A study by the University of Bonn shows: Banners with information on animal welfare have no influence on purchasing behavior

We are all familiar with the red, blue, orange, or green labels that have been displayed on meat packaging for several years. These labels provide information on the type of animal husbandry used to raise the relevant animal. Red (= animal husbandry level 1) means that the producer only complies with the minimum statutory requirements. In contrast, green (= animal husbandry level 4) means that the producer complies with much higher standards concerning the welfare of the animals. "However, this type of information is often not consciously noticed by customers," says Leonie Bach from the Institute for Food and Resource Economics at the University of Bonn.
The young researcher is a PhD candidate at the Department of Agricultural and Food Market Research headed by Monika Hartmann and was one of the main researchers behind this latest study. The study carried out by researchers at the University of Bonn and TU Munich investigated whether it is possible to improve the effectiveness of animal husbandry labelling by making it more visible.

Virtual supermarket
Instead of using a real grocery store to investigate these measures, the researchers carried out their study in a virtual supermarket. This innovative approach has several advantages: As the purchases are made on a computer, it was comparatively easy to find a large number of test subjects to participate in the study. Another advantage is that - aside from the particular measure being tested - the supermarket looked identical to all’of the test subjects. This means that their shopping behavior was not influenced by any hidden factors. "By using a virtual supermarket as our research infrastructure, we were able to bring the real world into the laboratory," explains Monika Hartmann.

Three versions of the same supermarket
IPSOS sent out emails to invite the participants to take part in the study. The type of supermarket displayed to them in the simulation only differed in one aspect: the manner in which information on animal husbandry was emphasized. One group of participants only saw the labels on the meat packaging as is typical in supermarkets today. A second group were additionally shown large banners over the shelves with information on the animal husbandry label. These labels were also displayed next to the price tags for a third group of participants, although only for products in animal husbandry levels 3 and 4.

The sobering results: There was no real difference between the three groups in the number of test subjects who selected meat produced according to better animal welfare standards. In other words, the measures did not cause any change in their purchasing behavior. "One reason for this result could be that the information did not generate the desired level of awareness, despite it being displayed prominently in the supermarket," suspects Leonie Bach. "Some of our test subjects indicated in the follow-up interviews that they had not consciously noticed or perceived the information."
"We are currently evaluating other interventions that we have already tested in the virtual supermarket," explains Monika Hartmann. In future projects, the authors of the study would like to make the purchasing experience even more real for participants so that they receive the purchased products in a similar way to online shopping and also have to pay for them.