Article:
People Eat Less Junk Food When Buying Groceries Online
For people who just can't seem to pass up the candy or cookies but still want to cut down on unhealthy foods, there might be a simple solution — shopping for groceries online.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, looked at the shopping habits of 137 people over a period of 44 weeks between 2015 and 2017. The study found that, when shopping online, people spent an average of about $2.50 less on unhealthy impulse purchases, such as candy, ice cream and cakes, compared to shopping in stores.
While the study did not look at the reasons why people spent less on unhealthy foods when shopping online, the authors say that customers may not feel such a strong need to buy these products when they don't see them in person. Also, many supermarkets allow customers to use pre-saved shopping lists online, so they don't go around looking at other products.
When it comes to spending money on sugary drinks, and sweet and salty snacks, however, there seems to be no difference between shopping online and in stores. This is probably because many people plan on buying these items and purchase them regularly, the researchers say.
And while online shopping might help people make healthier food choices, it comes at a cost. Shoppers were found to spend 44% more money and purchase more items when buying groceries online.
The study also found that most shopping is still done in person, with participants ordering groceries online only around 20% of the time.
Questions:
What do you think of this article?
Have you ever bought groceries online? Why? Why not?
Why do you think people spent 44% more money when shopping for groceries online?
Are there any good points about buying groceries online?
Are there any bad points about buying groceries online?
What junk food do you like the most?
Do you often make impulse purchases when you go shopping?
Do you generally prefer sweet or salty snacks? Why?
What are your favorite sugary drinks? How often do you have them?
Are there any foods that you're trying to cut down on? Why?
Have you ever used Uber Eats? How was that?