Nudging in a retail environment : a consumer perspective

Several success stories have demonstrated the ability of nudges to steer individual behavior that are good for themselves and/or for the society (Singler, 2015; Ebert and Freibichler, 2017) and have led many public and private organizations to consider them. Research into the implementation of nudges by private commercial organizations remains rare, despite the fact that this communication technique is likely to be an important lever for promoting behaviors that represent individual or collective well-being, such as the consumption of healthy products (e.g. fruit and vegetables) or the reduction of waste, as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy. The fact that nudges act "without the awareness of the individual" (Lin et al., 2017, p. 301), or can be considered "a threat to our moral autonomy" (Villaran, 2017, p. 479), has been the subject of an ethical debate in the academic community over the past decade (Bovens, 2009; Ménard, 2010; Blumenthal-Barby and Burroughs, 2012; Craig et al, 2013; Sunstein, 2015; Schubert, 2016). It is likely, however, that individuals' perception of the ethical dimension of a nudge differs according to the situation in which they find themselves and the nature of the sender, in particular whether or not the latter has a commercial vocation. Since commercial sources tend to be considered less credible than non-commercial ones (eReid, Soley and Vanden Bergh, 1981), we may indeed wonder whether the use of a nudge by a private commercial organization to promote a behavior, a product or a service that is good for the individual and/or the community might not be considered a pseudo-ethical practice that in reality conceals a commercial technique aimed more at profit than at the public good. The aim of this research is therefore to study consumers' perceptions of the ethical nature of nudges implemented by retailers, which are indeed key operators in guiding individuals towards responsible products or behaviors.