What: Plausible deniability is everywhere, and allows customers to escape decisions they would otherwise commit to.

Why it is important: Retailers can not expect customer behaviour to change out of the blue and spontaneously. They need to find ways to help customers evolving, and making them feel good about it. Nudging techniques might help.

It is no secret that customers are willing to consume more responsibly, as they probably sincerely hope to adopt a more sustainable behaviour (2/3 of Americans report reducing their reliance on single-use plastic, 50% report choosing brands based on their environmental performance, and electric vehicles sales are soaring in the US).

However, the reality is delusional compared to the self-declarations: customers may claim to be willing to pay more for green energy, but they do not look for it, and electric vehicles only amount to 10% of annual sales. An experiment with the Salvation Army might bring some explanation: when volunteers (collecting donations) are in front of all doors of any given supermarket, donations are high. But they plummet when volunteers are only at one of the doors. This is the concept of “plausible deniability”: people who are committed and who would have donated otherwise, choose not to do so when given the possibility. It is also better to walk out through the other door than saying no to the Salvation Army, socially speaking. The author suggests that this behaviour might explain the gap between desires and reality when it comes to sustainable consumption.

Nudge actions could be an answer in order to eliminate the plausible deniability. The article provides many actions from other industries, including health and commodities. When it comes to retail and marketing, wiping out the plausible deniability will require coordination amongst industry members and regulators, in order to find ways to stand in front of all the doors.

Nudging customers to help sustainability