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.
Highlights
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019 online grocery sales grew 22% relative to 2018 in the United States (US)
There were no significant differences between race, income, or education across the study arms at the baseline
There was a significant difference across study arms between the rural and urban status
Summary
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019 online grocery sales grew 22% relative to 2018 in the United States (US). After COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the US, severe closures and a surge in online grocery shopping (including the delivery of items ordered online and pick-up at store location of food ordered online) for various food and beverages, with an increase of 48% in online sales was observed [1]. Rural customers, and those participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), still report barriers to online grocery ordering, including delivery fees, inconvenient pick-up times, and an overall lack of availability of online grocery services in their geographic area [3,4,5]. Recent evidence suggests a limited uptake of online grocery shopping, especially among rural populations, even when financial incentives are provided [6,7].
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