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The study is published in the open access journal PLOS Medicine.
The study, led by Dr Christina Vogel, senior public health nutrition researcher and Janis Baird, professor of public health and epidemiology at the University’s MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Center, was conducted in partnership with the channel national supermarket Iceland Foods Ltd. places in a selection of Icelandic stores in England and tracks store sales as well as buying and eating habits of a sample of repeat customers.
The results showed that store-wide confectionery sales declined and fruit and vegetable sales increased when non-food items and water were placed at checkouts and at the end of opposite aisles, and that an enlarged fruit and vegetable section has been repositioned near the entrance to the store. Beneficial effects were also observed for the purchase of fruits and vegetables by households and the quality of individual diets.
Speaking of the results of the study, Dr Vogel said, “Changing supermarket layouts could help people make healthier food choices and steer people’s diets towards government dietary recommendations. The results of our study suggest that a healthier store layout could lead to nearly 10,000 more servings of fruits and vegetables and about 1,500 fewer servings of confectionery sold each week in each store. ”
This research is more comprehensive than previous studies testing whether investment strategies can promote healthier food purchases with limited reach, for example by including only one location (i.e. boxes) or by combining healthy and unhealthy products. This study went further, aiming to reduce customer exposure to calorie opportunities by placing non-food items at checkout and at opposite aisle ends and measuring the effects on in-store sales, shopping habits. purchase of loyalty cards and diet for more than one household member.
Matt Downes, Head of Format Development in Iceland, said: “We were delighted to support this long-term study and the assessment of how product placement in supermarkets can affect our customers’ diets. We know that childhood obesity is a growing problem and that the retail industry has a role to play in solving this problem. We hope that the results of the study will provide information to the entire retail industry and policy makers on the impact of in-store merchandising on purchasing decisions.
Professor Baird added: ‘These findings provide new evidence to suggest that the UK government’s planned ban on prominently displayed unhealthy foods in retail outlets could benefit the diets of the population and that effects could be further enhanced if requirements for a product section near supermarket entrances were incorporated into the regulation.
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