Sludged! Can financial literacy shield against price manipulation at the shops?

Abstract

AbstractRetailers lure consumers with clever use of choice architecture; examples include “bargains” heavily restricted in the fine print and discounts structured to exaggerate the true saving. Given that financial literacy is a key competency for managing money, good financial literacy may provide protection from these “sludges.” In an exploratory experiment, we measure 48 university students' retail literacy and financial literacy, while concurrently tracking their emotional reactions and decision time using FaceReader software. We then test hypotheses on a larger sample using an online survey. We find that strong financial literacy supports retail literacy and vice versa, but the two constructs are distinct. The differences are identified through mathematical and methodological reasoning, gender, and emotion. While gender remains a factor for financial literacy, it is less prominent in retail literacy, and women respond more positively to retail literacy performance measurement. We recommend future investigation into building women's financial literacy performance using materials that are aesthetically pleasing and based on familiar financial frames and scenarios.