Food waste is a major global problem. The UN estimates that one third of all food goes to waste. Apart from the fact that this is happening in a world where many people don’t have enough to eat, food waste is both an economic and a climate problem.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Southern Methodist University investigated how different types of grocery sales strategies affect people’s shopping and food waste. The result was that bulk offers increase food sales by nearly 20%, but they also lead to increased food waste in people’s homes.
The study analyzed over 43,000 purchases of fresh vegetables in eight Swedish supermarkets. When customers were offered “two-fer” offers, they bought significantly more than when only single items were available. The attraction of a special offer can be strong. But, according to a follow-up survey, food from bulk offers ended up in the trash more often. People thought they were saving money, but often ended up buying more than they can eat.
The researchers tested two strategies for reducing overbuying. One was to make the actual savings explicit by displaying the regular price next to the offer. The second was to put a friendly reminder on the offer sign along the lines of “I’d love to come home with you if you eat me.” Both of these approaches resulted in reduced sales of 9-11% compared to the original volume offer despite the sale price remaining the same.
Clearly, small changes in marketing can make a big difference. Supermarkets play a big role in the occurrence of food waste and they have the ability to help nudge consumers into better behavior.
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Good deals – bad for the climate: Supermarket volume discounts lead to food waste
Photo, posted November 13, 2006, courtesy of Josh Hallett via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
