Project

Meal Clicks: tracking consumer preferences and demand for online meals ordering

Much of the current literature on food demand, preferences, and consumption habits focuses on food prepared at home, although food prepared away from home (FAFH) counts for nearly half of all food expenditures in the US. With digitalization and meal delivery services increasing FAFH consumption through online ordering, there is an urgent need to understand FAFH consumption patterns and discover mechanisms to encourage healthier and more sustainable consumer FAFH choices, particularly in online settings.

While there are interventions and food policies proven to nudge purchasing and consumption behavior in physical food environments, effects in these conventional choice environments may not translate to digital environments. In this project, we study how different types of interventions in online meal ordering platforms can influence consumer choice. This will help to effectively develop food policies and food service initiatives for healthier food intake in the FAFH context.