Price promotions on food delivery and takeaway apps and websites are causing people to order more than they intended, research from Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has found.
The research examined how digital promotional and marketing strategies influence consumer behaviour, finding that price promotions and upselling are the most commonly used tactics before and during ordering.
The impact of price promotions on consumer behaviour was of particular concern, stated FSS, as food and drink purchased and consumed from the out of home environment tends to be higher in calories, fat, sugar and salt. The majority (over three quarters) of the orders placed during the research used a promotion.
Consumers were exposed to a range of promotions and other marketing strategies when placing their orders, averaging around six per order. This was observed to be higher when ordering from chain outlets compared to independents, and when using an aggregator app or website, such as JustEat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats.
Laura Wilson, Head of Public Health Nutrition at FSS, said:“Improving health has never been more important. It’s really hard to eat well when the food options around us are flooded with unhealthy items. The digital food environment has transformed the way we access food and drink – putting it in the palm of our hand. This research shows there is a heavy promotional landscape which is pushing us to buy more than planned when ordering digitally. This is of real concern when we know that foods from take aways are typically higher in calories, fat, sugar and/or salt than foods from supermarkets.
“We need policies that significantly rebalance the food environment towards healthy food that is available, affordable, and an appealing option for everyone. We can no longer rely on education, public awareness campaigns or voluntary measures to enable everyone to eat well.”
To address this, FSS and Public Health Scotland (PHS) have been developing a framework to support out of home outlets provide and promote healthy food to their customers. The Eating Out, Eating Well (EOEW) framework was piloted with business across Scotland last year and is currently being evaluated, with the findings being used to identify next steps.
Claire Hislop, Organisational Lead, Food and Physical Activity, Public Health Scotland, said: “Having an environment where healthy food is available and affordable, and where physical activity is part of everyday life, will help improve the health of everyone in Scotland.
“Action is needed to support food businesses to rebalance promotions towards healthier food and drinks which enables and encourages the healthier option to be the easiest and affordable choice for consumers.”
