Checkout trends keep Poole/Warrington research in the news

In the five years since NC State Poole Associate Professor Stefanie Robinson (BSBA ’03), St. Louis University Chaifetz School of Business Associate Professor Katie Kelting (BSBA ’03, MS ’06) and Peter S. Sealey, PhD Professor of Marketing Richard Lutz published research on charitable giving at store checkout counters, the practice has proliferated. More than half of Americans donate while shopping, according to one recent study.

As charitable checkout requests have grown, so has interest in the 2019 research on how consumers respond to different types of donation requests. In May, The Associated Press referenced the study in an article about Domino’s Pizza’s $174 million commitment to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

In “​​Would You Like to Round Up and Donate the Difference? Roundup Requests Reduce the Perceived Pain of Donating,” Robinson, Kelting and Lutz tested two different ways of requesting donations at retail checkout counters: asking that shoppers round up their total bill or requesting a flat amount.

Read more about the study in a Q&A with Robinson on the NC State Poole Thought Leadership blog.