Do consumers need to be protected from themselves at the checkout lane?
It's not news to any observer of consumer behavior that there is often a stark difference between what people say and what they do. Forget all the talk about shopping lists and consumers limiting impulse purchases. It's all, as Vice President Joe Biden would say, "Malarkey."
The latest proof is research published in the New England Journal of Medicine which found, not surprisingly, that although many Americans claim to be trying to lose weight, they often wind up purchasing candy or other calorie-laden items strategically merchandised at the checkout.
According to the study's authors, Deborah A. Cohen, MD, of RAND Health in Santa Monica, and Susan H. Babey, PhD, of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the placement of foods high in fat, salt and sugar in areas such as the checkout lead to impulse purchases.
"Because of this chain of causation, we would argue that the prominent placement of foods associated with chronic diseases should be treated as a risk factor for those diseases," the authors wrote. "And in light of the public health implications, steps should be taken to mitigate that risk."