Working Paper: NBER ID: w19654
Authors: Kelly Bedard; Peter J. Kuhn
Abstract: We study the effects of receipts that include personalized ordering suggestions designed to reduce fat and calorie consumption on purchasing behavior at a restaurant chain. We find that customers, in the aggregate, made most of the item substitutions that were encouraged by the messages, such as substituting ham for sausage in a breakfast sandwich, or substituting frozen yogurt for ice cream, though effects on overall calories and fat consumed were small. The results illustrate the potential of emerging information technologies, which allow retailers to tailor product marketing to individual consumers, to contribute in meaningful new ways to the battle against obesity.
Keywords: Nutrition; Obesity; Purchasing Behavior; Restaurant Interventions
JEL Codes: C33; D03; D12; I12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| nutricate receipt (Y60) | reduction in cholesterol per transaction (Y10) |
| nutricate receipt (Y60) | increase in share of adult main course items requesting no sauce (L66) |
| nutricate receipt (Y60) | increase in kids meals with apples instead of fries (J13) |
| nutricate receipt (Y60) | increase in breakfast sandwiches without sausage (F69) |
| nutricate receipt (Y60) | changes in purchasing behavior (D12) |