Search

Information about food is available from several sources using a variety of communication channels. Following an overview of the different types on food information, the most important source/channel combinations are discussed. The key steps in processing the information toward making a food choice are discussed: consumer's exposure to such information, the attention the consumer pays to it, the understanding and/or liking of the information, as well as the importance of motivation, knowledge, and trust. To support consumers in making informed food choices, it is recommended to ensure that food information is easy to understand and targeted to consumers with a specific need or interest, align the information on the food label with the communication about the food elsewhere (“off label”), provide (non-expert) influencers with transparent information to enable an increase in the trustworthiness of their communications on the web in on social media. Furthermore, increase cooperation between authorities and food producers to create standards that fulfill the legal requirements and are feasible as label elements. Improving food literacy among consumers by including it in formal education would provide consumers with better nutrition knowledge and skills to interpret food-related information in a manner that supports informed choices.

Supplementary materials for Stancu, V., Frank, D., Lähteenmäki, L., & Grunert, K. G. (2022). Motivating consumers for health and fitness: The role of app features. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 21(6), 1506–1521. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2108

Smartphone apps can create value for consumers by supporting their health goals. The purpose of the study was to reveal people's preferences for Self-Determination theory derived app features of health-related apps that can potentially promote motivation and sustained use of such apps. Three discrete choice experiments, followed by a ranking task, were used to assess consumer preferences for specific app features that can support the basic needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness among respondents from Germany and Spain (N = 719). Participants preferred the autonomy supporting app features, namely making changes to the menu recommendations or self-selecting their rewards. The competence supporting features of levels of progress and feedback that provided encouragement together with facts were preferred across countries; however, presenting the feedback in a dynamic display was disliked in Germany. The relatedness supporting feature, presence of an anthropomorphic cue with the menu recommendations, was preferred in Germany but disliked in Spain. Health and fitness apps can benefit from including features that bring value to consumers by responding to their psychological needs and help them achieve their health goals. Allowing choice flexibility in app recommendations, providing feedback that is encouraging in addition to informative, and including gamification elements in health apps, can respond to consumer preferences and thereby increase engagement with apps. The study contributes to understanding how the theoretically derived features of health apps can be included in the design of apps to match consumer preferences.

Smartphone applications (apps) have become ubiquitous and they hold great promise in helping consumers to achieve behaviour change in areas like healthy eating or exercising (Flaherty et al., 2018; Zhao et al., 2016). Even though there is a great availability of health-related apps, their adoption and use by consumers remains a challenge (Bol et al. 2018; Yang et al., 2020). Health and fitness apps vary in the features they contain (Conroy et al., 2014; Flaherty et al., 2018; Franco et al., 2016). Certain app features can be seen as corresponding to effective behaviour change techniques, like provision of feedback, goal setting or rewards (Bardus et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2015; Direito et al., 2014; Flaherty et al., 2018; Mauch et al., 2018). Decisions regarding which features to include in apps are key as certain features support people’s self-motivation (Peters et al., 2018). There are calls in prior literature to draw on theory in order to make decisions regarding which features to support in the design of behaviour change technologies and how to implement such features (Hekler et al., 2013; Peters et al., 2018). Based on the Self Determination Theory (SDT) (Ryan & Deci, 2000), people’s intrinsic motivation to behave (e.g. using an app because it is fun or enjoyable) can support long-term behaviour change. In the area of mobile apps aimed to support healthy behaviours, there is a lack of studies exploring the effects of specific features of the app on motivation or usage behaviour. The various existing apps include certain features that are seen as behaviour change techniques (e.g. provision of feedback), however, there is scarce empirical evidence into which features could promote intrinsic motivation and use of apps. The idea that certain game design elements can support intrinsic motivation was previously explored in a simulation study (related to order-picking in logistics) (Sailer et al., 2017) that showed the positive effects of certain bundles of elements in fulfilling specific psychological needs that support motivation. A recent study developed a taxonomy of app features of some of the most popular apps that are in line with SDT and may support motivation to use the apps (Villalobos-Zúñiga & Cherubini, 2020), though the motivational effect of the features was not empirically tested. Most evidence for the effect of different app features comes from digital interventions (Yang et al. 2020, Hosseinpour &Terlutter, 2019), where bundles of elements are tested together. Thus, little is known regarding the effect of specific features or consumer perceptions about the features on intrinsic motivation and adoption of apps that promote healthy behaviours.

Forbrugerne skal tage en uendelig række af valg, når de går ind i et supermarked grundet det store udvalg af forskellige produkter. For at hjælpe forbrugerne i beslutningsprocessen kan ernæringsmærker, herunder nøglehulsmærket, være medvirkende til at flytte købsadfærden i en sundere retning. Det har dog vist sig at anvendelse af ernæringsmærker ikke altid er nok til at få forbrugerne til at vælge sundere produkter, hvorfor der er brug for mere viden om, hvorvidt dette kan understøttes gennem forskellige adfærdsinitiativer. Denne rapport undersøger effekten af brugen af nudging i supermarkeder på forbrugernes køb af ernæringsmærkede produkter, herunder produkter mærket med nøglehullet. Rapporten er udarbejdet på baggrund af et litteraturstudie.