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

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, HCI can potentially help users make better decisions. We developed an interactive information label to assist consumers with retirement saving decision-making. We exposed 446 users to one of four 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 a static information label. Lastly, we found that the label helped novice savers perform nearly as well as expert savers. Author