A sign with a sad banana and the text "We are sad singles who also want to be bought" significantly increased the sales of single bananas, according to a new study.
Happy bananas also attracted a few more customers, but not nearly as many as the sad ones. The sign with a sad banana increased sales by 58 percent compared to a neutral sign, while the happy banana only increased sales by 5.4 percent.
Lisa Eckermann, a doctor at the University of Bath and one of the researchers behind the study, points out that the need to belong to a community is one of our most fundamental drives and that the sad bananas appeal to consumers' empathy.
Putting sad facial expressions on bananas may seem cute, but there is a serious purpose. The study shows that this is a simple, inexpensive, and effective measure for retailers.
Single bananas that have been separated from their bunch account for 131 million tons of food waste in retail according to the UN Environment Programme UNEP.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Bath, the Technical University of Aachen, and Goethe University in Frankfurt and is published in the journal Psychology & Marketing.
