Using Interactive Information Labels to Assist Decision Making Under Uncertainty: The Case for Long-term Saving

TL;DR

This study introduces an interactive information label designed to improve long-term saving decisions under uncertainty, demonstrating its effectiveness especially for novice savers through user experiments.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel interactive label for retirement saving decisions, showing its superiority over static labels in aiding user decision-making under uncertainty.

Findings

Users with the interactive label better achieved their savings goals.

Interactive labels improved decision quality more than static labels.

The label was especially effective for novice savers.

Abstract

Product information labels can help users understand complex information leading them to make better decisions. One area where consumers are particularly prone to make costly decision-making errors is long-term saving, which requires understanding of complex concepts such as uncertainty and trade-offs. While most people are poorly equipped to deal with such concepts, interactive design can potentially help users make better decisions. We developed an interactive information label to assist consumers with retirement saving decision-making. To evaluate it, we exposed 382 users to one of three user interface conditions in a retirement saving simulator where they made 35 yearly decisions under changing circumstances. We found significantly better ability of users to reach their goals with the information label. Furthermore, users who interacted with the label made better decisions than those who were presented with a static information label. Lastly, we found the label particularly effective in helping novice savers.