Nudging is often proposed as a promising policy approach for improving healthy choices among lower socioeconomic position (SEP) populations. However, nudges may not suit lower SEP contexts and empirical studies are scarce. We examined the efficacy of a repositioning nudge at a supermarket in a deprived neighborhood in improving healthier snack purchases and described customers’ healthy grocery shopping needs. Daily sales were collected during 4-week control and intervention periods, where healthier snacks replaced unhealthy snacks at the checkout. Besides, questionnaires were administered. More healthier snacks were sold per day during the intervention (Median = 2.50, Q1 = 2.00, Q3 = 3.50) than control period (Median = 0, Q1 = 0, Q3 = 1.00), B = 1.77, z = 5.50, p < .001, incidence rate ratio = 5.87 (95%CI [3.52, 10.17]). Despite statistical significance, the absolute number of healthier snacks sold remains negligible. Customers report to find it important to eat healthily and to think carefully about their groceries, but to hardly buy snacks at the checkout and desire a healthy and affordable food offer. Repositioning nudges may not suit the circumstances and needs of lower SEP populations. Interventions must be tailored to lower SEP groups and integrated with system-level policies.

The COVID-19 pandemic itself constitutes an environment for people to experience the potential loss of control and freedom due to social distancing measures and other government orders. Variety-seeking has been treated as a mechanism to regain a sense of self-control. Using Machine Learning model and household-level data with a focus on the wine market in the United States, this study showcases the changing variety-seeking behavior over the pandemic year of 2020, in which people’s perception of the status of restriction measures influences the degree of their use of variety-seeking behavior as a coping strategy. It is the shopping pattern and store environments that drive the behavioral responses in wine purchases to freedom-limited circumstances. Coupon use is associated with a lower variety-seeking tendency at the beginning of the stay-at-home order, but the variety level resumes when more time has passed in the restriction periods. Variety-seeking tendency increases with shopping frequency at the beginning of the social distancing measure but decreases to a level lower than all the non-restriction periods.

Research has demonstrated growing public interest in local food and that this interest is driven by a number of factors including supporting local farmers, reducing the distance food travels, sustaining the environment, and food safety and quality. However, there has been very little research relating factors to actual purchase behavior. This study begins to fill that gap by relating consumer beliefs and values toward local foods with activities that support local foods as well as the actual purchase behavior for 22 fresh produce items. Data were collected through an Ontario-wide, web-based survey that is part of a longitudinal panel regarding food issues. Results from 1879 completed surveys indicated consumers had positive perceptions of local food and felt responsible for buying local, but also experienced barriers when trying to do so. Positive perceptions toward local food and a greater sense of personal responsibility to buy local were positively associated and higher barriers negatively associated with the likelihood of engaging in activities related to supporting local food as well as buying fresh produce items that were produced in Ontario. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context that consumers seem to have an overall orientation or schema to buying local in general, rather than a highly specific schema directed to one or a few particular products.