Customers food choices can be improved by switching to healthier supermarket layout: Study

Recent research from the University of Southampton has suggested that replacing confectionery and other unhealthy products with fruits and vegetables from checkouts and nearby aisles prompts customers to make healthier food purchases. The study, which has been published in the journal PLOS Medicine, showed that store-wide confectionery sales decreased and fruit and vegetable sales increased when healthier food items were placed at checkouts. 

An expanded fruit and vegetable section was also repositioned near the store entrance which led to increased sales of healthier food items. Additionally, beneficial effects were also observed for fruit and vegetable purchasing. The study was led by Dr Christina Vogel, Principal Research Fellow in Public Health Nutrition and Janis Baird, Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology at the University's MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre.

Healthier store layout

The survey was conducted in partnership with Iceland Foods Ltd. It had taken place in a selection of Iceland stores in England. Researchers had monitored store sales, and also the purchasing and dietary patterns of regular customers. 

While speaking about the results of the study, Dr Vogel said, “Altering the layouts of supermarkets could help people make healthier food choices and shift population diet towards the government's dietary recommendations. The findings of our study suggest that a healthier store layout could lead to nearly 10,000 extra portions of fruit and vegetables and approximately 1,500 fewer portions of confectionery being sold on a weekly basis in each store.”

The researchers said that the recent study is more comprehensive as it tests whether placement strategies can promote healthier food purchasing. The study also aims to reduce customers’ exposure to calorie opportunities by placing healthier food items at checkout and aisle-ends opposite and measuring effects on store sales, customer loyalty card purchasing patterns, and the diets of more than one household member. 

Head of Format Development at Iceland, Matt Downes, said, "We have been pleased to support this long-term study and the evaluation of how product placement in supermarkets can affect the diets of our customers. We know that childhood obesity is a growing issue and the retail industry has its part to play in tackling this. We hope that the outcomes of the study provide insights for the wider retail industry and policymakers about the impact of store merchandising on purchasing decisions." 

Separately, Prof Baird added, "These results provide novel evidence to suggest that the intended UK government ban on the prominent placement of unhealthy foods across retail outlets could be beneficial for population diet and that effects may be further enhanced if requirements for a produce section near supermarket entrances were incorporated into the regulation."

(With inputs from ANI)