Online Food Choices: When Do "Recommended By" Labels Work?

Abstract

Understanding digital menu choices in limited-option environments, such as university cafés, is crucial for promoting healthier and more sustainable food choices. We are, therefore, looking at two possible interventions or nudges-recommendation and position-and how they interact with, for example, price. In the first smartphone-based study (N = 517), participants were presented with two menu options, while the factors "recommendation", "position", and "price" were manipulated. We only found effects in relation to the choice of the more popular menu option. Specifically, when the popular meal was the expensive option, the recommendation had a negative effect on choice, but not when the popular meal was the cheaper option. The aim of the second smartphone-based study (N = 916) was to shed more light on the role of popularity or personal preference in relation to recommendations. We manipulated the differences in personal preference (small or large) using a ranking task presented before the menu choice. In Study 2, the interaction effect between recommendation and price for the more popular menu option could not be replicated. Instead, we found that the greater the difference in preference, the less pronounced the price effect was. Overall, some effects of the recommendations have been identified, but further research is needed to clarify the exact circumstances under which they arise.