A study by researchers Wieteke de Vries, Koert van Ittersum, and Jenny van Doorn, from the UG’s Faculty of Economics and Business, has unveiled critical insights into how nutritional decision aids (NDAs, like the Nutri-Score) can support healthier grocery shopping. The research, titled "With a little help from my retailer: Shopper acceptance of nutritional decision aids supporting healthy grocery shopping," highlights the challenges shoppers face in making healthy food choices amidst a complex and often overwhelming retail environment.

As grocery shopping becomes increasingly complex - especially in online environments where an abundance of choices and marketing activities (such as advertisements and promotions) makes it more difficult to identify healthier options - consumers often struggle to make well-informed decisions. The study emphasizes that the cognitive effort required to navigate these choices can lead to confusion and frustration, ultimately resulting in less healthy purchasing behavior.

To address these challenges, the researchers explored the effectiveness of seven NDAs designed to assist shoppers in identifying healthier food alternatives. These tools, which include features like sorting and filtering based on nutritional information, aim to simplify the decision-making process at the point of purchase.

Strong coercion is contra-productive

Key findings from the study reveal that the perceived coerciveness of NDAs significantly impacts their acceptance among shoppers. The more an NDA pressures shoppers to make healthier choices, the less likely they are to embrace these better choices. This effect is particularly striking among individuals with lower interests in healthy eating, who may find coercive NDAs more intrusive and disruptive to their shopping experience.

"Our research underscores the importance of understanding consumer psychology when designing health interventions," said lead author Wieteke de Vries. "By recognizing how coerciveness influences perceived intrusiveness and consumers’ general experience, we can create more effective NDAs that shoppers are more willing to accept."

Optional decision aids valuable starting point

The study also suggests that implementing less coercive, optional NDAs (where shoppers are required to actively opt-in to encounter the NDA) could serve as a valuable starting point for retailers. An example of these optional NDA’s is giving online grocery shoppers the option to filter products by Nutri-Score, instead of using the pre-sortment of products from healthy (Nutri-Score A) to least healthy (Nutri-Score E) as a default setting. NDAs such as sorting and/or filtering by relative health allow shoppers to familiarize themselves with this type of intervention. As familiarity influences food decision-making, introducing the aforementioned “optional” NDAs can serve as a good starting point. In this way, retailers may pave the way for greater acceptance of more proactive health interventions in the future.

The implications of this research extend beyond individual shopping experiences; they hold significant potential for enhancing consumer well-being and promoting healthier eating habits on a societal level. While the majority of NDAs examined in this research, like sorting and filtering products by Nutri-Score, naturally align with the navigation tools typically available in online shopping platforms, the authors also highlight their potential applicability in offline settings. For instance, NDAs like shopping basket overview (Providing an overview of the healthiness of the entire shopping basket by presenting the sum of Nutri-Scores in the shopping basket) and food swaps (suggesting a healthier alternative of the selected product) could be effectively implemented in physical stores. This could be done using technologies such as handheld scanners or smart shopping carts, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in brick-and-mortar retail environments. The study indicates that effective health interventions in grocery stores can benefit both shoppers and retailers alike.

Reference:

De Vries, W., Van Ittersum, K., & Van Doorn, J. (2025). With a little help from my retailer: Shopper acceptance of nutritional decision aids supporting healthy grocery shopping. Appetite, 107972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.107972

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Questions? Please contact Wieteke de Vries.