Behavioral interventions to motivate plant-based food selection in an online shopping environment

Encouraging consumption of plant-based food products can help mitigate the impact of dietary choices on climate change. Research suggests that modifying environments in which people make purchasing decisions has the potential to achieve behavioral changes toward sustainable consumption. We examine the impact of two behavioral interventions, carbon footprint labeling, and product categorization, to promote sustainable food selection in an online grocery shopping environment. Online grocery shopping data collected from 2,359 US participants show that carbon footprint labels increased the selection of plant-based food products by 37% and categorization increased it by 25%. A combination of both nudges increased plant-based food selection by 32%. Participants underestimated the environmental impact of different types of foods despite exposure to carbon footprint information. As the global market for online grocery shopping continues to grow, this study presents a potential for simple and scalable interventions in online shopping environments to encourage sustainable choices.