Supermarket Research Articles

Design and Implementation of an Automated Trolley with self-billing System for Super Market Applications

Design and Implementation of an Automated Trolley with self-billing System for Super Market Applications

Unhealthy food availability, prominence and promotion in a representative sample of supermarkets in Flanders (Belgium): a detailed assessment

IntroductionThe supermarket food environment is a key setting for potential public health interventions. This study assessed food availability, prominence and promotion in a representative sample of supermarkets in Flanders (Belgium).MethodsA sample of 55 supermarkets across five chains and 16 Flemish municipalities was selected in 2022, about 64% in the most deprived socioeconomic areas. Healthiness indicators related to food availability (ratio of cumulative linear shelf length for healthy versus unhealthy foods), prominence (proportion of unhealthy foods at check-outs and end-of-aisle endcaps), and promotion (food marketing on food packages) were measured.ResultsOverall, the average ratio of healthy/unhealthy foods in supermarkets in Flanders was 0.36, meaning that for every 10m of shelf length of unhealthy foods there was 3.6m of healthy foods. There was a large variation in ratio’s across supermarket chains. Of all foods available, 97.5% were ultra-processed at the check outs, while 72.2% and 58.5% were ultra-processed at the front and back end-of-aisle end-caps, respectively. Confectionery and sweet biscuits were the food categories with on average the highest number of marketing messages on pack per 10m of shelf length.ConclusionSupermarket in-store food environments in Flanders were found generally unhealthy, with those located in low income areas having unhealthier in-store food environments than supermarkets located in medium and high income areas. Despite commitments of all large supermarket chains in Flanders to promote and create healthier in-store food environments, our findings indicate that currently consumers are incentivized to buy unhealthy rather than healthy food products.

Physicochemical and microbiological evaluation of tucupis sold in supermarkets in the city of Belém – PA

Tucupi is one of the main foods of Pará gastronomy, and its presence is more and more marked in Brazil, intensifying the sanitary surveillance control over this type of product. Goals. This article aimed to carry out the physical-chemical and microbiological characterization of tucupi sold in a supermarket in Belém-Pará. The analyzes were performed at the Laboratory of Food Hygiene and Bioprocesses at the Federal University of Pará. Seven samples of tucupi were used, obtained from supermarket chains in Belém-Pa. For the physical-chemical analysis, the following were analyzed: pH, Brix, and total titratable acidity, and for the microbiological analysis: aerobic mesophiles, total and thermotolerant coliforms, molds, and yeasts. Results ranged from 2.0 to 4.52 for pH, 1.0 to 8.0 for oBrix, and 6.6 to 16.0 meq NaOH.100 mL–1 for total titratable acidity. Free cyanide values ranged from 3.89 to 4.87 among the seven brands. The results for microbiological analysis went from 1.1x104 to 5.9x106 CFU/ml for molds and yeasts, from 1.2x105 to 1.3x108 CFU/ml for aerobic mesophiles and were absent for total coliforms and thermotolerant coliforms in all samples used. The highest count of molds and yeasts was observed for Tucupi VII, and the highest count of aerobic mesophiles was observed for Tucupi III. It was verified that, in general, the tucupi analyzed were within the contamination limits suggested by the legislation as suitable for consumption.

Các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến động lực làm việc của nhân viên bán hàng chuỗi siêu thị tại Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

This study determines and measures the effect of working motivation of sales staff in supermarket chains at Ho Chi Minh City. The data are collected from 205 valid survey forms and analyzed results using quantitative analysis method. The results show that: (i) Nature of work; (ii) Salary and compensation; (iii) Working conditions; (iv) Promotion and career development; (v) Relationship with leaders; (vi) Relationship with colleagues - are the six criteria that influence the working motivation of sales staff. In particular, the Salary and compensation variable has the strongest impact on the working motivation, whilst Relationship with colleagues and Relationship with leaders are the second and the third position respectively. The findings of this study help supermarket chain managers pay attention to financial and non-financial compensation policies that increase the working motivation of sales staff at supermarket chains.

Affection from Packing on Impulsive Buying

Purpose: Buyers may purchase instantly during changing social construct considering the viability of time except for priority purchases. Emotions, desires, and the immediate visual appeal of a product as packaging can leverage these psychological triggers by utilizing captivating colors, typography, imagery, and other design elements that elicit strong emotional responses from consumers. Several theories have justified the high significance of packing influence though under changing social and technical conditions its influence on impulsive buying behaviour is not studied yet in case of super market of eastern Nepal. The research aims to test the significance of packaging design and their impact among eastern Nepal consumers' impulsive purchases of supermarket consumable goods. Design/Methodology/Approach: A structured questionnaire was employed to collect primary information from 222 respondents using convenience sampling. The associative impact of packing on impulsive buying behaviour has been analysed using Regression analysis in SPSS followed by literature validation. Findings/Result: Different packaging elements namely color, product information, shape of the package, packaging material and image was identified and their affection with impulsive buying behavior were tested. The findings of the study conclude color, Package Material and Image does influence impulsive buying behavior of consumer whereas Product Information and Shape does not have similar impact. It also confirms that factors such as age, gender, income, and occupation do not impact the affection between product information, shape, and impulsive buying behavior. Originality/Value: This is the primary experimental exploration in Easter Nepal to think about and assess the Impact of packing Elements on Imprudent Purchasing Conduct. Paper Type: Research paper

BIM USE IN GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION PROCESSES

Green building certification schemes have been developed to incentivize sustainable construction leading to the development of green BIM technology, which uses multi-disciplinary data to support sustainable construction. However, due to a lack of understanding, interoperability, and technical issues, BIM is not widely used to support green building certification. This study investigates the current use of BIM for certification purposes, the building characteristics or information that need to be modeled, and the skills or knowledge required to use BIM for green building certification. The research, which employed a case study approach, examined the BIM use in a recently built 6 Green Star rated Head Office of a major supermarket chain in south Auckland. The main data collection methods were document analysis and semi-structured interviews with key project stakeholders. The results suggest that despite generally good knowledge of BIM and sustainable building design, the connection between BIM and green building certification is weak or non-existent. Instead, BIM is used mainly for model authoring, coordination, quantity take-off, and basic sustainability analysis. The main factors hindering BIM integration that have been identified are low-quality modeling, lack of multi-disciplinary coordination, and inefficient procurement. It is recommended that BIM usage should be accurately detailed and coordinated for downstream uses to gain the most value. Procurement should also accommodate appropriate BIM procedures to encourage multi-disciplinary coordination. Furthermore, new technology and research development are also needed to increase interoperability with sustainable (green) software.

PENGARUH KUALITAS PELAYANAN DAN HARGA TERHADAP KEPUASAN KONSUMEN PADA TOKO MONTE SWALAYAN CAFÉ SALON DI KOTA PALOPO

This study aims to analyze the effect of service quality and price on customer satisfaction at monte self-service café salon shops (self-service case study) in Palopo City. Sampling method with incidental sampling (incidental sampling). The number of samples in this study were 33 respondents from an unknown population. Data collection techniques using observation, questionnaire and documentation. Data processing techniques with a regression system with the help of SPSS software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) data analysis techniques used are validity test, reliability test, multiple linear regression test, determinant coefficient test, t test (partial) and F test (simultaneous) . The results of this study concluded that service quality has a positive and significant impact on consumer satisfaction at Monte Self-Service Stores in Palopo City. There is an effect of price on consumer satisfaction, the better the quality of service and the price provided, the more satisfied consumers will feel, the more positive and significant effect this will have on consumer satisfaction at monte supermarkets in the city of Palopo.

Effects of Firm Size on Adoption of Digitalized Marketing Operations Tactics by Chain Supermarkets in Kenya

Purpose: There are different types of drivers of adoption of digitalized marketing operations tactics which include firm size, firm readiness, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, customer pressure and competitive pressure. The purpose of this study was to address the relationship between firm size and the adoption of digitalized marketing operations tactics by chain supermarkets in Kenya. Digitalized marketing operations has transformed the retail sectors by providing access to instantaneous, inexpensive contact among sellers, buyers, investors and advertisers anywhere in the world. This has led to traditional marketing and sales strategies becoming less effective in today’s markets.However, there exist a digital divide between consumers and retailers with many retailers failing to leverage the potential of or meet the digital expectations of their customers. This gap between consumers expectation and retail offerings puts at risk more than just shopping revenue that physical store could have earned online, but also poses a serious threat to overall revenue and a challenge to the way they respond to, and anticipate, customers’ shopping habits in-store.
 Methodology: The research study considered the positivism research philosophy and adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of the study was 180 retail chain supermarkets stores in Kenya and all the 180 retail chain supermarkets were included in the sample. The research instrument of the study was a semi-structured questionnaire administered to all the 180 chief operations managers by use of google surveys and/or drop and pick method. The quantitative information was analysed by the help of SPSS program (v.25.0) and Excel.
 Findings: The findings were presented in form of averages, standard deviations, counts and percentages by use of tables. The findings revealed that firm size which include number of employees, number of branches and monthly average customer turnovers (β=0.459, p=0.000) have a positive and significant relationship with the adoption of digitalized marketing operations tactics by chain supermarkets in Kenya. This implies that improvement in 1 unit of the aspects related to firm size improves the adoption of digitalized marketing operations tactics by chain supermarkets in Kenya by 0.253 units.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: From the findings, the study recommends the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the chain supermarket industry to embrace digital marketing operations tactics and also provide additional support and resources to help them overcome the barriers to adoption. It also recommends creation of awareness among larger firms about the benefits of digital marketing operations tactics, and the potential competitive advantage they can provide. The Diffusion of Innovation theory was validated and provided valuable insights into the factors influencing the adoption of digitalized marketing operations tactics by chain supermarkets in Kenya.

Microbiological Survey and Antimicrobial Resistance of Foodborne Bacteria in Select Meat Products and Ethnic Food Products Procured from Food Desert Retail Outlets in Central Virginia, USA.

In food desert areas, low-income households without convenient transportation often shop at small, independently owned corner markets and convenience stores (SIOMs). Studies indicate a higher potential for reduced product quality and safety of foods sold at SIOMs, with more critical and non-critical code violations in the region. This study aimed to assess the difference in market scale on the microbiological quality in select food products procured from food deserts in Central Virginia. A total of 326 samples consisting of meat products (i.e., ground beef, chicken, and sausage), ethnic food products (i.e., ox tail, stock fish bite, egusi ground, and saffron powder), and food packaging surfaces procured from ten registered SIOMs and nine large chain supermarkets (LCSMs) between August 2018 and March 2020 were evaluated. Higher levels of aerobic mesophile and coliform counts were found in SIOMs-acquired samples than in LCSMs-acquired samples, as demonstrated by the lower food safety compliance rate of SIOMs. Regardless of SIOMs or LCSMs, Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella were detected in 3.6%, 20.9%, 5.5%, and 2.7% of samples, respectively. The majorities of Campylobacter (75%, 6/8) and Salmonella (83.3%, 5/6) detected were from SIOMs-acquired samples including ethnic food products. Among the tested antimicrobials, AMP (100%) and TOB (100%) showed the highest frequency of resistance among Campylobacter, TCY (69.9%) among E. coli, NAL (100%) among Listeria, and TCY (50%) among Salmonella, respectively. The prevalence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) and non-susceptibility in Campylobacter and non-susceptibility in Listeria isolated from SIOMs-acquired food products were lower than those isolated from LCSMs-acquired samples. A higher price of the same brand name commodity sold at SIOMs than those sold at LCSMs was also observed, indicating an increased financial burden to economically challenged residents in food desert areas, in addition to food safety concerns. Elaborated and in-depth research on a larger-scale sample size with a greater diversity of products is needed to determine and intervene in the cause(s) of the observed differences in the prevalence of the pathogens and AMR profiles.

Nutritional information on the labels of processed and ultra-processed foods and beverages marketed in a supermarket chain in Lima in 2022.

Motivation for the study. Peruvian Law No. 30021 establishes the use of warning octagons for foods with high content of critical nutrients (sugar, sodium, saturated and trans fats); however, the declaration of nutritional information is not mandatory. Main findings. Of a total of 4404 processed and ultra-processed foods marketed in supermarkets in Lima, only 71.4% declared some type of nutritional information. In addition, only 46.0% declared information on the content of critical nutrients regulated by Law No. 30021. Implications. There is a need for a mandatory and standardized declaration of nutritional information on packaged foods marketed in Peru, in order to allow the population to make healthy decisions when choosing their food and to monitor the correct use of warning octagons. . To estimate the number of processed and ultra-processed beverages and foods that provide nutritional information on their packaging, and to describe the characteristics of this information, as well as to determine the presence of nutritional information on products with octagons. Photographs were taken of the labels of 4404 processed and ultra-processed beverages and foods marketed in supermarkets in Metropolitan Lima. The information on the label was collected and registered in the mobile and web version of the Food Label Information Program (FLIP). We analyzed variables related to the nutritional information, the way in which such information is declared and the information in beverages and foods with octagons. Only 71.4% of the products had some type of nutritional information. Of these, 13.8% provided the nutritional information as a text and not in a table, and only 56.3% declared it per 100 grams or milliliters. Of the total number of foods with the octagon "Contains trans fats", only 19.2% declared their content. More than a quarter of the beverages and packaged foods in the Peruvian market did not provide nutritional information of any kind, and of those that did, only one did so in different formats and units. In addition, we found that a proportion of beverages and foods for each type of octagon did not declare information of the nutrient that is mentioned in the octagon.

Real-life experiments in supermarkets to encourage healthy dietary-related behaviours: opportunities, challenges and lessons learned

BackgroundSupermarkets are the primary source of food for many people yet their full potential as a setting to encourage healthy dietary-related behaviours remains underutilised. Sharing the experiences from research groups who have worked with supermarket chains to evaluate strategies that promote healthy eating could improve the efficiency of building such relationships and enhance the design quality of future research studies.MethodsA collective case study approach was used to synthesise experiences of engaging and sustaining research collaborations with national supermarket chains to test the effectiveness of health-focused in-store interventions. The collective narrative covers studies conducted in three high-income countries: Australia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.ResultsWe have distilled our experiences and lessons learned into six recommendations for conducting high quality public health research with commercial supermarket chains. These include: (i) using personal contacts, knowledge of supermarket activities and engaging executive management to establish a partnership and allowing time to build trust; (ii) using scientifically robust study designs with appropriate sample size calculations; (iii) formalising data exchange arrangements and allocating adequate resource for data extraction and re-categorisation; (iv) assessing effects at individual/households level where possible; (v) designing a mixed-methods process evaluation to measure intervention fidelity, dose and unintended consequences; and (vi) ensuring scientific independence through formal contract agreements.ConclusionsOur collective experiences of working in non-financial partnerships with national supermarket chains could be useful for other research groups looking to develop and implement supermarket studies in an efficient manner. Further evidence from real-life supermarket interventions is necessary to identify sustainable strategies that can improve population diet and maintain necessary commercial outcomes.

Optimizing Distribution Routes for Chain Supermarket Considering Carbon Emission Cost

The low-carbon economy and sustainable development have become a widespread consensus. Chain supermarkets should pay attention to path optimization in the process of distribution to reduce carbon emissions. This study takes chain supermarkets as the research object, focusing on the optimization of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) in supermarket store distribution. Firstly, based on the concept of cost-effectiveness, we constructed a green and low-carbon distribution route optimization model with the lowest cost. With cost minimization as the objective function, the total distribution cost in the vehicle delivery process includes fixed cost, transportation cost, and carbon emission cost. The carbon emission cost is calculated using the carbon tax mechanism. Secondly, through integrating the Floyd algorithm, the nearest neighbor algorithm, and the insertion algorithm, a fusion heuristic algorithm was proposed for model solving, and an empirical study was conducted using the W chain supermarket in Wuhan as an example. The experimental results show that optimizing distribution routes considering carbon emission cost can effectively reduce carbon emissions. At the same time, it can also reduce the total costs of enterprises and society, thereby achieving greater social benefits at lower costs. The research results provide effective suggestions for chain supermarkets to control carbon emissions during the distribution process.

Marketing Two Immunization Services at a Regional Supermarket Chain Pharmacy.

Background: Personal selling of immunization services includes starting a dialogue with patients, utilizing effective questioning and listening skills to identify their vaccination needs, and recommending appropriate vaccines accordingly. The study objectives were (1) to integrate personal selling into the dispensing workflow to promote pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23), and (2) to evaluate the impact of personal selling and automated telephone calls to promote herpes zoster vaccine (ZVL). Methods: For the first study objective, a pilot project was conducted at one out of 19 affiliated supermarket pharmacies. Dispensing records were used to target patients with diabetes mellitus for PPSV23, and personal selling was implemented over a 3-month period. For the second study objective, a full study was conducted among the nineteen pharmacies, with five in the study group and 14 in the control group. Personal selling was implemented over a 9-month period, and automated telephone calls were placed and tracked over a 6-week period. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare vaccine delivery rates between the study and control groups. Results: In the pilot project, 47 patients needed PPSV23, but none received it from the pharmacy. In the full study, 900 ZVL vaccines were given, with 459 given for 15.5% of the eligible patients in the study group. During the time when 2087 automated telephone calls were placed and tracked, 85 vaccines were given across all pharmacies, with 48 given for 1.6% of the eligible patients in the study group. During both the 9-month and 6-week periods, the mean ranks of vaccine delivery rates in the study group were higher than the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The pilot project incorporated personal selling into the dispensing workflow and, although no vaccines were given, provided valuable lessons. The full study demonstrated that personal selling alone and personal selling combined with automated telephone calls were associated with higher vaccine delivery rates.

“This is Part of Everything that is Wrong with the World” – A Comparative Analysis of Sustainability Framing in Social Media Discussions About Food in Five Countries

ABSTRACT Current western food systems are attested to be clearly unsustainable – but are people aware of this in their everyday life as they deal with the food offerings of their preferred supermarkets? To discover which links people actually make between the ecological, economical, and social impacts of the food systems and their personal food choices, our comparative, qualitative content analysis looks at everyday discussions on Facebook pages of supermarket chains in Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, and South Africa (n = 1.775 comments). Our findings reveal that the term “sustainability” is never explicitly mentioned. Yet, people in UK and Germany, which rank high on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), do link food closely to a number of very concrete sustainability issues (e.g. CO2-emissions, biodiversity, plastic waste) and intra-generational justice (e.g. fair wages). They discuss a broad variety of problems, even though these discussions do not get political (e.g. promoting political activism, petitions, or buycotts). In the samples from Canada and the US, countries which rate lower on the Environmental Performance Index, sustainability issues and food get rarely linked. The findings indicate that higher ambitions in sustainable development on a policy level go hand in hand with higher awareness in everyday life discussions.

Using Mixed Reality Application for Super Market: A Case Study

Abstract: Augmented Reality and Virtual reality applications are not a new thing in today’s era and are getting popular day by day. Mixed reality is where physical and virtual environments are combined to give life like experience to the customer. Due to user friendly nature of the mixed reality applications, they are mainly developed for end user’s. Supermarkets are frequently visited and crowded place many due to market competition store try to churn in customers with exciting offers and discounts but due to large variety and large quantity of the products combined with different brands there is so much information which gets lost as intended users don’t get to know products which they require due to shelf arrangement and not knowing location of the products to the user leads to loss of the super market. This paper focuses on how mixed reality can be applied in super market environment to help customers find required products and provide inherent user experience to the end user.

Consumer worldviews and perspectives on environmental sustainability initiatives in the South African supermarket sector

The major South African supermarket chains are important players in the retail sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, which represents one of the fastest growing consumer markets globally. These companies are critical in promoting environmental sustainability initiatives in supply chains, as a means of enhancing the sustainability of production and consumption. However, there is a significant research gap on the visibility and acceptability of environmental sustainability initiatives among consumers in the retail sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study is to elicit the perspectives of South African consumers on environmental sustainability initiatives in the supermarket sector, and understand how their environmental worldviews could influence the perceptions of these activities and ultimately purchasing decisions. Data was collected from consumer surveys in major supermarket chains in South Africa, and the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale was used to elicit respondents’ environmental worldviews. Findings show that respondents are aware and supportive of a variety of environmental sustainability strategies in their preferred supermarket stores. Recycling activities were the most observed strategy and decreased packaging activities the least. Although most respondents exhibit pro-ecological worldviews, this is not always translated into better visibility of these initiatives or sustainable purchasing behaviour. We suggest that supermarkets should be nudged to become more active agents of social and environmental change. For this it would be necessary to better understand and influence consumer environmental worldviews, as a means of enhancing the visibility and performance of their environmental sustainability initiatives. Our findings can assist researchers and sustainability managers in better understanding consumer perspectives in emerging economies, and their responses to green initiatives in supermarkets, and the retail sector more broadly.

Differences in a Chain Supermarket's Sales to SNAP Shoppers Before and Since the COVID-19 Pandemic

ObjectiveThis study 1) compares grocery sales to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shoppers in rural and urban grocery stores and 2) estimates changes in sales to SNAP shoppers in North Carolina (NC) since the pandemic. DesignWeekly transaction data among loyalty shoppers at a large grocery chain across NC from October 2019 to December 2020 (n = 32; 182 store weeks) to assess nutritional outcomes. SettingNorth Carolina large chain grocery stores. ParticipantsLarge chain grocery store/SNAP shoppers. InterventionRural/urban status of the stores and COVID-19 pandemic onset. Main Outcome MeasuresShare of total calories sold from fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes (FVNL) with and without additives, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), less healthful foods (LHF), and processed meats (PM). AnalysisMultivariate random effects models with robust standard errors to examine the association of rural/urban status before and since coronavirus disease 2019 with the share of calories sold to SNAP shoppers from each food category. We controlled for county-level factors (eg, sociodemographic composition, food environment) and store-level factors. ResultsWe did not find significant rural-urban differences in the composition of sales to SNAP shoppers in adjusted models. There was a significant decrease in the mean share of total calories from sugar-sweetened beverages (−0.43%) and less healthful food (−1.32%) and an increase in the share from processed meats (0.09%) compared with before the pandemic (P < 0.05). Conclusions and ImplicationsUrban-rural definitions are insufficient to understand nuances in food environments, and more support is needed to ensure healthy food access.

Levonorgestrel Emergency Contraception Availability in Louisiana Independent and Chain Pharmacies Post-Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization [ID: 1376654

INTRODUCTION: Following recent legal changes, there is increased confusion regarding availability of medications for reproductive health, including emergency contraception (EC). We aimed to quantify over-the-counter (OTC) access to levonorgestrel EC in three metropolitan Louisiana parishes (counties) among chain and independent pharmacies. METHODS: This cross-sectional study took place during August and September 2022. Secret shoppers surveyed all retail pharmacies in Jefferson, Orleans, and Terrebonne parishes. Pharmacies were classified as independent or chain based on affiliation with supermarket or drug store chains. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs were used to compare availability of OTC EC. RESULTS: Among 212 retail pharmacies, 55% (n=117) were large chain pharmacies and 45% were independent stores. Only 67% (n=141) had EC in stock. Chain pharmacies were more likely to offer EC than independent pharmacies (92% versus 35%, OR 22.6, 95% CI [10.1, 50.2]). Independent pharmacies were more likely to keep OTC EC behind the counter (91% versus 11%, OR 80.0, 95% CI [21.2, 302.5]), require identification (45% versus 4%, OR 21.7, 95% CI [6.5, 72.7]), and carry no EC less than $50 (24% versus 2%, OR 17.0, 95% CI [3.4, 84.8]). Among pharmacies without EC available, no chain pharmacies described recent changes in EC stock, while 5 out of 28 (18%) respondent independent pharmacies attributed loss of EC stock to recent legislation. CONCLUSION: Independent pharmacies were less likely to carry OTC EC and more likely to enforce multiple barriers to purchase. Recent legislation has disproportionately further reduced EC availability at these pharmacies.

Supermarket promotions in Western Sweden are incompatible with Nordic dietary recommendations and differ by area-level socioeconomic index

BackgroundLarge supermarket chains produce weekly advertisements to promote foods and influence consumer purchases. The broad consumer reach of these ads presents an opportunity to promote foods that align with dietary recommendations. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the health quality of supermarkets’ weekly food promotions in a large region of Sweden with attention to more and less advantaged socioeconomic index areas.MethodsAnalysis of weekly advertisements from 122 individual stores, representing seven chains, was carried out in a large region of Sweden from 2–29 March in 2020. Food promotions were divided into categories according to the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations and World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe’s nutrient profile model, and defined as ‘most healthy’, ‘healthy’, ‘unhealthy’ and ‘most unhealthy’. A mean socioeconomic index was used to classify each store location to determine whether proportions of the ‘most unhealthy’ foods differed between more advantaged and more disadvantaged socioeconomic index areas.ResultsIn total, 29,958 food items were analyzed. Two-thirds of promotions belonged to the food groups considered ‘most unhealthy’ and ‘unhealthy’. In the ‘most unhealthy’ food group ‘sugar-rich beverages and foods’ constituted approximately 23.0% of the promotions. Food promotions had 25% increased odds to be from the ‘most unhealthy’ group (odds ratio 1.25, confidence interval 1.17, 1.33) in more disadvantaged socioeconomic index areas. This association could be explained by the supermarket chain the stores belonged to.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that Swedish supermarkets promote a large proportion of unhealthy foods as classified by the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations. We also observe that certain national supermarket chains tend to locate their stores in more disadvantaged areas and promote a greater proportion of unhealthy foods in their weekly advertisements compared to the more advantaged areas. There is an urgent need for supermarkets to shift promotions toward healthier food items.

Feds Monetary Policy and Dynamic Changes in Stock Prices of Large Supermarket Chain

The U.S. is experiencing the highest inflation in 40 years, and prices have been rising. The Fed adjusts this rate to achieve one goal - to maintain maximum employment and price stability in the United States. But the Fed's sharp rate hikes also raise the risk of a sharp slowdown, especially as new challenges emerge, such as Russia's war with Ukraine and China's capacity problems due to Covid lockdowns. This article assesses the impact of Fed rate hikes on the supermarket stock market. This paper builds a VAR model and an ARMA-GARCH model to analyze changes in stock prices from the perspective of value and volatility. This paper finds that Fed rate hikes unsurprisingly negatively impacted stock returns and increased their volatility, leaving stock prices in an unpredictable situation. The research paper can give the Fed a reference data. When the Fed decides to raise interest rates, it needs to consider the current world economic situation. For example, flu and war will affect the world economy, and will also have some impact when the Fed raises interest rates.