The Latest Neuromarketing Insights made actionable

In 2016, we shared an interesting study on how food arrangement can be used to nudge us towards healthier choices: How To Make People Prefer A Dry Salad Over A Tasty Cheeseburger.

The study demonstrated that choice for healthy foods can be increased by simply displaying them on the left side of their lesser healthy counterparts. For example, displaying the salads on the left page of a restaurant menu, and the burgers on the right page, will lead significantly more patrons to order the former. In similar vein, supermarkets whose shelfs display healthier options to the left side will bear a similar positive influence on our health.

Will a few design tricks put a stop to the epidemic of obesity? Likely not – but as goes for many small adjustments in our daily lives: they compound and make a substantial difference in the long run. Now, a new study has been published that further explores under what circumstances the healthy left effect is likely to arise.

We've probably all been there before. We’re scrolling through our Instagram feed, just to stop and stare at a burger from a local restaurant that looks so good we instantly feel hungry. Maybe we can restrain at first, but a few days later we miraculously find ourselves craving a burger while not even thinking about that post anymore, and we are already planning on going there with a friend. 

What is it that one photo on Instagram can unconsciously persuade us to go to a food outlet or order something online, while we have no difficulties neglecting another photo? 

Working part time as a hospitality marketeer, I struggled with that question a lot of times. How can I make these photos so attractive that it gets people in the door? 

Few marketers would dispute that brand image is an essential part of the DNA of any successful brand that’s out there today. However, as important as brand image may be, the construct does pose quite a challenge: measurement.

Over many decades, studies show that the top-performing brands on brand image scales outperform competitors on a variety of outcomes. To name a few, a positive brand image results in the brand grabbing more attention, increasing the consumer’s willingness to pay price premium, and even succeeds in making the product usage experience more pleasant. You can deem brand image as the heart of a brand, pumping oxygen into the many separate systems that keep it healthy and thriving.

Did you click? Clickbait is a strategy for viral journalism, where the hunt on clicks is accelerating. Powerful and emotional words can make your headline irresistibly clickable, as previous research already showed that clickbait headlines were successful in baiting clicks.

A loyal example of clickbait usage is the website Buzzfeed, where titles are calling on emotions and curiosity by not revealing the conclusion of the article (see figure). This website is known for its rigorous use of analytics and A/B tests, showing that they will be fully aware of the effects that these clickbait headlines have on article clicks.

But does clickbait also contribute to shares and word-of-mouth or do they elicit a certain level of distrust or disappointment?

If there’s one thing that retail psychologists have learned over the years, it’s that choice isn’t always good. Few people will be excited by facing 382 options of laundry detergent. Alternatively, 382 options of craft beer may be exactly what pulls the customer into the aisle (it works for me), sparking the promise of hoppy exploration.

While choice can be alluring and liberating in some purchase contexts, it can be downright paralyzing in others.

This explains why in many studies, both in the real world and the lab, decreasing choice has been found to be beneficial for the bottom-line sales. (don’t worry, I won’t be citing the infamous ‘jam study’, which adorns the opening paragraph of so many articles on product assortment) On the other hand, many other studies still show the adage ‘the more the merrier’ to be true on the store shelf as well.

Clearly, whether choice is good depends on moderating factors such as product category, type of store and the shopper itself. Fortunately, Sethuramana et al. (2022) conducted a large-scale meta-analysis, providing insight into how these factors operate and intertwine to influence shopping outcomes. The researchers analyzed an impressive number of 177 studies obtained from 95 academic papers published during 1970–2021.

In this blog, we’ll sum up their most essential findings and discuss important practical implications for retailers.