Enhancing sustainable consumer behaviour through Nudging: Insights from a field experiment on adoption of electronic receipts

This study investigates the effectiveness of nudging interventions in promoting sustainable consumer behaviour by encouraging the adoption of digital receipts over paper ones. Conducted in a digital environment, the field experiment targeted loyal customers of a Latvian retail chain with email-based nudges. The interventions tested digital nudging (modifying choice architecture) and nudging in digital settings (behavioural prompts via email) to assess their impact on reducing paper waste. The results underscore the challenge of driving behavioural change in routine transactions, as the overall treatment effect of our interventions did not exceed 0.5% points. Digital nudges requiring explicit decision-making were slightly more effective, particularly in leveraging second email reminders, which captured late responders. A key challenge was engagement: only 8.6% of recipients opened the emails, highlighting the need for strategies to overcome initial attention barriers. The results demonstrate that nudging through digital channels alone is insufficient to drive large-scale adoption of digital receipts. However, they also point to the importance of combining digital nudging with value-added digital services that address both cognitive and structural barriers in digital environments. An approach that links behavioural interventions with enhanced customer value is essential for advancing sustainable consumption practices in retail.