Is there a Link between Sustainability, Perception and Buying Decision at the Point of Sale?

Abstract Background If retailers and brand manufacturers of food succeed in presenting their products at the point of sale, quickly generating a high level of attention, the likelihood of a purchase is significantly increased. Particularly, in recent years, they have been relying on the megatrend of sustainability. The importance of sustainable food has grown accordingly. Hence, an increasing number of manufacturers are challenged to communicate the sustainability of their products via packaging and displays at the point of sale. Objectives The aim of this article is: to examine to what extent the design of individual packaging and display elements of new sustainable direct juice succeeds in visually communicating sustainability aspects. At the same time the willingness to pay of customers interested in sustainability must be commercialized. Methods/Approach The focus is on a real shopping situation in conditions that are as regular as possible. The perception of a display must be recorded by eye-tracking technology. A preliminary survey must examine consumers' attitudes towards sustainable food in order to relate it to the perception of individual display elements. For this purpose, the eye-tracking technology was combined with a survey of 32 customers. Results The results demonstrate that customers with a positive attitude towards sustainable food behave in the following way: they fix individual packaging and display elements that refer to sustainable components for a longer period of time; they remember product features better and they tend to have a slightly higher willingness to pay for the sustainable direct juice. Conclusions The configuration of an authentic and natural shopping situation provides the manufacturer with concrete recommendations for the design of the display. This communicates the sustainability of its product and thus generates the desired attention.