Healthier Supermarkets: Aligning Retailer and Consumer Perspectives on Evidence-Based Strategies to Improve Purchase Behaviour.

BACKGROUND/

objectivesDespite promising evidence for the influence of in-store supermarket initiatives to improve the healthiness of retail food environments, both retailer and consumer perspectives have not been examined simultaneously. The objectives of this research were to examine evidence-based initiatives through (1) measuring retailer perspectives on factors likely to influence uptake; (2) collecting consumer perspectives on which are most likely to promote healthier purchasing behaviour; and (3) synthesising findings to identify 'win-win-win' strategies across evidence, and stakeholder perspectives.

methodsInitiatives were drawn from scientific evidence across five overarching strategies: pricing, proximity, prompting, promotion, and healthy default picks. Retailers additionally assessed a sixth category, 'promotion plus', comprising multi-component initiatives that combine promotion with another strategy; this category was not assessed by consumers. Data for Part 1 used an online survey to capture perspectives of supermarket retail decision-makers (n = 5; treated as exploratory) on effectiveness, feasibility, scalability and sustainability of initiatives. Part 2 used a computer-assisted telephone survey of South Australian adults sampled through a population health survey ('consumers'; n = 2877) to capture consumer perspectives on a subset of eight of these initiatives, adapted for the consumer shopping context. Consumers rated the perceived likelihood that each initiative would encourage healthier purchasing. In Part 3, data were triangulated into a matrix representing best cases across evidence and stakeholder groups.

resultsPricing and proximity were rated most favourably (69% to 87%, and 71% to 75%, respectively) across retailer and consumer perspectives and represent possible targets for voluntary retailer adoption. Prompting, promotion, and healthy default picks were rated more favourably by consumers (68% to 71%) than by retailers (50% to 60%). The retailer-only promotion plus category had the most promising evidence base but the lowest retailer rating (49%).

conclusionsPricing and proximity strategies appear to offer the strongest 'win-win-win' opportunities to improve the healthiness of consumer purchasing behaviour, though retailer findings should be interpreted as exploratory given the small retailer sample. The alignment between evidence/retailer/consumer perspectives can guide researchers, policymakers, and retailers in prioritising initiatives with real-world potential.