Der virtuelle Supermarkt als innovative Forschungsinfrastruktur: Experiment zur Erhöhung der Salienz für Fleischprodukte mit höherem Haltungsstandard

In 2019, Germany introduced a uniform, voluntary labeling system for housing conditions of animal products, in order to enhance transparency in this regard. However, these labels are often overlooked. In this context, the present experimental study conducted a virtual supermarket and investigated whether a stronger emphasis on housing condition would lead to an increase in sales of meat products with higher animal welfare standards. To increase consumer attention, various interventions were tested. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, distinguished by the design of the virtual supermarket as follows: (Group 1) Placement of additional banners above the shelves with housing condition labeling cues; (Group 2) Placement of banners as in Group 1 plus additional positioning of housing condition labels next to the price tag; (Group 3) No specific measures. The developed virtual supermarket provided a realistic research infrastructure for data collection, allowing to test the effectiveness of interventions without the need for direct integration into the operations of a real supermarket. Participants showed a very high level of acceptance for both interventions, which resulted in a slight but non-significant increase in the purchase of meat products with higher housing standards. Most participants found the virtual supermarket highly realistic and user-friendly. Future studies can build upon these findings and further enhance the user-friendliness of the virtual supermarket infrastructure, as well as develop the nature of interventions implemented in virtual supermarkets.