Cameron McRae ^1,2* Laurette Dubé ^1,2

• ¹ Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
• ² McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Availability bias influences decisions by how readily certain events, objects, or people can be brought to mind. This "out of sight, out of mind" effect depends on whether these elements are present during decision-making. To promote sustainable food consumption, understanding this bias is crucial, as marketing promotions exhibit heterogeneity in terms of the salience and recency with which they are administered. Our research examines the impact of different promotions on the demand for plant-based food products and their interaction with price sensitivity. We analyzed weekly purchases of 21 plant-based beverage brands across 242 stores in Quebec, Canada, from 2015 to 2016 using two-level mixed-effect regression models across four studies. Results from Study 1 indicate that flyer promotions delivered both before and at the moment of decision-making are most effective (B=0.417, p<0.001), compared to mobile promotions delivered only before (B=0.233, p<0.001) or in-store promotions at the moment of decision (B=0.073, p<0.001). Of the mobile promotions evaluated in Study 2, advertisements promoting bonus loyalty points were the most effective in driving demand (B=0.776, p<0.001), followed by general advertisements (B=0.125, p<0.001). Demand was elastic across all models, and most promotions increased price sensitivities in Studies 3 and 4 regardless of their salience or recency. The findings highlight the synergistic effect of promotional elements delivered both before and at the decision-making moment in overcoming availability bias to boost demand for sustainable products. However, frequent promotions may increase price sensitivities due to anchoring to promotional prices. This article has implications for theory and practice.