Short-term memory effects of eco-labeling: Evidence from the perceived environmental friendliness of sequential consumer behavior

Can memory of eco-labeling bias how consumption is perceived and influence subsequent consumer decisions? We report three experiments showing that the perceived environmental friendliness of simulated shopping sequences is disproportionately influenced by what happens at the end of the sequence. For example, sequences that ended with a high carbon footprint item were perceived as less environmentally friendly than other sequences with the same content but with items in different order—a recency effect (Experiments 1–3). Judgments depended more on how often environmentally significant items were purchased than on the quantity of those items (Experiment 2). Furthermore, after completing a shopping sequence that was perceived as relatively harmful to the environment, participants were more prone to select a comparably expensive eco-labeled item over a cheaper but less environmentally friendly item in subsequent purchase decisions—a spillover effect (Experiment 3). The results stress the role of memory in environmentally significant consumer behavior.