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A simple piece of duct tape can double the amount of healthy food shoppers buy at the grocery store, a marketing professor has discovered.
Collin Payne of New Mexico State University and his team stretched some yellow tape across the middle of a shopping cart, with a sign telling shoppers to put fruits and vegetables in one half and the other groceries in the other.
"We showed a 102 per cent increase in people buying fruits and vegetables, without showing a decrease in supermarket profitability," Payne said. "Allowing retailers such as supermarkets to maintain their profits is important in achieving buy-in for these kinds of tools."
Payne's test is one of the first to show a change in consumer behaviour, he said. Previous studies of food shopping and obesity have tried giving food ratings from 0 to 100 or giving them stars. None affected buying habits.
The secret to healthier grocery shopping: duct tape - Healthzone.ca
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Payne’s test is one of the first to show a change in consumer behaviour, he said. Previous studies of food shopping and obesity have tried giving food ratings from 0 to 100 or giving them stars. None affected buying habits.
“We’re looking for tools that will help consumers,” said Payne, who has previously studied food consumption and human psychology. “Right now, there are more tools helping them make less healthy decisions.”
Payne blames a new trend in food packaging for making healthy grocery shopping even harder. Cereals loaded with sugar, for example, label themselves “smart choices” with high fibre and fruits.
His next research will examine where best to stick the yellow duct tape to get the best results for producers, retailers and consumers.
Invented in 1937 by the owner of the Piggly-Wiggly store, the grocery shopping cart started as two small wire baskets on wheels and has evolved into a giant bucket for products, something retailers understand increases purchases.
Inventor Sylvan Goldman enticed reluctant shoppers to use the carts by staging decoy shoppers with heavily loaded carts throughout his store.
Today’s average shopping cart is nearly twice the size of the original.
Man, every single thing around us seems to affect how we think...probably will feel like a rat in a maze the next time I go grocery shopping...
The links are nice too, giving historical background on shopping carts.................well, I thought it was interesting...
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