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Save or Pay : The Framing Effect of a Single-use Cup Fee on Consumer Cup Choice

University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

Introduction This study explores how framing of the single-use cup fee affects consumer choice and reported future intentions of bringing reusable cups to UBC cafés. Based on past studies on prospect theory, we hypothesized a lower likelihood of choosing single-use cups and a higher intention of bringing reusable cups when asked to "pay a fee." UBC charges 25 cents for a single-use cup fee to discourage customers from using single-use cups, but often, coffee shops do not personally inform customers of this charge. Research Question How does the Save and Pay framing influence consumers' cup choice (single-use or reusable cups) and reported future intention of bringing a reusable cup? Methods Participants completed a survey simulating a beverage buying experience and were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Save condition (presented the fee as a potential saving), Pay condition (presented as a potential payment), and Control condition (which automatically added the fee without specific framing). Recruitment was done through social media and in-person outside cafés at UBC. Results The results suggest that neither hypothesis was supported. However, though not significant, the participants in the Save condition were more likely to choose the reusable cup option. There was also a small significant increase in reported future intention of bringing reusable cups in the Save condition. Recommendations We recommend making the 25-cent fee more salient and framing it as a Save within the coffee buying experience. However, future replications - specifically field experiments with bigger and more representative samples - can further help solidify our understanding of the framing effect and determine whether this increase in self-reported future intention of bringing reusable cups translates to behavioural change. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Report

eng

2024-07-30

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88739

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/