H1: Introducing a simplified POS nutrition scoring system leads
shoppers to switch to healthier products within the category.
Furthermore, we predict that the strength of this effect will be
moderated by the product category healthiness, such that it will
be stronger in healthier categories. This prediction derives from
research showing that consumers are more likely to use nutrition information in healthier categories (Brucks, Mitchell,
and Staelin 1984). Balasubramanian and Cole (2002) also
demonstrate that consumers may largely ignore nutrition information for what they call “fun foods” (e.g., ice cream) that
primarily satisfy hedonistic needs, to prevent the negative
emotions (guilt) that may arise from considering how unhealthy
the food is (Ehrich and Irwin 2005; Wansink and Chandon
2006); in contrast, consumers are more willing to base their
decisions on the nutrition content in healthier categories that
meet their health-related goals. Thus, we predict the following:
1We note that our research examines only purchase shifts that occur within
the category (e.g., a shopper who used to purchase Brand A frozen pizza
switching to a healthier Brand B frozen pizza after the implementation of a
POS nutrition scoring system) because it is reasonable to expect that shoppers
first look for healthier alternatives within the category before switching to a
different category. However, further research should also explore crosscategory purchase shifts that may result from the implementation of a POS
nutrition scoring system.