Working Paper: NBER ID: w15648
Authors: Bryan Bollinger; Phillip Leslie; Alan Sorensen
Abstract: We study the impact of mandatory calorie posting on consumers' purchase decisions, using detailed data from Starbucks. We find that average calories per transaction falls by 6%. The effect is almost entirely related to changes in consumers' food choices--there is almost no change in purchases of beverage calories. There is no impact on Starbucks profit on average, and for the subset of stores located close to their competitor Dunkin Donuts, the effect of calorie posting is actually to increase Starbucks revenue. Survey evidence and analysis of commuters suggest the mechanism for the effect is a combination of learning and salience.
Keywords: calorie posting; consumer behavior; public health
JEL Codes: I18; L15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| mandatory calorie posting at Starbucks locations in NYC (D18) | reduction in average calories per transaction (D12) |
| reduction in average calories per transaction (D12) | decrease in number of food items purchased (D12) |
| reduction in average calories per transaction (D12) | substitution towards lower-calorie items (D12) |
| calorie posting (D18) | increase in revenue for Starbucks stores near Dunkin Donuts (F69) |
| average calories per transaction (Y10) | negligible change in average revenue per transaction (D49) |