IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/mktlet/v28y2017i1d10.1007_s11002-015-9397-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The pitfall of nutrition facts label fluency: easier-to-process nutrition information enhances purchase intentions for unhealthy food products

Author

Listed:
  • Pierrick Gomez

    (NEOMA Business School)

  • Carolina O. C. Werle

    (Grenoble Ecole de Management)

  • Olivier Corneille

    (Université Catholique de Louvain)

Abstract

This research examines the metacognitive effects of nutrition facts label clarity on food preferences. Two experiments show that, holding information content and comprehensibility constant, providing consumers with easier-to-process nutrition information increases purchase intentions for food products. The effect occurs not only for healthy (study 1) but also, and more ironically so, for unhealthy (study 1 and 2) food products. In addition, the latter fluency effect is found to be stronger among people scoring low in nutrition knowledge (study 2). These findings emphasize the consequences of delivering easily readable nutrition information to consumers. They also point to a potential pitfall of health prevention policies based on the simplification of nutrition labeling.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierrick Gomez & Carolina O. C. Werle & Olivier Corneille, 2017. "The pitfall of nutrition facts label fluency: easier-to-process nutrition information enhances purchase intentions for unhealthy food products," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 15-27, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:28:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s11002-015-9397-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-015-9397-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11002-015-9397-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11002-015-9397-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Burton, S. & Creyer, E.H. & Kees, J. & Huggins, K., 2006. "Attacking the obesity epidemic: The potential health benefits of providing nutrition information in restaurants," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(9), pages 1669-1675.
    2. Orth, Ulrich R. & Crouch, Roberta C., 2014. "Is Beauty in the Aisles of the Retailer? Package Processing in Visually Complex Contexts," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 90(4), pages 524-537.
    3. Aparna A. Labroo & Ravi Dhar & Norbert Schwarz, 2008. "Of Frog Wines and Frowning Watches: Semantic Priming, Perceptual Fluency, and Brand Evaluation," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(6), pages 819-831, October.
    4. Carolina Werle & Caroline Cuny, 2012. "The boomerang effect of mandatory sanitary messages to prevent obesity," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 883-891, September.
    5. Sophie Hieke & Charles R. Taylor, 2012. "A Critical Review of the Literature on Nutritional Labeling," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 120-156, March.
    6. repec:cup:judgdm:v:2:y:2007:i::p:371-379 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Newman, Christopher L. & Howlett, Elizabeth & Burton, Scot, 2014. "Shopper Response to Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling Programs: Potential Consumer and Retail Store Benefits," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 13-26.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hsiao-Ping Chang & Chun-Chieh Ma & Han-Shen Chen, 2019. "Climate Change and Consumer’s Attitude toward Insect Food," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-17, May.
    2. Arezoo Haghighian Roudsari & Seyedeh Fatemeh Abdollah Pouri Hosseini & Ali Milani Bonab & Maliheh Zahedi‐rad & Fatemeh Mohammadi Nasrabadi & Azizollaah Zargaraan, 2021. "Consumers' perception of nutritional facts table and nutritional traffic light in food products' labelling: A qualitative study," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 628-642, May.
    3. Ruomeng Wu & Esta D. Shah & Frank R. Kardes & Robert S. Wyer, 2020. "Technical nomenclature, everyday language, and consumer inference," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 299-310, September.
    4. Donato, Carmela & Adıgüzel, Feray, 2022. "Visual complexity of eco-labels and product evaluations in online setting: Is simple always better?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    5. Manika, Danae & Dickert, Stephan & Golden, Linda L., 2021. "Check (it) yourself before you wreck yourself: The benefits of online health information exposure on risk perception and intentions to protect oneself," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    6. Medina-Molina, Cayetano & Rey-Moreno, Manuel & Periáñez-Cristóbal, Rafael, 2021. "Analysis of the moderating effect of front-of-pack labelling on the relation between brand attitude and purchasing intention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 304-310.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrea H. Tangari & Scot Burton & Cassandra Davis, 2014. "Do They Have Your Number? Understanding the Moderating Role of Format Effects and Consumer Numeracy for Quantitative Front-of-Package Nutrition Claims," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 620-633, October.
    2. Dörnyei, Krisztina Rita & Lunardo, Renaud, 2021. "When limited edition packages backfire: The role of emotional value, typicality and need for uniqueness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 233-243.
    3. Mahmood, Ammara & Luffarelli, Jonathan & Mukesh, Mudra, 2019. "What's in a logo? The impact of complex visual cues in equity crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 41-62.
    4. Jeremy Kees & M. Paula Fitzgerald, 2016. "Who Uses Facts Up Front? A Baseline Examination of Who is Using Standardized Front-of-Package Nutrition Disclosures," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 458-470, July.
    5. Kahn, Barbara E., 2017. "Using Visual Design to Improve Customer Perceptions of Online Assortments," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 29-42.
    6. Christopher L. Newman & Scot Burton & J. Craig Andrews & Richard G. Netemeyer & Jeremy Kees, 2018. "Marketers’ use of alternative front-of-package nutrition symbols: An examination of effects on product evaluations," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 453-476, May.
    7. Scot Burton & Andrea H. Tangari & Elizabeth Howlett & Anna M. Turri, 2014. "How the Perceived Healthfulness of Restaurant Menu Items Influences Sodium and Calorie Misperceptions: Implications for Nutrition Disclosures in Chain Restaurants," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 62-95, March.
    8. Iina Ikonen & Francesca Sotgiu & Aylin Aydinli & Peeter W. J. Verlegh, 2020. "Consumer effects of front-of-package nutrition labeling: an interdisciplinary meta-analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 360-383, May.
    9. Kirsti Iivonen, 2018. "Defensive Responses to Strategic Sustainability Paradoxes: Have Your Coke and Drink It Too!," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 309-327, March.
    10. Lan Nguyen & Hans De Steur, 2021. "Public Acceptability of Policy Interventions to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption in Urban Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-18, December.
    11. Graham, Hope E. & Vestal, Mallory K. & Guerrero, Bridget L., 2015. ""Go-Slow-Whoa!": Will Nutritional Information Influence Adolescent Food Choices and Lead to a Healthier Generation?," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 206007, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Mosteller, Jill & Donthu, Naveen & Eroglu, Sevgin, 2014. "The fluent online shopping experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2486-2493.
    13. Frans Folkvord & Maud van der Zanden & Sara Pabian, 2020. "Taste and Health Information on Fast Food Menus to Encourage Young Adults to Choose Healthy Food Products: An Experimental Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-13, September.
    14. Okazaki, Shintaro & Navarro, Angeles & Mukherji, Prokriti & Plangger, Kirk, 2019. "The curious versus the overwhelmed: Factors influencing QR codes scan intention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 498-506.
    15. Huddleston, Patricia T. & Behe, Bridget K. & Driesener, Carl & Minahan, S., 2018. "Inside-outside: Using eye-tracking to investigate search-choice processes in the retail environment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 85-93.
    16. Reinoso-Carvalho, Felipe & Gunn, Laura & Molina, German & Narumi, Takuji & Spence, Charles & Suzuki, Yuji & ter Horst, Enrique & Wagemans, Johan, 2020. "A sprinkle of emotions vs a pinch of crossmodality: Towards globally meaningful sonic seasoning strategies for enhanced multisensory tasting experiences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 389-399.
    17. Kazi, Oishi & Miller, Steven R. & Malone, Trey & Wolf, Christopher A., 2022. "The Changing Role of Fat Perceptions in Fluid Milk Labeling: Would the Dairy Industry Sell More if 2% Milk Was Called “98% Fat Free”?," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 53(2), July.
    18. Nagpal, Anish & Lei, Jing & Khare, Adwait, 2015. "To Choose or to Reject: The Effect of Decision Frame on Food Customization Decisions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 422-435.
    19. Marine Desorge & Anne Marie A. M. Lacroix & Laurent Muller & Charles Pernin & Celia Potdevin & Bernard Ruffieux, 2017. "L'étiquetage au service d'une alimentation durable : le point de vue des consommateurs," Working Papers halshs-01537806, HAL.
    20. Andreas C. Drichoutis & Panagiotis Lazaridis & Rodolfo M. Nayga, 2009. "Would consumers value food-away-from-home products with nutritional labels?," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(4), pages 550-575.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:28:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s11002-015-9397-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.