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BACKGROUND: The health benefits related to intake of whole grain foods are well established. Consumption of whole grains in the US population is low, and whole grain content can vary greatly depending upon the specific products that are purchased. OBJECTIVES: To examine the proportion of products purchased by US households containing whole grain and refined grain ingredients using time-specific food composition data, and examine whether purchases differ between income, race or ethnicity, and household make-up. METHODS: Nationally representative Nielsen Homescan 2018 data were used. Each barcoded product captured in Nielsen Homescan 2018 was linked with ingredient information using commercial nutrition databases in a time-relevant manner. Packaged food products containing whole grain ingredients, refined grain ingredients, neither, or both were identified. The percentage of packaged food products containing whole grain and refined grain ingredients purchased by US households was determined overall, by demographic subgroup, and by food category. RESULTS: The proportion of packaged food purchases containing refined grain ingredients was significantly higher than whole grain ingredients (30.9% compared with 7.9%; P 90% of bread purchases contained refined grain ingredients, and the 5 categories with the largest proportion of whole grain ingredients contributed to

Although online retailing has expanded dramatically over the past decade, research on the topic by economic geographers remains sparse. One recent hitherto unstudied trend has seen online retailers establishing physical grocery store networks in the Chinese market. This paper utilizes a case study of Alibaba’s Hema grocery store chain to identify and analyze the distinctive and innovative methods that online retailers are adopting in the Chinese food retail market in the context of developing physical stores. Four aspects of innovation are examined, namely: format innovation involving the store as a local fulfillment centre providing efficient last-mile delivery; developing a more consumer-centric retail model; transforming domestic supply networks; and sourcing live seafood globally. These developments are all achieved and facilitated by the strong data-driven capabilities of Hema in the context of the wider Alibaba platform ecosystem. Overall, the paper demonstrates how the digital data capabilities of online retailers embedded in wider platform business groups are rapidly altering the competitive landscape of the food retail sector in China.

Grocery store intervention trials, including trials testing behavioral economics “nudges,” may change food-purchasing behaviors and improve diet quality. This study aimed to design and evaluate a grocery store healthy checkout lane “nudge” intervention on sales of a targeted healthy item. We conducted a randomized controlled trial based on the behavioral economic concept of cognitive fatigue and the marketing concept of impulse buying. Six grocery stores from one North Carolina-based chain were randomized to the intervention (n = 3) or control (n = 3) condition. Researchers tested a 4-week healthy checkout lane intervention, in which intervention stores moved 6-ounce cans of peanuts to the cash registers. Cashiers were instructed to upsell the peanuts to all shoppers at checkout. While not a component of the intervention, the retailer decreased the price of the peanuts from $1.99 to $1.50 during the first 2 weeks of the intervention. Fidelity to the checkout display was high. Fidelity to the upsell was low. The main outcome measure was aggregated store-level sales of the promoted peanuts for 4 weeks before the intervention and during the 4-week intervention period. On average, sales increased by 10 units/week in intervention stores (5.83 vs. 15.83 units, p = .04) with no significant change in control stores (1.42 vs. 1.17 units, p = .64). The difference (10 vs. −0.25 units, p = .02) was likely due to displaying the peanuts at checkout combined with the price promotion. Larger randomized controlled trials should examine whether healthy checkout lane interventions are effective “nudges” for promoting purchases of healthier foods in grocery stores.

AtlantiCare Health System provides health care services to residents in Atlantic City, an urban food desert in southern New Jersey. The purpose of this study is to explore baseline data on the first four months of the program to better understand participants purchasing behaviors. To improve the health of Atlantic City seniors, AltantiCare established a Virtual Grocery Store Program (VGSP). The program covers fees associated with online grocery shopping for 300 residents in Jeffries Towers, a low-income housing complex. Over the course of 4 months, 28 participants placed a total of 151 orders, with a range from 1 to 14 orders each. Out of the 151 orders, that yielded 1,771 items, the top three types of food purchased were fruits and vegetables, dairy and eggs, and meat and fish; one-third of the items were prepared, two-thirds were perishable, and while almost half the items had no nutritional value, out the half that did, the majority had the high nutrition; and less than a third of participants used NJ SNAP funds to purchase their groceries online. Future efforts need to uncover the explanation for these purchases along with identifying potential strategies to increase consumption of healthier food options.

In Indonesia, the existence of a grocery store is critical because it provides a variety of staples in small amount and weight compared to those sold in minimarkets. Traditionally, the production of sugar retail is done by manually breaking down the weight from a very large quantity of 50 kg into small quantity such as 250 grams, 500 grams and 1000 grams. In addition, manual packing activities require a long time; therefore, decrease the productivity. In this study, an automatic tool is developed to carry out the sugar weighing and packing process automatically, and does not need human supervision because it can be controlled by a smartphone over a long distance or a keypad in a short distance. This tool is run by an Arduino microcontroller which regulates the weighing and packing mechanism repeatedly. The weighing mechanism involves a load cell and servo motors. Meanwhile, the packaging mechanism uses a stepper motor and a modified impulse sealer. Quantitative testing has been carried out for weighing results and gives the best accuracy of 99.2% for sugar weight of 250 grams. Qualitative testing has been carried out to observe the packaging resulting from the packing mechanism and produce a neat package for sugar weighing 250 grams.

While non-essential travel was canceled during the coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) pandemic, grocery shopping was essential. The objectives of this study were to: 1) examine how grocery store visits changed during the early outbreak of COVID-19, and 2) estimate a model to predict the change of grocery store visits in the future, within the same phase of the pandemic. The study period (February 15–May 31, 2020) covered the outbreak and phase-one re-opening. Six counties/states in the United States were examined. Grocery store visits (in-store or curbside pickup) increased over 20% when the national emergency was declared on March 13 and then decreased below the baseline within a week. Grocery store visits on weekends were affected more significantly than those on workdays before late April. Grocery store visits in some states (including California, Louisiana, New York, and Texas) started returning to normal by the end of May, but that was not the case for some of the counties (including those with the cities of Los Angeles and New Orleans). With data from Google Mobility Reports, this study used a long short-term memory network to predict the change of grocery store visits from the baseline in the future. The networks trained with the national data or the county data performed well in predicting the general trend of each county. The results from this study could help understand mobility patterns of grocery store visits during the pandemic and predict the process of returning to normal.

Objectives: Frontline essential workers face elevated risks of exposure to COVID-19 because of the interactive nature of their jobs, which require high levels of interaction with the general public and coworkers. The impact of these elevated risks on the mental health of essential workers, especially outside the health care sector, is not well studied. To address this knowledge gap, we examined correlations between perceptions of workplace risks and mental health distress among grocery store workers in Arizona. Methods: We collected the first statewide sample of essential workers outside the health care sector focused on mental health and well-being. A total of 3344 grocery store workers in Arizona completed an online survey in July 2020. We used multiple regression models to identify demographic and work-based correlates of mental health distress. Results: Levels of mental health distress among respondents were high: 557 of 3169 (17.6%) reported severe levels and 482 of 3168 (15.2%) reported moderate levels. Perceptions of workplace safety were strongly correlated with significantly reduced levels of mental health distress (ß = −1.44; SE = 0.20) and reduced perceived stress (ß = −0.97; SE = 0.16). Financially disadvantaged workers and employees aged Conclusions Lacking sufficient workplace protections, grocery store employees in Arizona experienced high levels of mental health distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing clear federal and state policies to employers to guide implementation of workplace protections may help reduce sources of mental health distress.

This paper develops a game-theoretic model that analyzes how a grocery store responds to the entry of a Walmart Supercenter using its store-format choice. By adopting a set of realistic assumptions, such as the cost advantage of Walmart and differentiated services of grocery stores, we find that the distance to a Walmart Supercenter is a key moderating factor in the store-format choice of grocery stores. Grocery stores would prefer to sell non-food items, but when sufficiently close to Walmart Supercenters they would specialise in food items, as consumers find it less costly to engage in two-stop shopping, making the gain from non-food items smaller. So an asymmetric equilibrium becomes feasible, wherein grocery stores carrying increasingly more non-food products and a new grocery store concept like Whole Foods and Wild Oats emphasising high-quality, organic foods can coexist. Our results yield important managerial implications. Under the specialisation strategy, the quality of its differentiated services should be sufficiently high, at least two to four times the disutility of two-stop shopping. Under the expansion strategy, grocery stores should engage in loss leadership, pricing non-food items below cost to lure large-basket consumers while earning higher margins from food items to compensate for the loss.

We make magnitude-related decisions every day, for example, to choose the shortest queue at the grocery store. When making such decisions, which magnitudes do we consider? The dominant theory suggests that our focus is on numerical quantity, i.e., the number of items in a set. This theory leads to quantity-focused research suggesting that discriminating quantities is automatic, innate, and is the basis for mathematical abilities in humans. Another theory suggests, instead, that non-numerical magnitudes, such as the total area of the compared items, are usually what humans rely on, and numerical quantity is used only when required. Since wild animals must make quick magnitude-related decisions to eat, seek shelter, survive, and procreate, studying which magnitudes animals spontaneously use in magnitude-related decisions is a good way to study the relative primacy of numerical quantity versus non-numerical magnitudes. We asked whether, in an animal model, the influence of non-numerical magnitudes on performance in a spontaneous magnitude comparison task is modulated by the number of non-numerical magnitudes that positively correlate with numerical quantity. Our animal model was the Archerfish, a fish that, in the wild, hunts insects by shooting a jet of water at them. These fish were trained to shoot water at artificial targets presented on a computer screen above the water tank. We tested the Archerfish's performance in spontaneous, untrained two-choice magnitude decisions. We found that the fish tended to select the group containing larger non-numerical magnitudes and smaller quantities of dots. The fish selected the group containing more dots mostly when the quantity of the dots was positively correlated with all five different non-numerical magnitudes. The current study adds to the body of studies providing direct evidence that in some cases animals’ magnitude-related decisions are more affected by non-numerical magnitudes than by numerical quantity, putting doubt on the claims that numerical quantity perception is the most basic building block of mathematical abilities.

It is not uncommon to see prices that end with a 9 or 99, be it in a restaurant, grocery store, or clothes store. Yet, this convention in pricing is typically found in the US, and evidence of it in...

The use of virtual reality (VR) technology has been suggested as a method to increase ecological validity in neuropsychological assessments. Although validity has been a focus in VR research, little attention has been paid to other psychometric properties such as test-retest reliability and practice effects. Practice effects are common on traditional neuropsychological tests and can be impacted by novelty. Because VR is not widely used it was expected that participants would demonstrate higher practice effects on VR as compared to paper-and-pencil testing.To compare test-retest reliability and practice effects in VR and traditional paper-and-pencil testing, the Virtual Environment Grocery Store (VEGS) and California Verbal Learning Test - Second Edition (CVLT-II) were used in healthy adults (n = 44). Participants received follow-up testing approximately 2 weeks after the initial visit.Significant practice effects of similar magnitude were seen on memory scores (i.e., total learning, long-delay free recall, and long-delay cued recall) on the VEGS and the CVLT-II. The VEGS and CVLT-II memory scores also demonstrated strong test-retest reliability (Results suggested similar test-retest reliability and practice effects of the VEGS and CVLT-II, although the VEGS has the benefit of being an immersive technology that simulates an everyday activity. The study replicated past findings that the VEGS is more difficult than the CVLT-II which may be a useful property for clinical assessment.

Competition in traditional markets such as grocery stores with modern stores is currently considered unbalanced, causing the marginalization of small traders. This causes the grocery store to decline more and more. One of the reasons is the rapidly growing minimarket in Bali Province. The growing rapidly of minimarkets will certainly threaten the sustainability of the grocery store business in the vicinity. Based on this, the objectives of this study are 1. To analyze the effect of internal factors and external factors on grocery store revenue; 2. To analyze the effect of internal factors, external factors and income of the grocery store on the sustainability of the grocery store business; 3. To analyze the indirect effect of internal factors and external factors on the sustainability of the grocery store business through the income of the grocery store. This research uses descriptive analysis tools and Structural Equation Model (SEM) with PLS (Partial Least Square). The data used are primary data and secondary data. Data collection used observation methods, structured interviews and in-depth interviews. Respondents in this study were grocery store entrepreneurs in Ubud District, Gianyar Regency, which were taken by quota sampling as many as 120 samples, which were selected by accidental sampling. The result of this research is that the grocery store internal factor variable has a positive and significant effect on the grocery store's income. The grocery store's external factor variable has no effect on the grocery store's income. The variable of the external factor of the grocery store and the variable of the income of the grocery store have a positive and significant effect on the sustainability of the grocery store business. The grocery store internal factor variable has no positive and significant effect on the sustainability of the grocery store business. There is an indirect effect of the grocery store internal factor variable on the sustainability of the grocery store business through the income of the grocery store is significant. There is no indirect effect of the grocery store external factor variable on the sustainability of the grocery store business through the income of the grocery store.

Food deserts, areas in which it is difficult to obtain affordable, nutritious food, are especially problematic in low-income neighbourhoods. One model for addressing food hardship and unemployment issues within low-income food deserts is a cooperative grocery store. Through the cooperative model, the grocery store can serve as a cornerstone to address socio-economic marginalisation of low-income neighbourhoods and improve the health and well-being of its residents. It is important for communities and policymakers to be able to assess the effectiveness of these types of endeavours beyond traditional economic factors such as profitability. This article uses a systems engineering approach to develop a framework for measuring the holistic impact of a cooperative grocery store on community health and well-being. This framework encompasses values that characterise the relationship between food retail, economic viability and social equality. We develop a dashboard to display the key metrics for measuring the economic, social and environmental indicators that reflect a grocery store’s social impact. We demonstrate the usefulness of the framework through a case study of a full-service cooperative grocery store that is planned within the city of Dayton, OH.

Some companies design processed foods to contain aesthetic imperfections such as non-uniformities in shape, color, or texture. Simultaneously, consumers annually discard millions of pounds of unprocessed, safe-to-eat fruits and vegetables owing to aesthetic imperfections. Why design processed foods with aesthetic imperfections when people discard unprocessed foods because of them? Seven studies, including a choice study at a grocery store and an incentive-compatible study, show that the effect of aesthetic imperfections on consumer preferences depends on whether foods are unprocessed or processed. While imperfections negatively influence preferences for unprocessed foods, they positively influence preferences for processed foods. We attribute this preference shift to consumers making opposing inferences about the human care involved in producing aesthetically imperfect processed and unprocessed foods. Building on research highlighting the positive effects of human presence in production, we thus show that perceived care drives food choice. We discuss implications for product design, retail promotion, and sustainability.

Using in-store ambulatory eye-tracking, the authors investigate the extent to which lateral and vertical biases drive consumers’ attention in a grocery store environment. The data set offers a complete picture of both where the shopper is located and the shopper’s field of view and visual fixations during the trip. The authors address two research questions: First, do shoppers have a higher propensity to pay attention to products on their left or right side as they traverse an aisle (i.e., is the right side the “right” side)? Second, do shoppers tend to pay more attention to products at their eye level (i.e., is eye level “buy level”)? The authors utilize the exogenous variations in the direction by which shoppers traverse an aisle to identify lateral bias. The exogenous variation of shoppers’ eye-level positions is used to identify vertical bias. The authors find that shoppers pay more attention to products on their right side when traversing an aisle. Contrary to many practitioners’ belief, eye level is not “buy level”; rather, the product level that has the greatest propensity to capture shoppers’ attention is approximately 14.7 inches below eye level (which is around chest level).

Native Americans have 3.5 times the COVID-19 infection rate and 1.5 times the death rate of non-Hispanic Whites. We demonstrate that social distancing policies may have unanticipated effects on behaviors. We estimate the effect of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on the types of grocery stores visited by individuals residing on and off of American Indian reservations during the pandemic. We find that there is a larger reduction in the distance traveled to grocery stores for on-reservation households than for off-reservation households. We also find an increase in the relative share of trips to convenience stores for reservation residents.

The profession of a seller (especially in small grocery stores) does not enjoy a social respect. The reasons for this are, above all, low requirements, low salary and difficult working conditions. In addition, too little attention is paid in the literature to this profession from the point of view of safety and hazards at work. However, the problem of working conditions in the position of a salesman is an important issue concerning a very large number of people. The paper deals with this difficult topic by describing selected methods of ergonomic analysis and using them to assess occupational risk at the seller’s workplace. In the paper, the results of the Ergonomic Checkpoint List, as well as the results of questionnaire surveys are presented. All the results are related to the possibility of proper identification and the probability of hazards occurrence in the position of a seller.

The article presents the hygiene measures that are applied in the Slovak Republic in supermarkets, food stores, grocery stores as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Slovakia. These measures have been published by the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic in the relevant legal regulations and are based on the decisions of the Government of the Slovak Republic, which took into account the opinions of the experts of the Pandemic Commission of the Government of the Slovak Republic. In general, these measures are based on the mask-distance-hand principle. In public areas outside and inside, it was ordered to wear masks and later wear a respirator of FFP2 class in exterior and interior, gloves on hands or disinfection of customers' hands before entering the store, observance of 2 m distance of people standing in a row at the cash registers, maximum capacity of persons in stores was determined one person per 25 m2 of sales area and later, this measure was tightened to 15 m2 of sales area. Also, to perform regular ventilation of the premises and to have as many cash registers as possible so as not to create long lines of customers. All shops were closed at 8:00 PM. In the case of shopping centers, entry is prohibited for people with a body temperature higher than 37 °C, and disinfection of hands is mandatory, wearing a mask and later wear respirators of FFP2 class is necessary. In a stricter regime, during the peak of the pandemic, there was a restriction for persons to shop food only in the nearest retail/grocery or similar place from the place of residence to the extent necessary to procure the essential needs of life.

Poor dietary choices are a leading cause of preventable chronic disease. Consequently, improving dietary choices is a key public health goal. While several approaches are available to influence dietary choices, consumer education is likely a key to improving the diet. One approach to educating consumers is to provide grocery store tours where consumers are provided with nutrition education where purchasing decisions are often made. At this time, there has been limited research to show the effectiveness of this approach or to develop best practices. A possible barrier to innovation in this area concerns the difficulty to get access to grocery stores to conduct tours. Moreover, these barriers may also hamper research efforts to identify best practices. A possible alternative approach is to create virtual worlds where grocery store tours can be conducted remotely. This present manuscript describes an approach to developing virtual grocery stores as a method for providing nutrition education with a description of the design possibilities.

IT'S SUNDAY MORNING, and, after your socially distanced morning hike, you look at your schedule for the next few days. You need to restock your refrigerator, but the weekend crowds at the supermarket don't excite you. Monday and Tuesday are jam-packed with Zoom meetings, and you'll also be supervising your children's remote learning. In short, you aren't going to make it to the grocery store anytime soon. So you pull out your phone, fire up the Instacart app, and select your favorite grocery store. You click through your list of previously purchased items, browse specials, search for a new key-lime sparkling water a friend recommended, then select a delivery window. About 2 hours later, you watch a shopper, wearing a face mask, place bags on your porch.

Grocery stores are vital to the health and well-being of American citizens. The coronavirus epidemic has presented a unique set of challenges especially for the elderly and citizens of low socioeconomic status because of the barrier to technology that they face. State and local governments have issued ordinances requiring quarantining at home to reduce the spread of disease

Purpose Would a green color label increase the dollar amount consumers are willing to pay for a green product? Would nature images (such as a leaf or flower) on the label have the same effect? This paper aims to examine the role of these labeling strategies in influencing consumer willing to pay. Design/methodology/approach Using a 2 × 3 experiment, the authors empirically test the research questions across two studies: in the controlled-lab setting with 160 students (Study 1) and in a field-setting with 268 consumers shopping at a grocery store (Study 2). Findings Results are consistent across both studies. Surprisingly, participants are willing to pay more for the product when it has a white-toned label rather than a green-toned one. Follow-up path analysis, with Study 2 data, reveals that a white-toned label has both an indirect (through more favorable evaluations of the product’s environmental friendliness), as well as a direct impact on willingness to pay. In providing a post hoc explanation, it is argued that a white-toned label better directs attention towards the claim signaling the product’s eco-friendliness, while providing a “clean”, “high-quality” look. In both studies however, nature images on the label did not have a significant effect. Practical implications Insights are particularly interesting for practitioners seeking to better label/package green products. Originality/value This investigation is the first to empirically examine how color and images on the label influence the dollar amount consumers are willing to pay for a green product. Findings reveal that counter to common belief, the heavy use of the color green on eco-friendly product labels might not be appropriate; a predominantly white-toned label works better.

Computer vision is becoming an increasingly critical area of research, and its applications to real-world problems are gaining significance. In this paper, we describe the design, development and evaluation of our computer vision Faster R-CNN iPad App for Sales Representatives in grocery store environments. Our system aims to assist Sales Reps to be more productive, reduce errors, and provide increased efficiencies. We report on the creation of the iPad app, the data capturing guidelines we created for the creation of good classifiers and the results of professional Sales Reps evaluating our system. Our system was tested in a variety of conditions in grocery store environments and has an accuracy of 99%, a System Usability Score usability score of 85 (high). It supports up to 40 classifiers running concurrently to perform product identification in less than 3.8 s. We also created a set of data capturing guidelines that will enable other researchers to create their own classifiers for these types of products in complex environments (e.g., products with very similar packaging located on shelves).

Nutrition counseling, although effective, is limited in clinics due to various barriers. The objectives of this study were to (1) develop a survey and (2) assess providers’ and patients’ nutrition knowledge, barriers, and strategies towards nutrition counseling. This descriptive study was conducted in 7 family medicine clinics in the South Eastern United States. A 15-item multi-response survey was developed for providers (n = 48) and a 14-item multi-response survey was developed for patients (n = 185). Surveys were distributed to providers and patients. Responses were analyzed using RedCap and Excel v10. Results indicated that 98.5% of providers and 87% of patients agreed that following a nutritious diet is important for overall health. Providers indicated time (87.5%) and uncertainty of nutrition resources available (35.4%) prohibited them from providing nutrition counseling in the clinic. Patients identified lack of healthy recipe ideas (36.6%) and cost of purchasing nutritious foods (35.5%) as their main barriers to adhering to a nutritious diet. Tools and strategies to provide nutrition counseling as indicated by providers were a dietitian on site, nutrition education materials, and community-based nutrition/cooking classes. Patients identified grocery store coupons/discounts and sample meal plans as tools and strategies to consume a more nutritious diet. Providers and patients differed in the types of tools and strategies to help one consume a more nutritious diet. Providers perceived patients needing interactive strategies such as nutrition/cooking classes and a referral to see a dietitian whereas patients wanted non-interactive strategies such as grocery store coupons and sample meal plans. Even though patients did not perceive providers as an effective strategy to help them consume a nutritious diet, it is important that providers have a conversation with their patients about the types of tools and strategies that would set them up for success.

We study the impact of grocery-store density on the food waste generated at stores and by households. Food waste is a major contributor to carbon emissions (as big as road transport). Identifying and influencing market conditions that can decrease food waste is thus important to combat global warming. We build and calibrate a stylized two-echelon perishable-inventory model to capture grocery purchases and expiration at competing stores and households in a market. We examine how the equilibrium waste in this model changes with store density. An increase in store density decreases consumer waste due to improved access to groceries, whereas increasing retail waste due to decentralization of inventory increased variability propagation in the supply chain (cycle truncation) and diminished demand by customers. Higher density also induces more competition which further increases (decreases) waste when stores compete on prices (service levels). Overall, consumer waste reductions compete with store waste increases and the effects of increased competition. Our analysis shows that higher density reduces food waste up to a threshold density; it leads to higher food waste beyond this threshold. Put differently, in so far as food waste is concerned, there exists an optimal store density. Calibration using grocery industry, economic, and demographic data reveals that actual store density in most American cities is well below this threshold/optimal level, and modest increases in store density substantially reduce waste; for example, in Chicago, just 3–4 more stores (per 10 sq km) can lead to a 6%–9% waste reduction, and a 1%–4% decrease in grocery expenses. These results arise from the principal role of consumer waste, suggesting that activists and policy makers’ focus on retail waste may be misguided. Store operators, urban planners, and decision makers should aim to increase store densities to make grocery shopping more affordable and sustainable.

The COVID-19 pandemic is worsening the disparities in food access in the United States. As consumers have been increasingly using grocery online ordering services to limit their exposure to the COVID-19 virus, participants of federal nutrition assistance programs lack the online benefit redemption option. With the support of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), retailers are pilot-testing online food benefit ordering in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). By combining the Oklahoma WIC administrative data, the online ordering data from a grocery store chain in Oklahoma, and the COVID-19 data in Oklahoma, this study examines how WIC participants responded to the online food benefit ordering option and how their adoption of online ordering was associated with the COVID-19 incidence. Results show that from July to December 2020, 15,171 WIC households redeemed WIC benefits at an Oklahoma chain store, but only 819 of them adopted online ordering. They together completed 102,227 online orders, which accounted for 2.7% of the store visits and 2.6% of the monetary value of WIC redemptions at these stores. There was no significant relationship between WIC online ordering adoption and COVID-19 incidence in Oklahoma.

Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis baik secara parsial dan simultan pengaruh faktor modal dan lokasi terhadap pendapatan toko kelontong di Kabupaten Aceh Utara. Analisis kuantitatif diperoleh dari data primer melalui penyebaran kuesioner kepada responden penelitian sebanyak 73 pedagang. Kesimpulan yang didapatkan menunjukkan hasil secara simultan modal dan lokasi terbutkti signifikan mempengaruhi pendapatan, sedangkan secara parsial hanya modal yang berpengaruh signifikan

A mixed methods study was conducted to better understand food access, food retail store environment, and perspectives of community residents on their grocery store shopping patterns and access to healthy foods in underserved, predominantly African American neighborhoods. GIS mapping, grocery store observations (n = 4), a food access and grocery store environment survey (n = 126), and focus groups (n = 48) were used. The results indicate that these neighborhoods have a low density of grocery stores, and only two out of four grocery stores meet the standard for a healthy retail store. Barriers to getting healthy foods and solutions to improve food access are discussed.

In Sumbawa sub-district, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province now hasmany standing modern retail shops (Indomaret, Alfamart). However there isother sub-districts in the province of NTB prohibit modern retailers from operating,with consideration of the influence on the existence of a grocery store (retailtraditional). Therefore the aim of this study is to analyze whether there is anychanges in the number of consumers in traditional retail before and after retailmodern in Sumbawa sub-district. The sample used in this studyare residents of Sumbawa sub-district. This study uses an approachquantitative by statistical analysis. The data used in this study arePrimary data, which is obtained through distributing questionnaires to the sample. Knownthe population of the Sumbawa sub-district based on data from the Regency Statistics AgencySumbawa in 2018 is 61,518 people, so using the formulaSlovin, the number of samples that must take the questionnaire for this study is minimal100 people (with an error rate of 10%) were selected by random sampling. Methodwhich is used to achieve the objectives of this study is to use the sign testand SPSS assistance. The analysis results show that the existence of modern retailers inSumbawa sub-district lowered the number of consumers who shop at traditional retail.

In India, the use of online grocery shopping platforms—such as Big Basket, Amazon Pantry, Flipkart Supermarket, etc.—has been rising exponentially. The online grocery market value has been increasing steeply in recent years and is going to grow steadily, as the digital natives—the Millennial and the generation after them—grow older and start having families of their own. Given the importance of this growing market, there is surprisingly little research on the factors that are driving the adoption of online grocery in India today. Based on an extensive literature survey we first propose a conceptual model on the factors driving the online and offline grocery shopping behaviour of Indian consumers. We test the model using an online survey and a pan-India sample of 262 consumers. Our analysis suggests that the intention to purchase grocery online is significantly influenced by variety seeking, trust in seller, ease of use of online payments, convenience, purchase decision involvement, and preference for global products.

The mitigation measures (e.g., lockdown policies) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted food systems in unprecedented ways, in both scope and immediacy. Food retail, for example, changed fundamentally in the United States, as access to nutritious food became limited, supply chain shortages were common, and mandatory public health measures led to behavior changes among customers and employees. In the present case study, we hypothesized that these changes led to food purchasing shifts of grocery store consumers. Such shifts are seen as an outcome of both endogenous factors at the individual level and exogenous factors at the government/policy level. Our case study sought to better understand how the pandemic and associated regulations shaped consumer food choices during the “hard” lockdown period in Montana during 2020. We selected 112 food products based on the highest sales in a Gallatin County, Montana, grocery store. They were analyzed by predefined food groups aligned to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020. All purchases were processed for each selected food item during March and April 2019 (before the pandemic) and March and April 2020 (during the lockdown in Montana). To further describe the pandemic experiences qualitatively, we conducted semi-structured interviews with managers and employees from two stores in Gallatin County. Overall, we found that consumers increased purchases in most food groups during the pandemic, including nutrient-dense and energy-dense products, most outstandingly for starchy vegetables, legumes, and convenience food. Products with long shelf-life and that required preparation at home were preferred. Endogenous causes, specifically panic and rushing, were likely stronger drivers of consumer behavior and food choices than regulations. Nonetheless, lockdown policies impacted consumer food purchases. We present a series of policy and practice recommendations based on our findings and the emerging literature on this topic.

This report offers new information about the accuracy of employee headcounts and sales data in the National Establishment Time Series (NETS) Database—which provides time-series data on establishments across all sectors, including grocery stores and food service outlets. NETS is frequently and increasingly being used by researchers to answer questions of policy relevance about the dynamics of the food environment at a more localized level. Therefore, it is important to better understand how NETS food retail and service sectors compare relative to similar Federal datasets. This report compares NETS employment headcount with the County Business Patterns (CBP) at the national and State levels from 1998 to 2016 and compares NETS sales with the Food Expenditure Series (FES) at the national level from 1998 to 2019. Findings show that NETS captures similar employment patterns and trends as the CBP at both the national and State levels for most of the food retail and food service sectors. In addition, this report develops a method and presents newly estimated NETS sales numbers that have similar patterns and trends as the FES, enabling researchers to more accurately study food sales at a more localized level.

The share of organic sales in grocery stores has decreased and in 2021 the share decreased by 0.5 percent from the year before, where total sales amounted to 6.3 percent. In recent years, nudge theory has become more topical, especially in the subject of ecological- and environmental economics. However, research has not focused as much on the ethical perspective and how nudging has been applied to the real environment which the researchers for this study considered worth studying closer. Nudge theory is used as a policy tool that should subconsciously influence or guide customers to make decisions that will benefit them in the long run, without depriving them of the freedom to make their own choices or limit the number of options. Nudges can also be shaped in an unethical way by consciously using nudge theory to negative consequences. The purpose of this study was to examine the types of nudges used in grocery stores to increase the purchase of organic products. This study also examines what the employees in each grocery store considers about their own design of nudges and determines which nudges promote better behavior or manipulation based on an assessed ethical perspective. Based on theories and previous research, the categories environment, price, and supply have been designed to observe green nudges within each store. The categories were later used to compile observations on inventory. An interview guide has also been conducted to examine the employees' views from an ethical assessed perspective. Results indicated that there are multiple nudges in the shape of placement, information, measures, reminder of choice, maximization of supplies based on what fits in the cartons and refrigerator, not an equal distribution between ecological and conventional products, price in combination with campaigns and that the number of supplies is controlled by what sells the best. Lastly in conclusion both study questions were answered with what types of nudges and that ethics depends on the purpose of the nudge. Further, some nudges were not seen as wrongdoing based on employees and the company's values but are wrong according to nudge theory. Regardless, ecological behavior is promoted on most designated nudges and is confirmed by employees in each store. Andelen ekologisk försäljning i matbutiker har minskat och under år 2021 minskade andelen med 0,5 procent från året innan där den totala försäljningen uppgick till 6,3 procent. Under de senaste åren har nudge theory blivit mer aktuellt inom ekologisk- och miljöekonomi. Däremot har forskningen inte fokuserat lika mycket på etiska perspektivet och hur nudging har applicerats på den verkliga miljön, vilket denna studie studerar närmare. Nudge theory används som ett policyverktyg som ska påverka eller styra kunder undermedvetet till att fatta beslut som ska gynna dessa kunder på lång sikt, utan att ta ifrån dem friheten att göra egna val eller begränsa antalet alternativ. Nudges kan däremot formas på ett oetiskt sätt genom att medvetet använda sig av nudge theory till negativa konsekvenser. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka typer av nudges som används för att öka köp av ekologiska produkter. Studien undersöker även vad anställda i varje matbutik anser om deras egen utformning av nudges och avgöra vilka nudges som främjar ett bättre beteende eller manipulerar utifrån ett bedömt etiskt perspektiv. Utifrån teorierna och tidigare forskning har kategorierna miljö, pris och antal utformats för att observera gröna nudges inom avdelningarna frukt och grönt samt mejeri, i respektive butik. Kategorierna användes senare för att sammanställa observationer av inventering. En intervjuguide har även genomförts för att granska de anställdas synpunkter utifrån ett etiskt bedömt perspektiv. Resultat visade på att det finns flera nudges i form av placering, informering, åtgärder, påminnelse av val, maximering av utbud utifrån vad som får plats i kartong och kyl, inte en jämn fördelning av ekologiska och konventionella varor, pris i kombination med kampanjer samt att antalet drivs av vad som säljs bäst. Avslutningsvis kunde båda frågeställningarna besvaras med vilka typer av nudges som återfanns i den fysiska miljön och att etiken beror framför allt på syftet på nudgen. Ytterligare i resultat och analys förs en diskussion att vissa nudges inte anses vara fel utifrån anställdas egna samt butikens värderingar, men anses vara det enligt nudge theory. Oavsett främjas ekologiskt beteende på majoriteten av utpekade nudges och bekräftas av anställda i vardera butik.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the separation of the primary colors of ink markers and food coloring was performed using a simplified column chromatography setup at home to accomplish the educational outcome of the course. The virtual class instruction, for the students enrolled in the Organic Techniques Laboratory course, allows the understanding of the basic principles of chromatography in a way similar to that in the face-to-face experience. The materials proposed for conducting the experiment are readily available at home or easily found in a drugstore or in a grocery store. A wide variety of results were observed where the separation of at least two primary colors was achieved by 80% of the students.

Toxoplasmosis has been recognized as a major public health problem worldwide. The consumption of uncooked or undercooked meat infected with Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts is one of the main means of transmission of this parasite. Although sheep, goats, and pigs are commonly infected with T. gondii, little information is available on the distribution of T. gondii tissue cysts in naturally infected meat. In this study, we investigated the distribution of viable T. gondii tissue cysts in shoulder muscles of naturally infected lambs and goats. Hearts and shoulders of 46 lambs and 39 goats from a local grocery store were tested for T. gondii infection. Animals were evaluated for the presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies in heart blood and clots by the modified agglutination test. Fourteen of the 85 animals (seven lambs and seven goats) were seropositive. Six to 12 samples weighing 5, 10, and 50 g were obtained from shoulder muscles of each seropositive animal and used for bioassay in mice. The distribution of viable T. gondii differed according to the size of the sample analyzed, but in general larger sample sizes resulted in higher isolation rates (P < 0.05). Results of the study revealed an uneven distribution of T. gondii in muscle samples of lambs and goats and that T. gondii can be transmitted by consumption of very small servings (5 and 10 g) of meat when it is consumed raw or is undercooked. HIGHLIGHTS

This study is motivated by the ubiquitous practical existence of common retailer distribution channels (e.g., a grocery store offering multiple brands of the same product). Demand interdependence (product substitutability) among various brands is critical and thus we investigate its impact on firms’ profits. Using an economic framework with manufacturers operating as Stackelberg leaders, our analysis reveals unique and substantive insights dependent on the underlying market demand structure, and in some cases, the extent of supply coverage. For the Spence–Dixit–Vives demand structure, we find that competing manufacturers prefer to offer brands with low levels of substitutability while retailer’s preferences are moderated by the interaction effect between the number of competing brands and level of product substitutability (essentially the retailer prefers high levels of substitutability when the number of brands is “small," and vice versa). For the Shubik–Levitan demand structure, manufacturers may prefer high or low levels of product substitutability depending on the extent of supply coverage while the retailer always prefers high levels of product substitutability. These findings offer useful prescriptions for category management and persuasive advertising.

This study aims to measure the attitudes and perceptions of grocery shoppers towards Big C and Tesco Lotus among Thais and non-Thais. In achieving this, the importance and satisfaction of shoppers’ grocery store choice is examined. The product and service outlets of these two supermarket giants may look identical, but the satisfaction and importance attributed by shoppers may differ considerably. Results from the survey (questionnaire) of 180 respondents show that store image, quality of service, size and location, as well as price and promotion are positively related to satisfaction of shoppers’ choice of supermarkets. In addition, price and promotion, parking, and the environment positively affect the importance of shoppers’ choice of supermarkets. No valid relationship was found between either satisfaction or importance and demographic factors (gender, age, occupation, and ethnicity).

Choice experiments have been extensively used in many stated preference studies and disciplines. In order to give external validity to stated preferences, participants must behave the same in an experiment setting as they do in reality. The difference between a decision made in a real experiment and a hypothetical experiment is commonly attributed to “hypothetical bias.” In this paper, we investigate whether virtual reality can reduce hypothetical bias in choice experiments. We conducted a set of experiments using the Food and Drug Administration's new Nutrition Facts Label for yogurts. Participants were randomly assigned to non‐hypothetical and hypothetical experiments, which differed in terms of visual presentations of the product in question: text, picture, and a virtual grocery store. Given the absence of real markets for the new label at the time of the research, we approximate the real market with a binding choice in our non‐hypothetical experiments. Our results suggest that although the hypothetical bias with virtual reality is not statistically significantly different from those using text or picture, it is the smallest. Among participants who did not exhibit high simulator discomfort, results suggest that virtual reality can significantly reduce hypothetical bias in choice experiments.

Are potential contributors more likely to support a prosocial cause when presented with few contribution options or with many options? Across four studies—an analysis of archival contribution data from the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, a field experiment conducted in cooperation with a grocery store and a snack bar company, and two controlled laboratory experiments—we consistently find that when a fundraiser offers more options to potential contributors, the likelihood of contribution initially decreases and then increases. The result is a U-shaped relationship between the number of contribution options and contribution likelihood. We do not find such an effect for non-prosocial choices. With a fifth study, we offer a preliminary and tentative theoretical explanation for the U-shaped relationship, suggesting that the type of information processing by the decision maker (intuitive rather than deliberate) underlies this effect.

BACKGROUND Many lower-income communities in the United States lack a full-line grocery store. There is evidence that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) increases the availability of healthy foods in stores. One national discount variety store chain (DVS) that is often located in low-income neighborhoods became an authorized WIC vendor in 8 pilot stores. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to evaluate how implementing WIC in DVS pilot stores affected sales of healthy, WIC-eligible foods. METHODS We used DVS sales data and difference-in-differences regression to evaluate how WIC authorization affected sales of WIC-eligible foods in 8 DVS pilot stores, compared with 8 matched comparison stores. RESULTS DVS added 18 new WIC-approved foods to become an authorized vendor. Results indicate that becoming a WIC vendor significantly increased sales of healthy, WIC-eligible foods that DVS carried before authorization. WIC implementation in DVS led to a 31-unit increase in sales of the original WIC foods per week on average (P

First paragraph: Our food system has been disrupted. Shopping at a grocery store during the COVID-19 pan­demic is not a pleasant experience, and, for some of the most vulnerable, it can be outright dangerous. It may become worse. How long will supply chain disruptions continue and what are upcoming challenges? From illness in the fields where agricultural workers pick our food and the closing of food processing facilities to the threat that trucking lanes may be shut down, the possibilities seem real right now. . . . See the press release for this article.

This study examined Denver, Colorado area grocery stores to identify if significant differences in food price, availability, or quality existed for different population groups. Thirty stores were r...

To increase the unit price of a product, marketers of packaged groceries generally either raise the retail price or reduce the package size. We describe two unit price increase tactics in which the retail price and package size of a product simultaneously increase or decrease. Five studies, including a field study conducted in a grocery store, show that when unit price information is available, consumer decisions are influenced more by changes in both retail price and unit price than by changes in package size. Consumers thus respond more favorably to simultaneous decreases than to simultaneous increases. We further show that when unit price information is unavailable, consumers focus on the observed retail price increase for simultaneous increases, whereas they tend to estimate the unit price increase for simultaneous decreases. Since both forms of processing result in the cognition of an increase in “price,” consumers respond similarly to the two tactics.