We Asked Users
This survey was presented to a prequalified TCD audience in contextually relevant web articles and newsletters.
Survey participants self-selected two times, first when deciding to consume the host content and then again when deciding to participate in the survey.
What's your biggest motivation in trying to reduce your personal food waste?
Please select one.
What's your biggest motivation in trying to reduce your personal food waste?Survey Results
2,356 Waste Focus:
1,354 Money Focus:
850
Aggregate Insights
The strong plurality of votes for "Not being a wasteful person" suggests that consumers relate to food waste on a personal and moral level more strongly than they do on a cause/effect level.
The personal and moral dimensions of food waste underscore the importance of avoiding shame- and guilt-based messaging and focusing instead on opportunities for consumers to live up to their own values and see themselves as the kind of people they want to be.
Further polling could explore the various emotional roots of not wanting to be a wasteful person — e.g., outward-facing concerns about food security inequality vs. inward-facing concerns about taking abundance for granted — across different demographics to inform initiative and messaging strategies for specific audience segments.
Contextual splits are determined by the topical focus and interests of the audience members participating in the survey, as described in more detail in the Insights and Methodolgy sections below.
2,356 Waste Focus:
1,354 Money Focus:
850
Split Insights
Among audiences consuming morally inflammatory content about egregious instances of food waste, the desire to not be a wasteful person was almost 50% more pronounced than among audiences consuming neutral content about reducing food waste around the house.
The results suggest that presenting an audience with egregious instances of food waste has the potential to activate their desire — partly virtuous, partly vain — to be better and less wasteful people.
Further polling could test how presenting different kinds of food waste scenarios can make morally activated consumers more or less interested in specific kinds of action — e.g., shopping smarter at the grocery store vs. using leftovers more effectively vs. composting food scraps.
Methodology
This poll was conducted among a prequalified TCD audience of likely adopters via distribution in 16 syndicated web articles. It received a total of 4,976 responses and generated segmented data across 2 primary contextual splits.
TCD surveys are embedded inline in contextually relevant web articles and newsletters. Survey participants self-select two times, first when deciding to consume the host content and then again when deciding to participate in the survey.
Contextual splits are determined by the topical focus and interests of the audience members participating in the survey. Split analysis explores the degree to which different messages — and the self-selected participants who seek them out — can shape consumer sentiment.
