From perception to purchase: evaluating physical versus psychological benefit messages in grocery retail

Purpose Promoting healthier food choices in retail environments is a critical challenge for public health. In-store communication strategies that emphasize well-being benefits may help overcome these barriers. This study investigates whether messages highlighting physical versus psychological benefits can influence consumer perceptions and purchasing behavior, and whether congruence between the benefit emphasized and the benefit sought by consumers enhances message effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach A multi-method design combined a laboratory pre-test, an in-store quasi-experiment in three supermarkets and sales data analysis. Communication stimuli framed either physical or psychological benefits and were implemented through shelf strips, banners and displays. Measures included perceived healthiness, advertising effectiveness, behavioral intentions and actual purchases, with congruence between message framing and consumer motivation as a key moderator. Findings Results revealed that congruence between the benefit emphasized and consumers' motivational orientation significantly improved evaluations of display healthiness and advertising effectiveness, although no differences emerged for product-level perceptions or behavioral intentions. Sales analysis showed heterogeneous effects: psychological appeals drove a significant increase in purchases in one experimental store, while physical benefit framing did not produce meaningful changes. Generally speaking, the findings demonstrate that congruence effects observed in controlled settings weaken under conditions of limited attention and reduced message visibility typical of retail environments. Originality/value The main aim of the paper is to test the impact of the personalization in a high distracting environment. This research contributes by examining framing congruence effects across laboratory, field and scanner-based sales data within an actual retail environment.