We design and conduct an experimental auction to investigate the effects of expiration labeling on consumers’ willingness to pay for food items. The experimental auction examines whether there is a valuation difference between “sell by” and “expires on” food labeling. We find that “sell by” date is perceived as an expiry date and consumers are willing to pay a premium for more clear information. In particular, “expires on” information about food expiry date has a 27% willingness to pay premium over “sell by” type labeling, showing that consumers prefer to avoid uncertainty in expiration information.

中文翻译：

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消费者对食品过期标签的看法：“出售时间”与“过期时间”

我们设计并进行了一次实验性拍卖，以研究过期标签对消费者购买食品的意愿的影响。实验性拍卖会检查“出售日期”和“到期日期”食品标签之间是否存在估值差异。我们发现“销售截止日期”被认为是一个到期日，消费者愿意为更清晰的信息支付溢价。尤其是食品保质期的“有效期”信息比“sell by”类型标签有27%的支付溢价意愿，表明消费者更愿意避免保质期信息的不确定性。