About the project

The project addresses a central question: why do consumers sometimes struggle to apply relevant knowledge when making decisions? In digital environments, the answer may lie in how information is presented, how options are arranged or how much pressure consumers face to decide quickly.

Our aim is to understand these processes and develop support that helps consumers make choices aligned with their own needs and priorities.

What do we investigate?

We examine four steps in consumer decision-making: noticing, understanding, verifying and using information. We investigate where difficulties arise, under which conditions and for whom.

The project focuses on three areas:

• Planned purchasing decisions – how digital prompts influence purchasing choices and whether those choices remain consistent with consumers’ prior intentions.

• Subscriptions and other commitment-based offers – how consumers understand total costs, the duration of commitments and cancellation conditions.

• Product claim verification – how consumers assess the credibility of information and use opportunities to verify it.

How do we conduct our research?

The project comprises three connected phases.

1. Understanding decision-making difficulties

We develop digital research environments that simulate realistic purchasing and offer-selection situations. By observing participants’ choices and their use of information, we identify common difficulties in the decision-making process.

2. Developing and testing support

We use these findings to design tools that consumers can choose to activate and use. Through experiments, we test features such as clearer information about long-term costs and opportunities to pause and review an offer before making a commitment.

3. Assessing lasting effects

We investigate whether the tools remain useful over time and whether their benefits extend to different decision-making situations.

Two requirements for effective support. We evaluate each solution from two perspectives: whether it helps consumers make better decisions and whether it preserves their autonomy.

Behavioural change alone is not enough. Consumers should also understand the support offered, perceive it as transparent and remain in control of their choices. This principle underpins the project’s Two-Lens Standard.

What will COMPASS deliver?

The project will generate scientific evidence on consumer decision-making in digital environments and develop the COMPASS Toolkit: a set of tested tools and design guidelines for supporting consumers.

The findings will be relevant to researchers, digital service designers, consumer protection organisations and policymakers.

Experimental study plans will be preregistered, and publications and research materials will be shared in line with open science principles and personal data protection requirements.

Project information

Full title: Consumer Capability and Autonomy for Responsible Choice in Digital Consumption Environments
Acronym: COMPASS
Project reference: IP-2026-7993
Funding organisation: Croatian Science Foundation
Programme: Research Projects
Host institution: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business
Principal Investigator: Andrea Lučić, PhD, Associate Professor
Start date: 1 October 2026
Duration: 36 months