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‘To LED or Not to LED?’: Using Color Priming for Influencing Consumers’ Preferences of Light Bulbs

Author

Listed:
  • Iris Gavish

    (Faculty of Business Administration, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono 5545173, Israel)

  • Abraham Haim

    (The Israeli Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Chronobiology, University of Haifa, Haifa IL-31905, Israel)

  • Doron Kliger

    (Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa IL-31905, Israel)

Abstract

Recently, we have seen energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs rapidly replace incandescent ones. However, results of new research are indicative of adverse health impacts of LED lighting, which is characterized by enriched blue light. Our study aims to reveal whether using color priming by attaching red/green traffic-light icons on light bulbs influences consumers’ preferences of light bulbs. We conducted a field study simulating the buying process, in which participants (N = 572) were presented with LED and carbon incandescent bulbs. We alternately displayed two pairs of bulbs: (1) in their original packaging and (2) in packages marked with traffic light icons (red = LED). Our results confirm that traffic light icons significantly ( p < 0.01) increase the odds of choosing the healthier carbon bulb. The results highlight the benefits of attaching traffic light icons to light bulb packaging, helping consumers to make more health-conscientious purchasing decisions. Nowadays, this study’s contribution is more significant due to COVID-19 restrictions and stay-at-home policies, since people work or study remotely, which increases their exposure to household lighting. These results may incentivize policymakers to enforce adding traffic light icons to light bulb packaging, thus encouraging LED light bulb manufacturers to reduce the blue light component in order to improve the health aspect of their bulbs.

Suggested Citation

  • Iris Gavish & Abraham Haim & Doron Kliger, 2021. "‘To LED or Not to LED?’: Using Color Priming for Influencing Consumers’ Preferences of Light Bulbs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-12, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:3:p:1401-:d:489311
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kliger, Doron & Gilad, Dalia, 2012. "Red light, green light: Color priming in financial decisions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 738-745.
    2. Jeremy Kees & Marla B. Royne & Yoon-Na Cho, 2014. "Regulating Front-of-Package Nutrition Information Disclosures: A Test of Industry Self-Regulation vs. Other Popular Options," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 147-174, March.
    3. Dara O'Rourke & Abraham Ringer, 2016. "The Impact of Sustainability Information on Consumer Decision Making," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 20(4), pages 882-892, August.
    4. Jie Jin & Jun Zhuang & Qiuhong Zhao, 2018. "Supervision after Certification: An Evolutionary Game Analysis for Chinese Environmental Labeled Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
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