The way to place the products in the supermarkets It is not something that is left to chance, well influences our purchasing decisions. It is a basic marketing strategy that businesses use to their advantage to increase sales, but it also affects the health of consumers. This is pointed out by a recent pilot study published by PLoS Medicine, whose managers ensure that the design of these large areas can help improve the diet of the population.
In order to analyze the actual role design can play of supermarkets in the strategies of promoting healthy eating, the study, carried out by the University of Southampton (United Kingdom), has compared the purchase of several products in different stores of the same popular British chain, after modifying the design of the half of them.
There are numerous studies that have already been pointing to how consumers we are very influenceable at the time of purchase, as we often buy on impulse and make the vast majority of decisions in the same store. The psychology of the buyer is used by merchants to, for example, place basic necessities very far away, forcing us to go through all the aisles of the store, or place sweets and snacks very tempting at the checkout line.
Already in 2018 another British investigation published in the same medium pointed out the need to remove sweets and chips from the vicinity of the boxes to reduce the amount of unhealthy breaths that so fill shopping baskets, especially in the case of the United Kingdom, where obesity rates and related health problems are one of the great current problems.
More visible fruits and vegetables, buy healthier
In this new pilot study, the researchers have worked in six stores of the chain Iceland Foods Ltd, very popular for its low prices and great discounts, frequented by the most disadvantaged classes and low-income families in the UK. To do this, they modified the location of sweets, fresh fruits and vegetables, placing the former away from the boxes, and the fresh products closer to them.
Taking as a sample 150 women between the ages of 18 and 45 With a loyalty card from the chain, due to its importance in defining the diet of children and the whole family, the study showed that after several months the sales of fresh vegetables had increased, and that of ultra-processed vegetables had decreased. confectionery.
The work, led by the researchers Christina vogel and Janis Baird, conclude so modify the design of supermarkets can help make healthier purchasing decisions and change the habits of the population towards the dietary recommendations that are promoted by the British government. “The findings of our study suggest that a healthier store layout could lead to nearly 10,000 more servings of fruits and vegetables, and roughly 1,500 fewer units of candy per week in each store,” says Vogel.
The traditional model of a large hypermarket, in addition to placing those impulsive “whims” in the boxes, used to place fresh products far from the entrance, although it is a design that is changing. Either for logistics, or for a commitment to promote the sale of fresh vegetables, more and more large chains are betting on displaying fruits and vegetables very close to the entrance.
Spanish consumers increasingly buy more fresh products and we still prefer to make these purchases in physical stores, being the great challenge that online commerce faces. Industry experts recommend that companies not only facilitate consumer access, but also take care of the quality, presentation and placement of the same, in order to promote their sales.
Photos | Unsplash
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