Using Online Food Retail "Nudges" to Promote Healthier Beverage Intake Among Low-Income Children

Using Online Food Retail "Nudges" to Promote Healthier Beverage Intake Among Low-Income Children

The specific aims of this proposal are to 1) develop online food retail nudges to discourage sugary drink purchases and promote healthier substitutes; 2) examine the impact of online store nudges on purchases of sugary drinks in an online randomized controlled experiment with low-income parents, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)-participating parents, of children age 1-5 years; and 3) disseminate findings to retailers, including those participating in the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot.

Inclusion Criteria:

For Aim 1, the inclusion criteria are as follows:

• parent (or caregiver) of children ages 1-5 years;
• the ability to read and write in English;
• aged 18 years or older;
• household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level;
• previously purchased fruit drinks for their children;
• have ever shopped for groceries online in the last 12 months,
• live in the US, and
• have access to a personal computer, laptop, or tablet.

The inclusion criteria for Aim 2 are identical to the inclusion criteria for Aim 1, except the researchers will not aim to recruit exclusively parents who have previously purchased sugary drinks for their children or who have ever shopped for groceries online in the last 12 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

The exclusion criteria for Aim 1 include:

• not parent (or caregiver) of children ages 1-5 years;
• aged <18 years or >99 years;
• lack the ability to read and speak English;
• household income above 185% the federal poverty level;
• have never purchased fruit drinks for their children;
• have never shopped for groceries online in the last 12 months;
• do not live in the US, and;
• do not have access to a personal computer, laptop, or tablet. The exclusion criteria for Aim 2 are identical to the exclusion criteria for Aim 1, except participants who have never purchased sugary drinks for their children and have never shopped for groceries online in the last 12 months will not be excluded.