With consumption of bottled water now outpacing carbonated soft drinks, a new study by UConn researchers shows college students buy bottled water based on marketing promotional messages that can be misleading about the quality of bottled water compared to tap water.
The study, published in the journal Communication Research Reports by communication doctoral student Xiaowen Xu, the principal researcher, and Carolyn A. Lin, professor of communication, reviewed prior research about planned behavior, peer influences, the benefits of drinking bottled water, and purchase intentions, and found through additional research that all of those factors are significantly related to the decision of college students to buy bottled water.
Usually advertisers package the product as pure or from natural sources.
Through all of our research, we find most of the misconceptions actually come from advertisements and other promotional material.” The researchers say common misperceptions about bottled water products such as health benefits are reflective of “a lack of objective or science-based knowledge” that can lead to drinking more bottled water.
“It doesn’t matter what it is, like juice boxes, so they’re very accustomed to the idea.
They’re so accustomed to doing these things, it’s habitual behavior.
They don’t stop to think about it.” Lin notes that most people are not aware how the bottled water industry packages tap water that’s filtered, which also can be achieved by using water filters at home.
Xu and Lin also tested factors that would motivate students to buy bottled water in the future.
They found that a key factor is convenience.
“They’re generally aware of the environmental impact, but on the other hand it’s just convenient to get the bottled water.