Exploring the role of memory and point-of-purchase promotion on food choice: insights from an eye-tracking study

Purpose This research investigates how consumers’ prior knowledge and attention to labeling information influence their choices and willingness to pay (WTP) for Medjool dates. While previous studies have explored the link between attention and choice, this study advances the literature by combining stored (memory-based) knowledge with external (labeling) information, offering new insights into food choice behavior. Design/methodology/approach Choice experiments are combined with eye-tracking observations in a laboratory study to elicit consumer attention and choice-making processes. A free-elicitation technique is used to assess participants’ stored knowledge. Findings The results show how package labeling influences visual attention during decision-making and how this interacts with consumers’ stored knowledge to shape food choices. Findings showed that 16% of stored knowledge related to intrinsic quality cues like taste, compared with 3% for extrinsic cues like brand names. Notably, 33% of memory associations were experience attributes – qualities consumers can only evaluate after purchase – while 30% were credence attributes, which must be communicated through labeling for pre-purchase assessment. Originality/value Though many consumer choice studies exist, few examine how memory and point-of-purchase information together affect decision-making. Focusing on packaged fruit, this study clarifies the relationship between memory, labeling and food choice, and offers new insights on Medjool dates – an economically important yet understudied crop.