Can grocery store managers play the nagging mom role when it comes to eating more fruits and vegetables? Most probably would not want to be known for such tactics, but new research shows stores can get shoppers to make healthier food purchases.
A recent study published in Food Quality and Preference Journal looked at the connection of well-being targets and purchasing behavior in grocery stores in Finland. There were two parts of the study. The first looked at if visual well-being goal primers effect shopper actions and food sales with varying symbolism at a grocery store. During the second study, researchers executed a field experiment to see how several sensory cues could stimulate shopper actions and sales as it related to healthy choices. Olfactory and gustatory cues were used alongside visual priming stimuli to activate well-being goals. Products were chosen that had either comparable or conflicted health images.
Almost 37,500 shoppers went into the store during the monitoring phase, and some of the highlights included:
- The well-being week saw an increase in stops, snack shelf entrances and sale-of-snack items
- Well-being goal-priming made a difference on entrances to the animal protein product shelf, but it did not get a significant number of shoppers to stop. However, minced beef meat package sales suffered
- A heart-healthy food shopping basket visual had a positive impact, and basket sales increased across the well-being goal prime week compared to the control weeks
- Cues for visual well-being goal priming could affect if shoppers stop or change their routing. Meanwhile, change in sales could be associated with foods that have a positive health image
- A test was executed looking at shoppers’ association with three seasonal foods: strawberries, raspberries and carrots. Carrot symbolism was the most effective at promoting well-being foods
- A basil scent had shoppers making healthier choices
- More vegetable and fruit islands during the well-being week did not make a difference in terms of sales and traffic. Also during well-being week shoppers stopped more at the ice cream freezer, but it did not affect sales
- The sales of high-calorie food basket did not change when shoppers were confronted with multisensory well-being goal prime
