Do Fruits and Vegetables Have to Be Fully Replenished Throughout the Whole Day? Nudges Against a Source of Food Waste in the Retail Industry

摘要

Food waste is regarded worldwide as an urgent issue,the importance of which will continue to increase in the coming years(Dreyer,Dukovska-Popovska,Yu,and Hedenstierna,2019).In addition to households themselves the retail industry is one of the central sources of food waste: Bakery products and fresh produce account for the largest share of this total: In a recent study by Skeaff,Goodman-Smith,and Mirosa(2019),fresh vegetables accounted for 27% of discarded product.One of the reasons for the food waste that arises here is the constant storage and replenishment of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day: In this way,large quantities of fresh produce have to be stored,which of ten spoil before they can be sold(Magalhaes,Ferreira,and Silva,2019).One starting point for retailers has hardly been considered in research so far: Is it possible to avoid the constant stocking and replenishment of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day,thereby reducing stock levels and the risk of spoiled goods? Although this approach is discussed in the context of avoiding food waste,it is associated with a higher probability of out-of-stock situations(OOS)in the fresh produce department.Previous studies have shown that OOS reduces the buying intention in the department(and throughout the store),negatively affects attitudes and worsens the emotions experienced during shopping(Aastrup and Kotzab,2010;Rani and Velayudhan,2008).The goal of our studies was to observe how consumers react to empty(or almost empty)shelves in the fresh produce department and how the negative effects of OOS situations on buying behaviour can be reduced(or completely negated)by nudges.