Food and beverage purchases in corner stores, gas-marts, pharmacies and dollar stores

Abstract

Objective: Little is known about customer purchases of foods and beverages from small and non-traditional food retailers (i.e. corner stores, gas-marts, dollar stores and pharmacies). The present study aimed to: (i) describe customer characteristics, shopping frequency and reasons for shopping at small and non-traditional food retailers; and (ii) describe food/beverage purchases and their nutritional quality, including differences across store type. Design: Data were collected through customer intercept interviews. Nutritional quality of food/beverage purchases was analysed; a Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) score for purchases was created by aggregating participant purchases at each store. Setting: Small and non-traditional food stores that were not WIC-authorized in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN, USA. Subjects: Customers (n 661) from 105 food retailers. Results: Among participants, 29 % shopped at the store at least once daily; an additional 44 % shopped there at least once weekly. Most participants (74 %) cited convenient location as the primary draw to the store. Customers purchased a median of 2262 kJ (540 kcal), which varied by store type (P = 0·04). The amount of added sugar far surpassed national dietary recommendations. At dollar stores, participants purchased a median of 5302 kJ (1266 kcal) for a median value of $US 2·89. Sugar-sweetened beverages were the most common purchase. The mean HEI-2010 score across all stores was 36·4. Conclusions: Small and non-traditional food stores contribute to the urban food environment. Given the poor nutritional quality of purchases, findings support the need for interventions that address customer decision making in these stores.

Fruit and Vegetable Purchases in Farmer’s Market Stands: Analysing Survey and Sales Data

“…The use of an electronic payment application also enables standardization in purchase data entry. In addition, manual recording is not only time-consuming and resource-intensive but also presents the risk of missed transactions, especially during busy hours [43,56,59,71,72,75,105]. Alia et al highlighted the potential for electronic application to collect purchase data in UPS [56].…”

“…Other farmers' market studies analyse self-reported use of government incentive programs, government incentive sales data or records of coupon redemption [61][62][63][64][65][66], self-reported amounts spent [67] or total sales [39]. Some studies on convenience stores use purchase data collected using these same methods [68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75]. Given technological advances and changing legal requirements [76] in tracking sales, point of sales (POS) terminals are starting to gain popularity in UPS.…”

Evaluation of Store Environment Changes of an In-Store Intervention to Promote Fruits and Vegetables in Latino/Hispanic-Focused Food Stores

“…This may be due to a mismatch between the measurement approach utilized in this study and intervention implementation, which did not solely target increased stocking of FVs but also targeted quality improvements in the presentation, or displays, of FVs. Additionally, the present study did not account for differences in the locations or types of FV displays and promotions utilized, which may have varying degrees of influence on purchasing and therefore should be studied [65,66]. Strengths of the present study include the sample size, its cluster randomized controlled design, and its use of systematic data collection via objective measurements of the in-store environment.…”

Kids in a Candy Store: An objective analysis of children's interactions with food in convenience stores

“…In this ancillary study, 'Kids'Cam Convenience Stores', children who had image data showing the inside of a convenience store or service station were eligible for inclusion. Service stations were included as they are a source of energy-dense snack foods with limited healthy options (29,30) and it is likely that children may use service stations in a similar way to a convenience store.…”