Studying the Impact of Product Packaging in a Virtual Store Environment

Summary

Purpose: Examine the impact of nutrition claims on parents' decisions to purchase fruit drinks in a randomized controlled trial in an online virtual convenience store (task 1) and examine the impact of added sugar warnings on parents' snack purchasing decisions in a randomized controlled trial in an online virtual convenience store.

Participants: Participants will consist of approximately 2,500 individuals 18 and older with at least one child ages 1-5. The child 1-5 who had their birthday most recently must have consumed at least one fruit drink in the previous week. Additionally, they will live in the United States and identify as non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, or Hispanic. The panel research company Kantar will recruit individuals from its pool of potential individuals.

Procedures (methods): The investigators will randomize participants to one of 12 versions of a virtual convenience store (iShoppe) and then the participants will complete two shopping tasks in the store. They will select two beverages (task 1) for their child 1-5 who had their birthday most recently, and they will select a snack (task 2) for that same child. After completing the shopping tasks, the participant will complete a survey in Qualtrics. The survey will ask a series of questions about the beverages and snacks (e.g., perceived healthfulness, perceived appeal, intentions to consume products). Questions will also include standard demographic and health related variables.

Conditions

• Obesity, Childhood

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Experimental Drink: Nutrition claim on fruit drinks

Fruit drink contains a nutrition claim (task 1)

BEHAVIORAL

Control Drink: No nutrition claim

Fruit drinks does not contain a nutrition claim (task 1)

BEHAVIORAL

Experimental snack: Text warning

The snack contains a text warning (task 2)

BEHAVIORAL

Experimental snack: Graphic warning

The snack contains a graphic warning (task 2)

BEHAVIORAL

Control snack: barcode label

The snack contains a neutral barcode label (task 2)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

  collaborator NIH

• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Marissa G Hall, PhD · University of North Carolina

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

99 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-05-14

Primary Completion

2020-07-24

Completion

2020-07-24

Countries

• United States

Study Locations