REPOSITORY > RESULTS

Abstract

Food and eating environments play a crucial role in shaping consumers' food choices. As
food decision-making shifts more into the digital environment, it is essential to understand
the impact of this setting on consumer's dietary behaviours. Online platforms and mobile
apps provide great opportunities for the promotion of healthier food choices and the
improvement of dietary behaviours. Moreover, food choices are frequently processed
unconsciously, which underscores the importance of creating digital environments that
support healthful decision-making. Ultimately, by leveraging the power of digital
technology and applying effective nudging strategies, consumers' food choices can be
improved, which can further lead to better dietary behaviours and improved overall health.
This doctoral dissertation addresses two main aims. Firstly, it is focusing on
investigating and designing supportive digital environments for consumers, using nudging
strategies, whereas the second aim is focusing on the provision of relevant and accurate
food and nutrition data and knowledge for choice architects. To address these aims, four
studies were conducted. Firstly, a scoping review was conducted to investigate the use of
digital nudging strategies in online grocery stores, and to identify research gaps within this
research area. The review revealed that only a few nudging strategies have been
implemented within online grocery store user-interfaces. Furthermore, the review found
that there was a lack of detailed descriptions of the design elements used. Next, a study to
investigate whether specific design elements of a mobile app could influence consumers'
snack choices, was conducted. This study found that background images may influence
snack choice. The study also highlighted that there is a need for innovative approaches
that integrate food and nutrition data and knowledge to effectively promote healthier food
choices. To address this gap, a user-friendly web-based tool was developed that allows for
easier and more efficient data and knowledge access and management. Lastly, an
experimental online grocery store, where food products were re-positioned based on dietary
fibre content, was designed and tested. This study demonstrated that the integration of
data and knowledge into the development process of user-interface design elements can be
an effective strategy to promote healthier food choices.
The main finding of this thesis is that creating effective digital environments requires a
multi-faceted approach. First, these environments must be designed in a way that promotes
healthier choices, which can be achieved through various nudging strategies. Next, choice
architects responsible for designing the environments must have access to reliable and
evidence-based data and knowledge. This includes integrated and interconnected data from
various resources, to provide them with insights into the latest scientific evidence.
Moreover, data and knowledge need to be transparent, traceable, and accessible by the
choice architects and by information systems, to ensure that the design choices made, are
well-informed and supported by evidence.
In summary, this dissertation adds to the existing literature by creating supportive
digital environments for promoting healthier choices that consider both, user-interface
design and access to relevant data and knowledge. By addressing these two elements, we
can lead to impactful interventions that support consumers in making healthy food choices.