How Mobile Grocery Sales Wagons Can Help Disadvantaged Shoppers in Residential Areas around Central Tokyo: Characteristics of Spatial Distribution of Usage Places and Purchased Items

Abstract

In Japan, the number of shoppers who have difficulty accessing stores is increasing. Their health is often at risk because they cannot use stores at an appropriate frequency or buy a sufficient amount and variety of groceries. Grocery access that maintains disadvantaged shoppers’ health is essential; thus, we investigated the effectiveness of mobile grocery sales (MGS) wagons as a possible solution. Using a detailed database, two analyses were conducted. The first analysis focused on the distribution of barriers en route to stores from the locations where people use the wagons. The second analysis focused on the amount and types of groceries customers purchased. Findings revealed that it was not only distance but also barriers on the roads, such as slopes, wide roads, and poorly installed sidewalks, that created the wagon demand. However, when limited to the occurrence of heavily used places, the impact of distance was greater as compared to the other barriers. Customers at such heavily used places bought most of their necessities, including discretionary items, from the wagons. By contrast, customers at less frequently used places regarded wagons as a complement to ordinary stores. Wagons contributed to customers’ wellbeing with diverse roles.