Nudging alcohol-free beer in the supermarket

Abstract

Objective: The worldwide consumption of alcohol is increasing and interventions to decrease this phenomenon are necessary. This study investigated the influence of an availability nudge of alcohol-free beer (AFB) in the supermarket. Method: This nudge consisted of a stand at the beginning of the supermarket on which alcoholic beers (AB’s), AFB’s or soda´s were placed, each during one week. The study consisted of two parts; the first part (S1) measured 45 participants’ gaze by using an eye-tracker, the second part (S2) analysed the differences in sales figures. Results: People in the AFB-condition were expected to (1.) look significantly more often at other AFB’s inside the supermarket and (2.) would buy significantly more AFB’s, compared to people in the other conditions. The data did show a trend in this direction. However, the data were not significant and therefore the hypotheses could not be supported. Nevertheless, a significant relationship was found between looking at other AFB’s in the supermarket and buying AFB’s. Conclusion: A possible reason for the insignificant results is that many consumers did not walk past the nudge. In this way, the nudge could not influence the decision-making. The place of the nudge should be taken into account in future studies.