IMPACT
The ROI of Behavioural Science
Why Megastudies Matter
In the world of marketing, understanding what truly drives consumer action is a persistent challenge. Behavioural outcomes are shaped by context, emotion, and perception—making it difficult to determine which strategy will deliver results. That’s why at Accurment, we rely on behavioural megastudies to cut through the noise.
A megastudy is a large-scale field experiment that tests dozens of behavioural strategies simultaneously, across the same population and outcome. Instead of comparing isolated A/B tests or relying on intuition, megastudies give us head-to-head comparisons of real-world marketing interventions. They show not just if something works, but how well it works relative to other options.
For marketers, this means practical, data-backed answers to questions like: What messaging converts best? Which nudge drives sign-ups? Which framing shifts behaviour most efficiently?
How We Synthesised the Evidence
We reviewed 8 megastudies published between 2016 and 2024 in leading academic journals (e.g., Nature, PNAS, Science) to understand the power of behavioural science in action.
These studies span:
Each study tested multiple interventions—typically 10 to 50—in real-world settings with sample sizes ranging from tens of thousands to millions. To generate a business-relevant estimate, we calculated a weighted average across interventions that demonstrated a statistically significant lift in behaviour, adjusting for the size of each study.
The ROI of Behavioural Insight
Across 8 megastudies and more than 6.8 million participants, behavioural science strategies led to an average 13.5% lift in key behavioural outcomes.
Whether it’s driving sign-ups, increasing conversion, encouraging honesty, or improving engagement—behavioural science works. And because these nudges are often low-cost, subtle, and scalable, the return on investment is especially compelling.
In the world of marketing, understanding what truly drives consumer action is a persistent challenge. Behavioural outcomes are shaped by context, emotion, and perception—making it difficult to determine which strategy will deliver results. That’s why at Accurment, we rely on behavioural megastudies to cut through the noise.
A megastudy is a large-scale field experiment that tests dozens of behavioural strategies simultaneously, across the same population and outcome. Instead of comparing isolated A/B tests or relying on intuition, megastudies give us head-to-head comparisons of real-world marketing interventions. They show not just if something works, but how well it works relative to other options.
For marketers, this means practical, data-backed answers to questions like: What messaging converts best? Which nudge drives sign-ups? Which framing shifts behaviour most efficiently?
How We Synthesised the Evidence
We reviewed 8 megastudies published between 2016 and 2024 in leading academic journals (e.g., Nature, PNAS, Science) to understand the power of behavioural science in action.
These studies span:
- Health marketing (e.g. nudges to increase flu or COVID vaccinations)
- Fitness and habit formation (e.g. driving gym attendance)
- Civic engagement (e.g. reducing polarisation and boosting participation)
- Education and productivity (e.g. influencing teacher and student outcomes)
- Ethical behaviour (e.g. honesty in tax declarations)
- Climate communication (e.g. countering disinformation)
Each study tested multiple interventions—typically 10 to 50—in real-world settings with sample sizes ranging from tens of thousands to millions. To generate a business-relevant estimate, we calculated a weighted average across interventions that demonstrated a statistically significant lift in behaviour, adjusting for the size of each study.
The ROI of Behavioural Insight
Across 8 megastudies and more than 6.8 million participants, behavioural science strategies led to an average 13.5% lift in key behavioural outcomes.
Whether it’s driving sign-ups, increasing conversion, encouraging honesty, or improving engagement—behavioural science works. And because these nudges are often low-cost, subtle, and scalable, the return on investment is especially compelling.