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Fast Food Online Delivery Purchase Behaviour in the Presence and Absence of Price-based Incentives

NCT07368881 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 600

Last updated 2026-05-01

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Consumption of out-of-home (OOH) food is associated with significantly greater energy and less-healthy nutrient (i.e. fats, salt and sugar) intake. The price of food is a key consideration of food choice, particularly for individuals of lower socioeconomic position (SEP). Little research to date has examined the causal effect of removing price-based incentives on purchasing behaviour in OOH food settings. One online randomised controlled trial explored the effect of removing three types of price-based incentives individually and in combination, on food choice through a virtual food delivery platform. This study found that energy selection was 7-8% lower when price incentives were removed. While not statistically significant, Bayes factors indicted that data comparing control vs "all promotions removed" conditions were inconclusive (BF10 = 0.55) and therefore could not provide support for the alternative or null hypotheses. A limitation of this study is that the outcome was hypothetical food choice. As participants would not pay for or receive their selected meals, the prices of foods may have been less salient, thus reducing the potential for impact. In the present study, exploring real-world consumer behaviour (as opposed to hypothetical choice) will better determine the potential impact of removing price-based incentives in the OOH food sector.

Conditions

  • Food Purchases
  • Eating Behaviour

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Experimental

Food menus will provided with all three types of price promotions removed

BEHAVIORAL

Control

Participants will be asked to select a meal from a pizza outlet with all price-based incentives present (value pricing, price reductions, bulk-buy incentives).

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Liverpool John Moores University

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Bristol

    collaborator OTHER

  • Economic and Social Research Council, United Kingdom

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Liverpool

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-02-24
Primary Completion
2026-06-30
Completion
2026-06-30

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07368881 on ClinicalTrials.gov