Why they buy: the psychology behind produce purchases

In today's competitive retail grocery environment, understanding consumer behavior is key to driving sales — especially when it comes to the produce section.

What exactly is consumer psychology? The University of Southern California describes consumer psychology as a model for understanding how and when consumers buy the products and services that they do. It's “a specialty of psychology that focuses on how consumers relate to the products and services that they buy.”

To gain insight into the psychology behind shopper choices, The Packer spoke with Michael Barbera, chief behavioral officer for Clicksuasion Labs and an award-winning consumer psychologist.

In this conversation, Barbera shares his thoughts on the factors influencing shopper behavior, effective marketing techniques and the “why” behind consumer decisions. His expertise is particularly relevant in the fresh produce aisle where visual appeal, pricing and marketing play a significant role.

(The following has been edited for clarity.)

The Packer: How would you define consumer psychology, and what is the role it plays in influencing consumer behavior as it relates to produce?

Barbera: I'm going to give you two definitions. If you were to combine the fields of microeconomics and applied psychology, you might come out with behavioral economics or consumer psychology. But a more lax definition, I would say, is it's how we justify our decisions as consumers.

My opinion from research is that I think the grocery store is the most persuasive place we can go as a consumer — because there's so much at work. Once you're in the store, the store wants to keep you there. Consumers typically go to the store with a list, but what happens is you're influenced by what is available and that might change your decision. The store's goal is to influence the consumer to spend more money and stay in that store as long as possible.

Specifically for the produce section, are there ways retailers can use display, lighting or promotions to affect consumer behavior?

Absolutely. Let's start our journey in the parking lot. We walk into the grocery store. For most grocery stores, the first thing we see as we enter would be flowers, because flowers are considered the freshest thing on this planet. So when we walk in that front door, we become cognitively primed to think that everything else beyond that front door is equally as fresh.

Now consciously we're not thinking "that macaroni box is really fresh," but subconsciously, we're starting to think everything we see is fresh. Then, you pass the flowers — which, more likely than not, are near the produce section. The location of produce also contributes to the cognitive timing that everything in the store is equally as fresh.

Then, your influence is affected in the produce section. Let's focus on apples for a moment. If the grocer were to proclaim it has the freshest apples in a region and they're only eight months old, consumers would perceive the apples as old and not purchase them.

But instead, the grocer uses a chalkboard sign that says "Gala apples for $1.99" (or whatever the price). What that tells the consumer is that the price recently changed for the market and that the apples are fresh.

Building from that, packaging is persuasive. If a consumer plans to buy two apples at the grocery store, they would typically pick up the two apples and proceed to checkout. However, if the apples are prepackaged in charming white paper bags with handles, the consumer is likely to choose the default option — the bag. These bags might contain four, six or even eight apples, which is more than the consumer originally planned to buy. In this scenario, the packaging becomes persuasive, influencing the consumer to purchase a greater quantity than intended.

That's so interesting. I'm curious, then, what role does color, lighting or scent play in attracting consumers to the produce section?

Let's start with the aesthetics of produce. Most produce, when it's picked or comes from the ground, does not look as beautiful as it does in the store. So the crooked carrots make their way to wholesale for restaurants and only the best unflawed produce makes it in front of the consumer. So, the visual appeal is important, as is the lighting.

Another interesting point: There was a study that measured consumer willingness to buy produce in comparison to when the sprinklers had run in the grocery store. The result of how wet the produce was affected consumer preferences and a decision to buy.

On the contrary, Chiquita Banana has a color chart showing all the different shades of yellow its bananas could be. They match that up to a logistics system to try and have bananas arriving to the retailer when the fruit is turning the appropriate sales color shown on the chart — and thereby influence more sales.

How do pricing strategies like bundling or discounts affect consumer purchases of fresh produce?

Pricing is a tough definition. A consumer will say that pricing is everything, but they'll often pay more for an item based on perception of convenience. It's those small irrational decisions. Consumers will say that price is everything, but then it really comes down to factors such as convenience, color, lighting, the olfactory and the smell of the item as well. All of these small variables add up and contribute to our decision-making process.

Are there notable generational or demographic differences in how consumers shop for produce?

Younger generations tend to be more interested in produce or foods that they haven't been previously introduced to.

Another [difference] is related to socio-economic status. Most people shop with a list, but those with an annual household income of $30,000 and less go to the store with a list and corresponding coupons. They buy what's on sale and make recipes based on those items, regardless of whether it's fresh or not.

You touched on this earlier, but could you go deeper into what are some of the common psychological triggers retailers can use to encourage the purchase of fresh produce?

Packaging is No. 1. What it does is it allows the retailer to influence the consumer's decision.

Another opportunity is to provide customers with recipes so they can experience different cuisines, cooking styles or ingredients. It might influence them to buy something they haven't tried before. And that should be a goal for any business — to expand that customer lifetime value. How much is that customer going to spend with that business or that product over the course of their lifetime?

For example, if the customer typically only buys bananas, oranges, cereal and milk, then they're less likely to try something new. But if they buy bananas, oranges, cereal and milk, and add Brussel sprouts because they read a recipe, now they're willing to try something even beyond that as well. Or at least more likely.

Is nostalgia, like thinking about a grandmother's sweetpotato pie, a factor in a consumer's decision-making?

Nostalgia is extremely persuasive. We all base decisions on nostalgia, both with things we did enjoy and did not enjoy. For example, those of an older generation may be less likely to try something new because they were exposed to a cooking method that led a certain produce to not taste good when they were kids.

A chef told me once that we taste first with our nose and then the smell travels to our brains, and before even registering the taste, our brain recognizes the smell and associates it with a memory that determines whether it's pleasant or not. Is that what you have found?

It is. I have two stories for you. I'm sure you've taken pictures of your food at a restaurant. In that moment, you take a picture of the food, perhaps share it on social media saying how amazing it is, but you haven't even tasted it yet.

The other is if you go back to that olfactory persuasion. Restaurants frequently use smells to influence consumer behavior. So smell and memories absolutely tie in with produce and food preferences. There are so many olfactory marketing tools grocers can use to influence consumer behaviors.