Intrinsic and Extrinsic Cue Words of Locally Grown Food Menu Items and Consumers’ Choice at Hyper-Local Restaurants: An Eye-Tracking Study

Abstract

This research examined whether intrinsic (fresh) and extrinsic (local) cue words of locally grown food menu items were associated with consumers’ visual attention (i.e., fixation count and total fixation duration) and menu choice using an eye-tracking methodology and an online survey. Fifty consumers were randomly assigned to read a hyper-local restaurant menu that featured four items (with or without intrinsic or extrinsic cue words) while being eye-tracked. The participants of this study showed a somewhat favorable attitude towards locally grown food though their behaviors were not incongruent with their attitudes. The results showed that there was a relationship between fixation counts and the extrinsic cue word, local, for subsequent menu choices in the way that participants who chose the menu item with the word local appeared to look at it more frequently before making their final menu selection. The participants of this study further identified that factors such as attractive menu descriptions, personal preference, and healthfulness were important when making menu selections. The findings of this study suggested that restaurant operators could use well-crafted descriptions with the word local in their menu, as this approach could influence consumers’ menu selections.

Consumer visual attention to food allergen information on restaurant menus: an eye-tracking study

“…Fifth, due to the exploratory nature of this study, it did not identify each participant's final menu choice and correlate that data with the visual attention metrics of various labeling systems. Additionally, food preference, which is shaped by a wide range of factors, such as personal preference, nutrition, familiarity, ingredients, and willingness to try new food (Conoly and Lee, 2023; Ma and Zhuang, 2021), could have affected the time individuals spent on certain food items. Future studies can incorporate additional questions to capture these factors.…”

Eye-Tracking Studies on Sustainable Food Consumption: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Consumers pay attention to various attributes when choosing food [34,59]. They tend to quickly check all food alternatives, focus on a few food alternatives, and then compare key characteristics (e.g., price, animal feeding, and labels) [35].…”

“…They tend to quickly check all food alternatives, focus on a few food alternatives, and then compare key characteristics (e.g., price, animal feeding, and labels) [35]. Sustainable labels (country-of-origin or organic labels) attract consumers visual attention [21,34,57], but onethird of the consumers are not interested or do not pay attention to them [21,34]. Higher and lower prices receive more visual attention than medium prices [45].…”

“…Higher and lower prices receive more visual attention than medium prices [45]. Visual attention is related to extrinsic cue words such as local and menu choice [34]. Consumers who notice information displays at the point of sale spend more time looking at environmentally friendly products (e.g., certified coffee) than those who do not notice the information [22,39].…”

“…Consumers who notice information displays at the point of sale spend more time looking at environmentally friendly products (e.g., certified coffee) than those who do not notice the information [22,39]. Sustainable criterions are more valued by consumers who spend more time attending to and fixating them [34,57]. Consumers who do not visually pay attention to sustainable logos are ignoring them [58].…”