Did you know your environment can have a profound impact on your health and habits? Research shows that even if you have good intentions for healthy living, your environment can impact daily choices. Take, for example, a recent study published in PLOS Medicine on grocery store organization and the way people shop. Food placement in grocery stores has long been a marketing strategy to get people to buy certain foods. Name-brands often compete for the most purchased spots in a store, such as the end of an aisle or the eye-level shelf. They know placement can influence consumer habits. But this fact made researchers wonder, “Would placing healthier products prominently change the way people shop?”
Taking this line of thinking, researchers partnered with a discount supermarket chain in the UK to pilot a research study comparing the effects of two product placement changes: