Search Results (12)

The adoption of sustainable food products by consumers is often hindered by both perceived and actual barriers within retail environments. This study investigates the interaction between the objective availability of sustainable food, its in-store visibility, and consumer perceptions of and discourses about these aspects, specifically examining how these factors contribute to socio-spatial disparities in access within an urban context (Turin, Italy). The research combined qualitative interviews with 50 consumers—to understand their perceptions and purchasing criteria—with quantitative observations of the presence and presentation of products in 56 supermarkets and 28 open-air markets across different socio-economic areas. The findings indicate that while sustainable products are more widely available than commonly perceived, their visibility (shelf positioning, signage) is significantly lower in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. This “invisibility” creates a crucial perceptual barrier, particularly for consumers who rely on immediate environmental cues and efficient shopping strategies, thus limiting purchases despite the actual presence of the products. The study concludes that in-store presentation strategies are critical mediators of perceived availability, disproportionately affecting consumers in lower socio-economic contexts and highlighting an innovative dimension of food access inequality that calls for targeted interventions at both the retail and policy levels. Full article

Grocery store environments are recognized as one of the most crucial community settings for developing and maintaining healthy nutritional behaviors in children. This is especially true for disadvantaged ethnic minority families, such as immigrants, who reside in the Detroit Metropolitan area and have historically experienced inequities that result in poor health outcomes. Rates of obesity and type II diabetes have affected Detroit 38% more than the rest of the state and nationwide. In 2019, almost 54% of children aged 0–17 in Metro Detroit lived in poverty, and 21.6% experienced food insecurity, compared with the state level of 14.2%. Moreover, nearly 50% of ethnic minority children in Metro Detroit consume sports drinks, and 70% consume soda or pop in an average week. The primary purpose of this study was to explore immigrant parents’ perspectives on (1) how in-store Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) marketing impacts the purchasing behaviors of parents and the eating behaviors of toddlers, and the secondary objective was to (2) determine strategies to reduce SSB purchases and consumption within grocery environments from the viewpoints of immigrant parents. A qualitative multiple-case study design was used to achieve the aims of this study. Semi-structured individual interviews were completed with 18 immigrant parents of children aged 2 to 5 years old who were consumers in 30 independently owned full-service grocery stores within the immigrant enclaves of Detroit, Dearborn, Hamtramck, and Warren, Michigan. Three key thematic categories emerged from the parents’ narratives. These themes were: (1) non-supportive grocery store environments; (2) acculturation to the American food environment; and (3) strategies to support reduced SSB consumption among young immigrant children. The findings of this study revealed widespread SSB marketing targeting toddlers within the participating independently owned grocery stores. Even if families with young children practiced healthy nutritional behaviors, the prices, placements, and promotion of SSBs were challenges to establishing and sustaining these healthy eating habits. The parents believed that planning and implementing retail-based strategies in collaboration with families and considering families’ actual demands would assist in managing children’s eating patterns and reducing early childhood obesity. Full article

Effective policies that address both the supply and demand dimensions of access to affordable, healthy foods are required for tackling malnutrition in South East Asia. This paper presents the Protocol for the South East Asia Obesogenic Food Environment (SEAOFE) study, which is designed to analyze the retail food environment, consumers’ and retailers’ perspectives regarding the retail food environment, and existing policies influencing food retail in four countries in South East Asia in order to develop evidence-informed policy recommendations. This study was designed as a mixed-methods sequential explanatory approach. The country sites are Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. The proposed study consists of four phases. Phase One describes the characteristics of the current retail food environment using literature and data review. Phase Two interprets consumer experience in the retail food environment in selected urban poor communities using a consumer-intercept survey. This phase also assesses the retail food environment by adapting an in-store audit tool previously validated in higher-income countries. Phase Three identifies factors influencing food retailer decisions, perceptions, and attitudes toward food retail policies using semi-structured interviews with selected retailers. Phase Four recommends changes in the retail food environment using policy analysis and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. For the analysis of the quantitative data, descriptive statistics and multiple regression will be used, and thematic analysis will be used to process the qualitative data. This study will engage stakeholders throughout the research process to ensure that the design and methods used are sensitive to the local context. Full article

Building a unique USP sales argument (unique selling proposition) through various forms of in-store communication comes to the fore in a challenging competitive environment. Scent as a means to influence the purchase of goods or services has a long history, however, aromachology as field of in-store communication is a matter of the present. This new trend, the importance and use of which has grown in recent years, is the subject of a wide range of research. In order to increase the efficiency of these elements, it is necessary to familiarise ourselves with the factors that affect the customer, whether that be consciously or unconsciously. Consumer neuroscience is addressed in this area. This paper deals with the comprehensive interdisciplinary investigation of the impact of selected aromatic compounds on consumer cognitive and affective processes as well as assessing the effectiveness of their implementation in food retail operations. At the end of the paper, we recommend options for the effective selection and implementation of aromatisation of different premises, by which the retailer can achieve not only a successful form of in-store communication, but also an increase the retail turnover of the store. Full article

Supermarket environments can strongly influence purchasing decisions. Price promotions are recognised as a particularly persuasive tactic, but the healthiness of price promotions in prominent in-store locations is understudied. This study compared the prevalence and magnitude of price promotions on healthy and unhealthy food and beverages (foods) displayed at prominent in-store locations within Australian supermarkets, including analyses by supermarket group and area-level socio-economic position. A cross-sectional in-store audit of price promotions on foods at key display areas was undertaken in 104 randomly selected stores from major Australian supermarket groups (Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and independents) in Victoria, Australia. Of the display space dedicated to foods with price promotions, three of the four supermarket groups had a greater proportion of display space devoted to unhealthy (compared to healthy) foods at each promotional location measured (end of aisles: 66%; island bins: 53%; checkouts: 88%). Aldi offered very few price promotions. Few measures varied by area-level socio-economic position. This study demonstrated that price promotions at prominent in-store locations in Australian supermarkets favoured unhealthy foods. Marketing of this nature is likely to encourage the purchase of unhealthy foods, highlighting the need for retailers and policy-makers to consider addressing in-store pricing and placement strategies to encourage healthier food environments. Full article

The role of the retail food environment in obesity risk is unclear, which may be due in part to the lack of consideration of individual differences in the responsivity to food cues. This cross-sectional investigation geo-temporally linked the CARTaGENE biobank (including genetic, dietary, lifestyle, and anthropometric data) with in-store retail food environment data to examine interactions between a polygenic risk score (PRS) for obesity and (1) diet quality (n = 6807) and (2) in-store retail food measures (n = 3718). The outcomes included adiposity-related measures and diet quality assessed using the 2010 Canadian-adapted Healthy Eating Index. A vegetable:soft drink ratio was constructed for each retail measure to assess the relative healthfulness of exposures. Generalized linear models adjusted for individual and neighborhood socio-demographic factors were used to evaluate main and interactive effects. Diet quality significantly modified the association between polygenic risk of obesity and body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat percent. A significant interaction was also observed between PRS and regular price of vegetables in relation to soft drinks on waist circumference. These results replicate previous reports of diet moderating polygenic risk of obesity and suggest that prices of low vs. high-energy density foods are an intervention target to address population obesity rates. Full article

This review examines current research on manipulations of U.S. food retail environments to promote healthier food purchasing and consumption. Studies reviewed use marketing strategies defined as the 4Ps (product, price, placement, promotion) to examine results based on single- and multi-component interventions by study design, outcome, and which of the “Ps” was targeted. Nine electronic databases were searched for publications from 2010 to 2019, followed by forward and backward searches. Studies were included if the intervention was initiated by a researcher or retailer, conducted in-store, and manipulated the retail environment. Of the unique 596 studies initially identified, 64 studies met inclusion criteria. Findings show that 56 studies had at least one positive effect related to healthier food consumption or purchasing. Thirty studies used single-component interventions, while 34 were multi-component. Promotion was the most commonly utilized marketing strategy, while manipulating promotion, placement, and product was the most common for multi-component interventions. Only 14 of the 64 studies were experimental and included objective outcome data. Future research should emphasize rigorous designs and objective outcomes. Research is also needed to understand individual and additive effects of multi-component interventions on sales outcomes, substitution effects of healthy food purchases, and sustainability of impacts. Full article

Implementing interventions that manipulate food store environments are one potential strategy for improving dietary behaviors. The present study evaluated intervention effects, from the El Valor de Nuestra Salud (The Value of Our Health) study, on in-store environmental changes within Latino/Hispanic-focused food stores (tiendas). Sixteen tiendas were randomly assigned to either: a six-month structural and social food store intervention or a wait-list control condition. Store-level environmental measures of product availability, placement, and promotion were assessed monthly from baseline through six-months post-baseline using store audits. Linear mixed effects models tested for condition-by-time interactions in store-level environmental measures. Results demonstrated that the intervention was successful at increasing the total number of fruit and vegetable (FV) promotions (p < 0.001) and the number of FV promotions outside the produce department (p < 0.001) among tiendas in the intervention versus control condition. No changes in product availability or placement were observed. Results suggests changing the marketing mix element of promotions within small stores is measurable and feasible in an in-store intervention. Difficulties in capturing changes in product availability and placement may be due to intervention implementation methods chosen by tiendas. It is important to build upon the lessons learned from these types of interventions to disseminate evidence-based in-store interventions. Full article

Food purchasing and consumption behaviors have implications for nutrition and obesity. Food retail environments, in particular, shape customer food choices and energy intake. The marketing literature offers insights about how public health practitioners can work within food retail environments to encourage healthy food choices. We reviewed experimental studies in the marketing literature to examine factors influencing customer purchase intentions and choice for food products in retail stores. Database searches were conducted in February 2016 for original, empirical articles published in English from 2000–2015 in marketing journals. Each research article included at least one experimental design study conducted in a real or simulated retail environment with purchase intentions or choice of food products as an outcome variable. Backward and forward reference searches were conducted for articles meeting inclusion criteria. Narrative synthesis methods were used to thematically group and summarize the findings of forty-one articles that met inclusion criteria into three categories: shelf display and product factors, pricing and price promotion factors, and in-store and customer decision-making factors. This research contributes to the literature by providing specific and actionable approaches that can increase/decrease customer purchase intentions and choice for food products in retail environments. Translating marketing strategies into public health applications can provide recommendations for future intervention research and policy related to customer food purchasing behavior. Full article

In high-income countries, obesity disproportionately affects those from disadvantaged and rural areas. Poor diet is a modifiable risk factor for obesity and the food environment a primary driver of poor diet. In rural and disadvantaged communities, it is harder to access affordable and nutritious food, affecting both food insecurity and the health of rural residents. This paper aims to describe the food environment in a rural Australian community (approx. 7000 km² in size) to inform the development of community-relevant food supply interventions. We conducted a census audit of the food environment (ground truthing) of a local government area (LGA). We used the Nutrition Environment Measurement tools (NEMS-S and NEMS-R) to identify availability of a range of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the relative price of a healthy compared to a less healthy option of a similar food type (e.g., bread), the quality of fresh produce and any in-store nutrition promotion. Thirty-eight food retail outlets operated at the time of our study and all were included, 11 food stores (NEMS-S) and 27 food service outlets (NEMS-R). The mean NEMS-S score for all food stores was 21/54 points (39%) and mean NEMS-R score for all food service outlets was 3/23 points (13%); indicative of limited healthier options at relatively higher prices. It is difficult to buy healthy food beyond the supermarkets and one (of seven) cafés across the LGA. Residents demonstrate strong loyalty to local food outlets, providing scope to work with this existing infrastructure to positively impact poor diet and improve food security. Full article

(1) Background: This study aimed to explore and define socio-economic (SES) differences in urban school food environments in The Netherlands. (2) Methods: Retail food outlets, ready-to-eat products, in-store food promotions and food advertisements in public space were determined within 400 m walking distance of all secondary schools in the 4th largest city of The Netherlands. Fisher’s exact tests were conducted. (3) Results: In total, 115 retail outlets sold ready-to-eat food and drink products during school hours. Fast food outlets were more often in the vicinity of schools in lower SES (28.6%) than in higher SES areas (11.5%). In general, unhealthy options (e.g., fried snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB)) were more often for sale, in-store promoted or advertised in comparison with healthy options (e.g., fruit, vegetables, bottled water). Sport/energy drinks were more often for sale, and fried snacks/fries, hamburgers/kebab and SSB were more often promoted or advertised in lower SES areas than in higher SES-areas. (4) Conclusion: In general, unhealthy food options were more often presented than the healthy options, but only a few SES differences were observed. The results, however, imply that efforts in all school areas are needed to make the healthy option the default option during school time. Full article

Retail food environments have received attention for their influence on dietary behaviors and for their nutrition intervention potential. To improve diet-related behaviors, such as fruit and vegetable (FV) purchasing, it is important to examine its relationship with in-store environmental characteristics. This study used baseline data from the “El Valor de Nuestra Salud” study to examine how in-store environmental characteristics, such as product availability, placement and promotion, were associated with FV purchasing among Hispanic customers in San Diego County. Mixed linear regression models indicated that greater availability of fresh FVs was associated with a $0.36 increase in FV purchasing (p = 0.01). Placement variables, specifically each additional square foot of display space dedicated to FVs (p = 0.01) and each additional fresh FV display (p = 0.01), were associated with a $0.02 increase and $0.29 decrease, respectively, in FV purchasing. Introducing FV promotions in the final model was not related to FV purchasing. Exploratory analyses indicated that men reported spending $3.69 fewer dollars on FVs compared to women, controlling for covariates (p = 0.02). These results can help inform interventions targeting in-store environmental characteristics to encourage FV purchasing among Hispanics. Full article