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The legibility of food package information in France: an equal challenge for young and elderly consumers?

Author

Listed:
  • Olivier Droulers

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Jennifer Amar

    (IREA - Institut de Recherche sur les Entreprises et les Administrations - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud, IESEG School of Managementg)

Abstract

Objective The present study investigated whether food package information is legible in a real purchase context; more specifically, it examined the level of legibility of non-mandatory, mandatory and nutritional information as well as the influence of age on legibility. This is an important issue, especially for older consumers who are usually advised to pay attention to their diet.Design An in-store study was conducted in a French hypermarket. Descriptive statistics were used to measure the overall level of legibility and then ANOVA tests were carried out to examine the influence of age on the legibility of information. Complementary results included the influence of level of education.Setting Participants were asked to read information on four food packages when they were food shopping.Subjects The sample included 196 consumers aged 18–82 years.Results An asymmetry was observed between the extremely high level of legibility of non-mandatory information and the low level of legibility of mandatory and nutritional information provided on food packages. Elderly respondents performed significantly worse than their younger counterparts. An interaction effect was found between age and level of education on the legibility of mandatory information.Conclusions Legibility of mandatory information is clearly unsatisfactory. There appears to be a hierarchy between significant, but non-mandatory, company information and important mandatory and nutritional information. The first type of information is promoted on food packages whereas the last two are all but concealed to older and less educated consumers.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Droulers & Jennifer Amar, 2016. "The legibility of food package information in France: an equal challenge for young and elderly consumers?," Post-Print halshs-01242590, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01242590
    DOI: 10.1017/S1368980015002141
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    Cited by:

    1. Amar, Jennifer & Droulers, Olivier & Legohérel, Patrick, 2017. "Typography in destination advertising: An exploratory study and research perspectives," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 77-86.
    2. Magdalena Ankiel & Bogdan Sojkin & Mariola Grzybowska-Brzezinska, 2020. "Packaging as a Source of Information on the Product in Food Purchasing Decisions: The Case of Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 1), pages 356-372.
    3. Dimitris Skalkos & Ioanna S. Kosma & Eleni Chasioti & Thomas Bintsis & Haralabos C. Karantonis, 2021. "Consumers’ Perception on Traceability of Greek Traditional Foods in the Post-COVID-19 Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.

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