Online Pilot Grocery Intervention among Rural and Urban Residents Aimed to Improve Purchasing Habits

Abstract

Online grocery shopping has the potential to improve access to food, particularly among low-income households located in urban food deserts and rural communities. The primary aim of this pilot intervention was to test whether a three-armed online grocery trial improved fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchases. Rural and urban adults across seven counties in Kentucky, Maryland, and North Carolina were recruited to participate in an 8-week intervention in fall 2021. A total of 184 adults were enrolled into the following groups: (1) brick-and-mortar “BM” (control participants only received reminders to submit weekly grocery shopping receipts); (2) online-only with no support “O” (participants received weekly reminders to grocery shop online and to submit itemized receipts); and (3) online shopping with intervention nudges “O+I” (participants received nudges three times per week to grocery shop online, meal ideas, recipes, Facebook group support, and weekly reminders to shop online and to submit itemized receipts). On average, reported food spending on F/V by the O+I participants was USD 6.84 more compared to the BM arm. Online shopping with behavioral nudges and nutrition information shows great promise for helping customers in diverse locations to navigate the increasing presence of online grocery shopping platforms and to improve F&V purchases.

A Proof-of-Concept Pilot Test of a Behavioral Intervention to Improve Adherence to Dietary Recommendations for Cancer Prevention

“…This is noteworthy, given that many previous intervention approaches which have implemented behavioral strategies to modify the nutritional quality of supermarket purchases found no significant effects. [59][60][61] Additionally, prior interventions with proven efficacy for improving adherence to cancer prevention dietary guidelines have been more intense, comprehensive, and longer in duration (i.e., 12 months, including sessions with a nutritionist). 62,63 The significant effects and effect sizes observed for this pilot study are sufficient to warrant a fully powered trial to test efficacy.…”

“…The study also did not meet the benchmark of having food purchasing data passively captured from store accounts for 90% of participants. At baseline, 59.6% of participants had available grocery purchasing data. At post-treatment, 53.2% of participants had available data.…”

Food delivery before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

“…Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010). In rural communities, there are limited online delivery options and fewer establishments offer delivery services (Gustafson et al , 2022). Food delivery in rural areas encounters challenges such as low consumer density, larger distances that have to be traveled by service providers and pavement quality of roads (Gee et al , 2021), which makes food delivery services more expensive in rural areas than in urban areas (Gee et al , 2021; OECD.…”

Vendors’ Perceptions and Experiences with WIC Online Shopping Implementation

“…One study found in February 2023 that 27% of households with incomes of ≤$35,000 purchased ≥$50 worth of groceries in a national e-commerce platform that month [ 15 ]. Furthermore, research among participants of federal food assistance programs found online shopping increased access to healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables [ 16 ], and one study found that most who shopped online during the pandemic planned to continue to shop online in the future [ 17 ]. Thus, WIC online shopping (WIC OS) has the potential to improve the WIC participant experience and reduce food access inequities when shopping with WIC food benefits [ 18 ].…”