Assessing Consumer Willingness to Pay for Nutritional Information Using a Dietary App.

A healthy society is the foundation of development in every country, and one way to achieve a healthy society is to promote healthy nutrition. An unbalanced diet is one of the leading causes of noncommunicable diseases globally. If food was correctly selected and correctly consumed, both the problems of overeating and lack of nutrition could be largely solved while also decreasing public health costs. Interventions such as presenting necessary information and warning labels would help consumers make better food choices. Hence, providing nutritional information to consumers becomes essential. The present study investigates the importance of nutrition information labels on consumers' preferences by estimating their willingness to pay for features and information provided by a dietary software program (app). An application can easily display the information to the consumers and help them make informed food choices. A discrete choice experiment investigated consumers' preferences and willingness to pay to receive nutritional information. Mixed multinomial logit and latent class analysis were applied. The results showed the existence of heterogeneity in consumer preferences for different nutritional information provided by the application. Consumers are willing to pay more for salt and fat alerts. The results of this study allow for the analysis of consumers' interest in nutritional information. Such results are essential for the industry for future investments in similar applications that potentially could help consumers make better informed choices.

Exploring Visitors' Visual Behavior Using Eye-Tracking: The Case of the "Studiolo Del Duca".

Although the understanding of cognitive disciplines has progressed, we know relatively little about how the human brain perceives art. Thanks to the growing interest in visual perception, eye-tracking technology has been increasingly used for studying the interaction between individuals and artworks. In this study, eye-tracking was used to provide insights into non-expert visitors' visual behaviour as they move freely in the historical room of the "Studiolo del Duca" of the Ducal Palace in Urbino, Italy. Visitors looked for an average of almost two minutes. This study revealed which parts of the artefact captured visitors' attention and also gives interesting information about the main patterns of fruition.

Motivations and Barriers for Sheep and Goat Meat Consumption in Europe: A Means-End Chain Study.

This international study involving seven European countries (Italy, UK, Finland, France, Spain, Greece, Turkey) was conducted to explore the relevant reasons that affect both consumer and non-consumer perceptions of sheep and goat meat. Laddering and means-end chain theory were applied. The results indicate that consumers associate sheep and goat meat with a unique taste, authenticity and natural production, linked with values such as health and enjoyment of life. In contrast, non-consumers mainly feel disgusted when they think and feel about these meats, and do not associate any specific health benefits to their consumption, disliking their taste, odour and fat content. This study is based on qualitative research. Only analytical generalizations are possible, expanding the theory on what drives consumer behaviour when purchasing meat. No previous means-end chain studies are available in the literature regarding small ruminants' meat consumer preferences.