Supermarket promotions boost sales of less healthy foods more than healthier foods

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-02/uoc-spb020915.php

Public Release: 11-Feb-2015
University of Cambridge

UK supermarket price promotions are more likely to lead to an increase in sales of less healthy foods than healthier choices in supermarkets, according to a study published today. However, the study of almost 27,000 UK households found that supermarkets were no more likely to promote less healthy over healthier foods.

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Published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the results show - perhaps surprisingly - that on the whole less healthy items were no more frequently promoted than healthier ones. However, after accounting for price, price discount, and brand characteristics, the magnitude of the sales increase was larger in less healthy than in healthier food categories. A 10% increase in the frequency of promotions led to a 35% sales increase for less healthy foods and a just under 20% sales increase for healthier foods. The researchers believe this may be because products from less healthy food categories are often non-perishable, while those from healthier food categories - in particular fruit and vegetables - are perishable: stockpiling during promotion may therefore be more likely to happen in less healthy food categories.

The study also found that households of a higher socioeconomic status tended to respond to price promotions more than those from disadvantaged backgrounds, for both healthier and less healthy foods. The researchers suggest a number of reasons, including the fact that making the most of promotions may involve stockpiling items while they are on offer, requiring financial resources and more space to store products.

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