Trends in food and beverage purchases in informal, mixed, and formal food outlets in Mexico: ENIGH 1994–2020

Abstract

BackgroundThe retail food environment in Mexico is characterized by the co-existence of both, formal and informal food outlets. Yet, the contribution of these outlets to food purchases over time has not been documented. Understanding the longitudinal trends where Mexican households purchase their foods is critical for the development of future food retail policies.MethodsWe used data from Mexico’s National Income and Expenditure Survey from 1994 to 2020. We categorized food outlets as formal (supermarkets, chain convenience stores, restaurants), informal (street markets, street vendors, acquaintances), and mixed (fiscally regulated or not. i.e., small neighborhood stores, specialty stores, public markets). We calculated the proportion of food and beverage purchases by food outlet for each survey for the overall sample and stratified by education level and urbanicity.ResultsIn 1994, the highest proportion of food purchases was from mixed outlets, represented by specialty and small neighborhood stores (53.7%), and public markets (15.9%), followed by informal outlets (street vendors and street markets) with 12.3%, and formal outlets from which supermarkets accounted for 9.6%. Over time, specialty and small neighborhood stores increased 4.7 percentage points (p.p.), while public markets decreased 7.5 p.p. Street vendors and street markets decreased 1.6 p.p., and increased 0.5 p.p. for supermarkets. Convenience stores contributed 0.5% at baseline and increased to 1.3% by 2020. Purchases at specialty stores mostly increased in higher socioeconomic levels (13.2 p.p.) and metropolitan cities (8.7 p.p.) while public markets decreased the most in rural households and lower socioeconomic levels (6.0 p.p. & 5.3 p.p.). Supermarkets and chain convenience stores increased the most in rural localities and small cities.ConclusionIn conclusion, we observed an increase in food purchases from the formal sector, nonetheless, the mixed sector remains the predominant food source in Mexico, especially small-neighborhood stores. This is concerning, since these outlets are mostly supplied by food industries. Further, the decrease in purchases from public markets could imply a reduction in the consumption of fresh produce. In order to develop retail food environment policies in Mexico, the historical and predominant role of the mixed sector in food purchases needs to be acknowledged.

Changes in the healthfulness of food and beverage purchases from 2006 to 2020 in formal, mixed, and informal outlets in Mexico

“…Specialty stores are not only one of the outlets where healthier purchases are made, these purchases have also increased over time [19]. Even though purchases in public markets have remained healthy over time, the proportion of total food purchases from public markets has decreased over time, particularly among households with less education and residing in rural localities [19].…”

“…Specialty stores are not only one of the outlets where healthier purchases are made, these purchases have also increased over time [19]. Even though purchases in public markets have remained healthy over time, the proportion of total food purchases from public markets has decreased over time, particularly among households with less education and residing in rural localities [19]. Despite nding that the proportion of purchases of ultra-processed foods in small neighborhood stores has decreased over time, these outlets have accounted for the greatest proportion of food purchases in Mexico (~ 30%) [18,19], making small neighborhood stores the outlets where people purchase the majority of ultra-processed foods.…”

“…Others include food outlet categories that individually accounted for a small percentage of the total food and beverage expenditure (< 1%). Since ENIGH does not specify the scal regime of the food outlets, we categorized the food outlets as informal, mixed, and formal according to their type [18,19]. The informal sector, de ned as outlets that are not registered or regulated by scal laws, included street markets, street vendors, and acquaintances.…”

“…Recent research has made initial efforts to better understand the contribution of the different food outlets to total food purchases in Mexico [18,19]. In 1994, household purchases from mixed outlets (i.e., those without a clear de nition of formality) represented 73.4% of total food purchases, followed by formal (12.8%), informal (12.3%), and other outlets (1.5%).…”

“…In 1994, household purchases from mixed outlets (i.e., those without a clear de nition of formality) represented 73.4% of total food purchases, followed by formal (12.8%), informal (12.3%), and other outlets (1.5%). By 2020, mixed outlets represented 71.6% of total food purchases, followed by informal (13.7%), formal (13.4%), and other outlets (1.3%) [18,19]. Another study using cross-sectional data from 2018 quanti ed what proportion of the total foods purchased by Mexican households the proportion of total foods purchased by Mexican households that was purchased at different types of food outlets [20].…”