Calorie Attentiveness; Price Framing, Self-Regulation and Bundle Choice

Obesity has been on the rise over the last decade in the developed world, and policymakers are interested in interventions that promote healthier lifestyles. The restaurant industry, however, continues to promote less healthy but more affordable meals by offering discounted meal deals. In these deals, discounts can be presented (or framed) either in integrated (i.e., lump sum reduction in bundle price) or in segregated (i.e., reduction to the individually priced bundle constituents) formats. Prior research suggests that these pricing strategies are particularly successful amongst low-income consumers, who are more likely to compromise their goal to eat healthily for immediate savings from a less healthy choice. Our study seeks to contribute to the literature on bundle pricing by investigating how the interplay of bundle price framing (i.e., integrated vs. segregated) and calorie attentiveness (i.e., the tendency to display higher levels of self-regulation with regards to calorie intake) can result in conflicting goals. Four hundred members of an online panel participated in the Study for nominal payment (Mage = 23.48, 63.2% female). We applied a between-subjects manipulation of discount framing (integrated vs. segregated) using a meal bundle context for cinema snacks. Participants were asked to complete a brief survey indicating their preference for the meal bundle, calorie attentiveness levels, self-regulation orientations, and socio-economic characteristics. In line with our predictions, the results reveal that calorie attentive consumers are more likely to forgo the meal deal compared to calorie inattentive consumers. However, this effect is attenuated when price discounts are presented in an integrated format and, in particular, for consumers with a promotion-focus regulatory orientation.