Inspiring Consumers to Make Sustainable Food Choices: An In-Store Experiment in Food Retailing
(A2025-125735)

AUTHORS

Maureen Schulze, Leuphana University Lüneburg; Meike Janssen, Copenhagen Business School

ABSTRACT

Transitioning to more sustainable food choices requires significant effort to disrupt consumers’ habitual shopping and consumption behaviors. Since supermarkets are the primary source of food products in many countries, food retailing represents a promising environment to nudge consumers toward making more sustainable choices. This study explores the potential of combining recipe inspirations with changes to choice architecture to inspire consumers to adopt sustainable food choices within the food retail environment. The in-store intervention was implemented in nine test stores of a large Danish grocery chain in November 2023 in different areas in Denmark. Additionally, an in-store customer survey was conducted to gain further insights into consumers’ perceptions of the intervention. Our results showed that combining inspiration with changes to choice architecture is an effective approach to disrupt consumers’ shopping habits and promote sustainable choices.