Are you cheap or climate friendly? Applying nudge theory to lower meat purchasing in grocery stores

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether consumer behavior in grocery stores could be affected through nudging by rearranging the product placement and putting up suggestive messages to customers. It also investigated whether nudging is more effective when targeting short-term versus long-term consequences of consumer behavior, as their abstract levels are processed differently. It specifically aimed to test if nudging could affect consumer behavior to lower meat consumption. A nudge experiment was implemented in two grocery stores in Lund, Sweden, using two conditions of suggestive nudge messages, one focusing on economic benefits and the other environmental benefits of lowering one's meat consumption. The results show that meat sales were lower than expected for the period when the nudge was implemented, indicating that the nudge gave the desired effects. Further, the environmental nudge message showed higher impact than the economic nudge message, indicating it was more effective for changing consumer behavior. This result seems to contradict previous research findings within decision making, but it could be argued that the demographic context of where this nudge experiment took place impacted the results in such a way. This study thus suggests that the context is of big importance, and should be considered when designing a nudge.