New research has found that assigning sad faces to single bananas can significantly increase sales by 58 percent, offering a unique way to reduce food waste. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Bath, showed that displaying signs depicting lonely bananas with messages evoking compassion in shoppers led to a higher purchase rate compared to neutral or happy signage. These "sad singles" are often overlooked and contribute to the 131 million tons of food wasted annually in the retail sector. By using anthropomorphism as a sales strategy for single produce items, retailers can potentially reduce waste and increase sales.

While price discounts were found to be more effective than sad anthropomorphic signage in boosting sales, the study suggests that using emotional elements can be a practical and easy-to-implement strategy for retailers who are unable or unwilling to reduce prices. By taking a tiered approach and using anthropomorphism as a first step before resorting to discounts, retailers can potentially improve the sales of single produce items and reduce food waste in supermarkets.