Four structural information factors were tested in an in-store experiment. Nutrition information was presented on point-of-purchase signs and changes in brand sales were monitored. The sales data reveal that changes in purchase behavior are a function of two structural properties of the information, its presentation format and the extent of variation in brand ratings on a sign.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AsamE. H., and BucklinL. P. (1973), “Nutrition Labeling for Canned Goods: A Study of Consumer Response,”Journal of Marketing, 37(April), 32–7.
2.
BabcockM. J., and MurphyM. M. (1973), .”Two Nutritional Labeling Systems,”Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 62(February), 155–61.
3.
BestR. J. (1978), “Choice Accuracy as a Function of Information Load, Choice Variance and Discrimination Power,” working paper, University of Arizona.
4.
BestR. J., and WilliamsD. B. (1980), “Structural Properties of Consumer Information and Perceptions of Informativeness,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 7, OlsonJ. C., ed. San Francisco: Association for Consumer Research,501–6.
5.
BettmanJ. R. (1975), “Issues in Designing Consumer Information Environments,”Journal of Consumer Research,2(December), 169–77.
6.
BettmanJ. R. (1979), An Information Processing Theory of Consumer Choice.Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
7.
BrossI. D. J. (1958), “How to Use Ridit Analysis,”Biometrics, 14(March), 18–38.
8.
ChaffeeS. H., and McLeodJ. M. (1973), “Consumer Decisions and Information Use,” in Consumer Behavior: Theoretical Sources, WardS., and RobertsonT. S., eds. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
9.
Consumer Reports (1977), “Mayonnaise (And Things That Look Like It),”42 (March), 148–51.
10.
DalyP. A. (1976), “The Response of Consumers to NutritionLabeling,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 10(Winter), 170–8.
11.
DayG. S. (1976), “Assessing the Effects of Information Disclosure Requirements,”Journal of Marketing, 40(April), 42–52.
12.
FleissJ. L. (1981), Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions, 2nd ed.New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
13.
GoodwinS., and EtgarM. (1980), “An Experimental Investigation of Comparative Advertising: Impact of Message Appeal, Information Load, and Utility of Product Class,”Journal of Marketing Research, 17(May), 187–202.
14.
HacklemanE. C. (1981), “Food Label Information: What Consumers Say They Want and What They Need,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 8, MonroeK. B., ed. Washington, DC: Association for Consumer Research.
15.
HainesG. H. (1974), “A Prologue to Four Papers on Information Search,” in Buyer/Consumer Information Processing, HughesG. D., and RayM. L., eds. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
16.
JacobyJ., and ChestnutR. W., and SilbermanW. (1977), “Consumer Use and Comprehension of Nutrition Information,”Journal of Consumer Research, 4(September), 119–28.
17.
JacobyJ., and ChestnutR. W., and SpellerD. E., and KohnC. A. (1974a), “Brand Choice Behavior as a Function of Information Load,”Journal of Marketing Research, 11(February), 63–9.
18.
JacobyJ., and ChestnutR. W., and SpellerD. E., and KohnC. A. (1974b), “Brand Choice Behavior as a Function of Information Load: Replication and Extension,”Journal of Consumer Research, 1(June), 33–42.
19.
KauP., and HillL. (1972), “A Threshold Model of Purchasing Decisions,”Journal of Marketing Research, 9(August), 264–70.
20.
LenahanR. J. (1973), “Consumer Reaction to Nutritional Labels on Food Products,”Journal of Consumer Affairs, 7(1), 1–12.
21.
MalhotraN. K. (1982), “Information Load and Consumer Decision Making,”Journal of Consumer Research, 8(March), 419–30.
22.
MillerJ. A. (1978), Labeling Research: The State of the Art, Report No. 78–115. Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute.
23.
MonroeK. B. (1973), “Buyers’ Subjective Perceptions of Price,”Journal of Marketing Research, 10(February), 70–80.
24.
MurrayB. K. (1977), “Testing Consumers’ Knowledge of Food and Nutrition,”Food Product Development, 11(July-August), 15–17.
25.
MyersJ. H., and AlpertM. I. (1977), “Semantic Confusion in Attitude Research: Salience vs. Importance vs. Determinance,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 4, PerreaultW. D.Jr., ed. Atlanta: Association for Consumer Research,106–10.
26.
PessemierE. A., and WilkieW. L. (1974), “Multi-Attribute Choice Theory: A Review and Analysis,” in Buyer/Consumer Information Processing, HughesG. D., and RayM. L., eds. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
27.
PetersonR. A. (1977), “Consumer Perceptions as a Function of Product Color, Price and Nutrition Labeling,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 4, PerreaultW. D.Jr., ed. Atlanta: Association for Consumer Research,61–3.
28.
Progressive Grocer (1982), “49th Annual Report of the Grocery Industry,” April, 45–6.
29.
QuelchJ. A. (1978), Behavioral and Attitudinal Measures of the Relative Importance of Product Attributes: The Case of Cold Breakfast Cereals, Report No. 78-109. Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute.
RussoJ. E. (1974), “More Information is Better: A Reevaluation of Jacoby, Speller and Kohn,”Journal of Consumer Research, 1(December), 68–72.
32.
RussoJ. E. (1977), “The Value of Unit Price Information,”Journal of Marketing Research, 14(May), 193–201.
33.
RussoJ. E., and KrieserG., and MiyashitaS. (1975), “An Effective Display of Unit Price Information,”Journal of Marketing, 39(April), 11–19.
34.
ScammonD. L. (1977), “Information Load and Consumers,”Journal of Consumer Research, 4(December), 148–55.
35.
SchrayerD. W. (1978), “Consumer Response to Nutrition Labeling,”Food Technology, 32(December), 42–5.
36.
SchroderH. M., and DriverM. J., and StreufertS. (1967), Human Information Processing.New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
37.
StilesG. W. (1974), “Determinants of the Industrial Buyer's Level of Information Processing: Organizations, Situations, and Individual Differences,” in Buyer/Consumer Information Processing, HughesG. D., and RayM. L., eds. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
38.
SummersJ. O. (1974), “Less Information is Better?”Journal of Marketing Research, 11(November), 467–8.
39.
VenkatesanM. (1977), “Providing Nutritional Information to Consumers,” paper presented at special NSF/MIT conference “Consumer Research for Consumer Policy,” Cambridge, MA (July), 28–9.
40.
WilkieW. L. (1974), “Analysis of Effects of Information Load,”Journal of Marketing Research, 11(November), 462–6.
41.
WilkieW. L. (1975), How Consumers Use Product Information: An Assessment of Research in Relation to Public Policy Needs, report prepared for National Science Foundation, RANN Program. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
