Behavioral Spillovers from Promoting Healthier Consumer Choices

Mathias Barlose, Kfir Eliaz, Neil Thakral and Sarit Weisburd

No 19096, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We examine a four-month-long randomized intervention that provided information about healthier alternatives when online grocery shoppers added certain less-healthy products to their baskets, leading to significant and persistent average increases in healthier purchases. Using machine learning techniques, we characterize consumers' direct responsiveness to the intervention and broader changes in behavior. More-responsive consumers make healthier purchases beyond the immediate scope of the intervention; less-responsive consumers engage in more active shopping behaviors, spending more time shopping and making cost-saving substitutions. These results highlight the capacity of information-based approaches to not only affect isolated consumer decisions but also shape behavior across multiple domains.

Keywords: Field experiment; Grocery shopping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D91 I12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-05
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