Out-of-home Consumer Food Purchase Behaviour in the Presence and Absence of Value Pricing and Price Promotions

NCT06412276 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Price-based incentive study
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 2,051
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

It is important to understand the role that price-based incentives in the out-of-home food sector play in food purchasing, and whether they lead to positive savings for the consumer (as they would likely anticipate when making purchases), or whether these incentives lead to increased spending and increased purchasing of unhealthy products. Additionally, it is important to consider whether the impacts of price-based incentives differ according to a range of demographic characteristics. For example, some evidence suggests that effects of removing a price-based incentive are greater in individuals with a higher BMI. Evidence also suggests there may also be differences in impact according to socioeconomic position (SEP) as individuals in lower SEP groups reportedly use price-based incentives more frequently. If lower SEP individuals are more affected by price-based incentives (i.e. they prompt ordering in excess and greater spend), then the banning of such strategies could help to reduce health inequalities, by nudging lower SEP consumers toward healthier dietary choices in the OOH food sector. To date, it is unclear what effect policies which remove specific types of price-based incentives would be likely to have on consumer behaviour. In particular, individual product price reductions (e.g. £ off this product), bulk buy price reductions (e.g., Save £ when bought together) and volume value pricing (e.g., the price increase from a small to large portion size not being directly proportional to volume increase). Therefore our primary objectives are:

• To observe the effect of removing price-based incentives (individual product price reductions, bulk buy price reductions, volume value pricing) in the OOH food sector on:
• Energy purchased per household
• Money spent per household Secondary Objectives:
• To explore whether any effects of removing price-based incentives differ based on participant characteristics (BMI, SEP, food choice motives)

Conditions

Food Selection; Healthy Eating; Eating Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Energy (kcal) ordered

  The total energy content of the hypothetical food order

  immediately after food choice

• Monetary value of order

  The total monetary value of the hypothetical food order

  immediately after food choice

• Likelihood of using a bulk-buy promotion

  The likelihood of participants selecting a bulk-buy option or 'bundle'

  immediately after food choice

• Likelihood of selecting a larger or smaller size

  The likelihood of participants selecting a larger or smaller size for food items with multi-size options

  immediately after food choice

Study Arms (5)

Control

EXPERIMENTAL

Food menu typical for the out-of-home outlet with * Product price promotions (25% off orders over £10) * Bulk buy reductions (bundle options for reduced prices) * Volume value pricing (increase in size for a disproportionately small increase in price)

Behavioral: Control

Product price reductions removed

EXPERIMENTAL

Food menu without product price promotions

Behavioral: Product price promotions removed

Bulk buy price reductions removed

EXPERIMENTAL

Food menu without price decrease for bulk-buy items (i.e. bundles available but not at a decreased price)

Behavioral: Bulk buy reductions removed

Volume value pricing removed

EXPERIMENTAL

For products on the food menu with size increases, increases in price will be made proportionate (as opposed to value)

Behavioral: Volume value pricing removed

No price-based incentive

EXPERIMENTAL

Food menus will be provided with no price-based incentives

Behavioral: No price-based incentives

Interventions

Control BEHAVIORAL

Food menu will be provided as is typical for the out of home outlet

Control

Product price promotions removed BEHAVIORAL

Food menus with no price reductions to products

Product price reductions removed

Bulk buy reductions removed BEHAVIORAL

Food menus with bundles provided but not at reduced prices

Bulk buy price reductions removed

Volume value pricing removed BEHAVIORAL

Food menus with proportionate pricing for multi-size products

Volume value pricing removed

No price-based incentives BEHAVIORAL

Food menus with no price-based incentives offered

No price-based incentive

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Currently reside in the United Kingdom
• Over the age of 18 years
• Fluent English speaker Frequently use food delivery apps or websites (at least once a month, on average)
• Frequently eat takeaway pizza (i.e. once every 2-3 months)
• Can complete the study on a laptop or desktop

You may not qualify if:

• Partaking in a fast or other restrictive eating for religious reasons at time of participation
• Dietary restrictions/intolerances including:
• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free
• Sugar-free

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Liverpool: lead
• Liverpool John Moores University: collaborator
• University of Bristol: collaborator
• Economic and Social Research Council, United Kingdom: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Liverpool

Liverpool, L69 7ZA, United Kingdom

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Food Preferences; Feeding Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Behavior, Animal

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: Participants will not know the treatment group to which they have been assigned.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: participants will be randomly assigned to one of five conditions.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 8, 2024
• First Posted: May 14, 2024
• Study Start: June 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: July 26, 2024
• Study Completion: October 28, 2024
• Last Updated: November 1, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
• Time Frame: On publication, indefinitely
• Access Criteria: Open website

Locations

GB (1)