Combining eye tracking with economic experiments to measure willingness to pay: Case: Packaging redesign for a ready meal (17)

Willingness to pay (WTP) measurement using economic experiments aims to explore new market opportunities for new products or packaging redesigns. Both hypothetical and non-hypothetical WTP studies can be conducted; in the latter the participants are instructed to bring real money (i.e. cash or card) with them. Eye tracking is applied to objectively measure consumers' attention and spontaneous responses to a new package design of a premium ready-made food portion. The combination of eye tracking and WTP will envision consumer choices and help determine the right price for the market introduction of a new design. This paper explores the benefits and challenges of applying willingness to pay (WTP) measurement with eye tracking data. The data consist of 197 respondents in choice experiments conducted in November 2015, of which 185 had eye tracking data recorded. To measure the WTP, both hypothetical (n=93) and non-hypothetical (n=92) choice experiments were used to gain a better understanding of the gap between the stated and revealed WTP. We also combined these methods with the eye tracking measurement. The eye tracking equipment was a remote eye tracker installed on the bottom of a computer screen or 144-inch projection screen. In the hypothetical choice experiment, the participants were given 8 different choice sets without requirement to actually buy any products during the experiment. For the participants in the non-hypothetical treatment, one choice set was randomly selected as binding, and the subjects had the opportunity to buy the product they chose in the randomly selected choice task. This paper uses experimental economics techniques and eye tracking technology to explore consumers' food choices and WTP. Special emphasis will be given to the design, implementation and examination of the possibilities and restrictions of the applied methods.