How a shift in menu position increases an item’s popularity by over 50%
Abstract
Throughout the world, obesity has tripled between 1975 and 2021.1 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), most of the world’s population live in countries where mortality rates from obesity are higher than of those who are dangerously underweight.1 A team of researchers sought to uncover whether nudges can tackle this problem. Does the placement of food items on a menu influence what food people order? Their results from 2 studies, geared toward restaurants and menu consultants, showed a 55% and 56% increase in popularity, “when an item was moved from the exact middle to the extreme end.”2
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Sources
- World Health Organization. (2021, June 9). Obesity and overweight. World Health Organization. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight.
- Dayan, Eran & Bar-Hillel, Maya. (2011). Nudge to nobesity II: Menu positions influence food orders. Judgment and Decision Making. 6. 333-342.
