Trial reportThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2020
The effects of nudging and pricing on healthy food purchasing behavior in a virtual supermarket setting: a randomized experiment.
Trial report in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effectiveness of digital nudging in improving dietary quality: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- The impact of visual fidelity on screen-based virtual reality food choices: A randomized pilot study.PloS one · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Do financial constraint and perceived stress modify the effects of food tax schemes on food purchases: moderation analyses in a virtual supermarket experiment.Public health nutrition · 2024Trial
- The El Valor de Nuestra Salud clustered randomized controlled trial store-based intervention to promote fruit and vegetable purchasing and consumption.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Trial
- Shifting toward a healthier dietary pattern through nudging and pricing strategies: A secondary analysis of a randomized virtual supermarket experiment.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2021Trial
- Alignment of Food Policies and Cardiovascular Disease Burden: Insights from the Literature.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026Review
- Adolescents' Interactions with Their Food Environment in Vietnam: A Participatory Video-Based Study on Factors Shaping Dietary Behavior.Current developments in nutrition · 2026Article
- Uncovering intersectional inequalities in fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK using Understanding Society data.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Effect of Nudge Interventions in Real-World Kiosks on Consumer Beverage Choices to Promote Non-Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Article
- Can nudge interventions targeting healthy food purchases in real-world grocery stores reduce diet-related health disparities? A pooled analysis of four controlled trials.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Article
- Impact of a nudge-based food environment intervention in a hospital convenience store on staff's food intake and Na/K.BMC nutrition · 2024Article
- The Difference between PC-Based and Immersive Virtual Reality Food Purchase Environments on Useability, Presence, and Physiological Responses.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Effect of a relative pricing intervention and active merchandising on snack purchases: interrupted time series analysis of a hospital retailer-led strategy.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Article
- Factors Influencing Consumption Behaviour towards Aquatic Food among Asian Consumers: A Systematic Scoping Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A Commentary on the Healthy Community Stores Case Study Project: Implications for Retailers, Policy, and Future Research.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Online Pilot Grocery Intervention among Rural and Urban Residents Aimed to Improve Purchasing Habits.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- A framework for application of consumer neuroscience in pro-environmental behavior change interventions.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence on what strategies - or combination of strategies - are most effective and equitable in promoting healthier diets is needed. This study examined the efficacy of nudging and pricing strategies on increasing healthy food purchases and the potential differential effect by socio-economic position (SEP) among Dutch adults in a virtual supermarket.
methodsA randomized study design was conducted within a virtual supermarket (SN VirtuMart). Participants were exposed to five within-subject study conditions (control, nudging, pricing, price salience and price salience with nudging) and randomized to one of three between-subject study arms (a 25% price increase on unhealthy products, a 25% discount on healthy products, or a 25% price increase and discount). In total, 455 participants of low and high SEP (using either education or income as proxy) were randomized to conduct their weekly shopping in a virtual supermarket for five consecutive weeks. The primary outcome included the percentage of healthy purchases. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models.
resultsIn total, 346 (76%) adults completed all five shops within the SN VirtuMart. Median age was 32.5, 49.2% had high education and 32.8% had high income. Out of the 12 conditions, four conditions were statistically significantly different from the control condition. Nudging and non-salient pricing strategies alone did not statistically significantly increase healthy food purchases, whereas a combination of salient price increases and discounts led to an increase in the percentage of healthy food purchases (B 4.5, 95%CI 2.6; 6.4). Combining salient pricing and nudging strategies led to increases in the percentage of healthy products in all three pricing arms, with largest effects found in the combined price increase and discount arm (B = 4.0, 95%CI = 2.0; 6.0). Effects were not modified by SEP.
conclusionsCombining health-related price increases and discounts and combining these salient pricing strategies with nudges in a supermarket setting seems to stimulate healthy food purchases for both low and high SEP populations. However, further research in real-world settings is needed.
trial registrationThis randomized trial ( NTR7293 ) was registered in the Dutch trial registry ( www.trialregister.nl ).
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