sound Nudging on Customer Behaviour and Vegetable Sales in a Supermarket: a case- and intervention study in REMA 1000
Translated title
: et case studie og et interventionsstudie i REMA 1000
Authors
Lindum, Jakob ; Pawlowski, Karina Dorph
Term
4. term
Publication year
2016
Submitted on
2016-06-02
Pages
68
Abstract
Danskerne spiser færre grøntsager, end de officielle anbefalinger foreskriver. Sundhedskampagner har øget viden, men ikke ændret adfærd nok. Dette studie undersøger nudging—små, venlige ændringer i omgivelserne, der gør sunde valg lettere—med udgangspunkt i, at offentlige og private aktører i dag deler ansvaret for folkesundheden. Supermarkeder viser stigende interesse for kundernes trivsel og for at gøre det nemt at vælge sundt. I samarbejde med en supermarkedskæde udviklede vi et lydbaseret nudge. Vi testede diskrete lyde forbundet med gulerødder (skrællen, skæring og især det sprøde bid) i butikken for at påvirke kundernes indkøb. Interventionen blev gennemført i fem faser (pre, primo, medio, ultimo, post), svarende til før, tidlig, midt, sen og efter. Effekten blev vurderet i to sideløbende studier: et casestudie, der observerede kundeadfærd, og et interventionsstudie, der målte ændringer i grøntsagssalg. Lydene relateret til gulerødder var egnede som nudge, og lyden af at tage en bid af en gulerod var mest effektiv. I den sene fase (ultimo) var grøntsagssalget højere end før interventionen, med en statistisk signifikant forskel, dvs. en ændring der næppe skyldes tilfældigheder. Kunder med en universitets- eller professionshøjskoleuddannelse blev påvirket mest. Resultaterne tyder på, at lyd-nudges kan påvirke kundeadfærd og øge grøntsagssalget, når der tages højde for forhold som spotlighteffekten (at folk ændrer adfærd, når de føler sig bemærket), personalets tilstedeværelse og tilbud. Der er behov for yderligere forskning for fuldt ud at forstå, hvornår og hvordan lyd-nudges virker.
People in Denmark eat fewer vegetables than recommended. Health campaigns have increased knowledge but have not changed shopping habits enough. This study explores nudging—small, gentle changes to the environment that make healthy choices easier—based on the current view that public and private actors share responsibility for public health. Supermarkets are increasingly interested in customer wellbeing and in making the healthy choice the easy choice. In partnership with a supermarket chain, we developed a sound nudge. We tested subtle in-store sounds linked to carrots (peeling, cutting, and especially the crunchy bite) to influence purchasing. The intervention ran in five phases (pre, primo, medio, ultimo, post), corresponding to before, early, middle, late, and after. We evaluated it with two parallel studies: a case study observing customer behavior and an intervention study tracking changes in vegetable sales. Carrot-related sounds were suitable nudges, and the sound of a carrot being eaten was the most effective cue. During the late phase (ultimo), vegetable sales were higher than before the intervention, with a statistically significant difference—an increase unlikely to be due to chance. Customers with a university or university-college degree were most affected. These findings suggest that sound nudges can steer shoppers and increase vegetable sales when factors such as the spotlight effect (people changing behavior when they feel noticed), staff presence, and special offers are considered. Further research is needed to understand when and how sound nudges work best.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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