Evaluation of food commercialization parameters in retail stores to support interventions in the food environment

Abstract

Interventions in retail food stores, focused on the consumer based on social marketing strategies and also focused on storeowners based on strategies to support establishments, have shown to be promising in changing consumer behavior and promoting healthy eating. For an appropriate intervention, a proper diagnosis of the stores is needed, identifying characteristics that may facilitate or hamper an intervention implementation. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the parameters of food commercialization in retail food stores. This is a cross-sectional study, in which 9 retail food stores of low-income regions were assessed, at Santos city. To evaluate such stores, an instrument with 48 questions was developed and validated. As a result, fruits and vegetables were more frequently acquired through the self-purchase mechanism, and whole foods were received via food distributors. Fruit acquisitions were more frequent (1-3 x/week) than wholegrain foods procurements (1-2 x/month), what can be explained by the food groups’ distinct perishability. Regarding profitability degree, fruits and vegetables had smaller scores than those of whole foods. Evaluating commercialization parameters is useful for developing interventions to make retail food stores healthier, increasing exposure to healthy foods and, from there, contribute to changing consumer behavior. In addition, it can contribute to promoting public policies to strengthen retail food stores, which are important to the habits and food consumption in Brazil.