Do we actually look at the carbon footprint of a product in the initial few seconds? An experimental analysis of unconscious eye movements (virtual presentation)

One way of tackling climate change is by providing consumers with information about carbon footprint so that they can make informed ‘green’ choices in their everyday patterns of consumption. Certain products are now appearing with carbon footprint information included. But this information has to compete with other information, which may be of more interest to the consumer. So the question is to what extent consumers attend to carbon footprint information in the time frame that characterises supermarket shopping. This experimental study used remote eye tracking to track people’s eye movements and fixation patterns when they looked at products. It found that with certain products e.g. a low energy light bulb, there was significant attention directed at the carbon footprint in the first five seconds, but there was much less visual attention to carbon footprint on the other products examined. The overall implication is that if we are to combat climate change by providing consumers with carbon footprint information, then we will need to consider much more carefully how to make this information more salient (by targeting both products and people) because if the carbon label is not ‘seen’ in the right time frame, then it simply cannot be effective.