To quantify sales trends for key energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods and beverages over 5 years in Australia.

The Euromonitor Global Market Information Database and linear regression models were used to estimate average annual change in sales per capita of thirteen EDNP food categories and two EDNP beverage categories (defined using Australian Dietary Guidelines) over 5 years (2012–2017 for foods and 2011–2016 for beverages). The average annual change in sales was divided by the observed sales in 2012 (foods) or 2011 (beverages) to estimate the average percentage-change in sales per capita per annum.

All major retail outlets in Australia.

Euromonitor Global Market Information Database sales data.

Between 2012 and 2017, sales per capita per annum of frozen pizza (6 %), pastries (5 %), potato chips (crisps) (5 %), tortilla chips (3 %), chocolate confectionery (2 %), frozen processed potatoes (2 %), ice cream (2 %) and sugar confectionery (0·2 %) increased. There were no changes in sales of sweet biscuits, chocolate spreads and cakes, and sales of savoury biscuits and processed meat decreased (–2 and –1 %, respectively). Between 2011 and 2016, sales per capita per annum of sports and energy drinks increased (4 %), sales of regular (sugar-sweetened) cola (–6 %) and all non-cola soft drinks (–1 %) decreased and sales of diet cola did not change.

Sales of EDNP foods and beverages generally increased or remained stable relative to population growth. Our results demonstrate the need for public health policies to reduce sales of EDNP foods and beverages.

Information about healthy and unhealthy nutrients is increasingly conveyed at the point of purchase. Many studies have investigated the effects of product health information on attitudes and intentions, but the empirical evidence becomes sketchier when the focus of research is actual purchase behaviour. The present paper provides an overview of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of product health information for food products at the point of purchase.

A systematic literature review was conducted.

Only studies were included that assessed the effect of product health information at the point of purchase on actual purchase behaviour, using data provided by stores’ sales records or obtained by investigating customer receipts as the primary outcome measure.

The included studies’ target group comprised supermarket clientele.

Several studies found no significant effects of product health information on actual purchase behaviour. Interventions were more likely to be effective when they lasted for a longer time, when they included additional intervention components, and when they targeted the absence of unhealthy nutrients instead of or in addition to the presence of healthy nutrients.

No strong evidence for the effectiveness of product health information was found. The effect of intervention duration, additional promotional activities and targeting of healthy v. unhealthy nutrients should be closely examined in future studies.

To assess how well supermarket sales data from a major supermarket chain can reflect on regional differences in dietary behaviour by comparing the sales data with the results provided by the annual health behaviour surveys.

Cross-sectional observational study.

The study was carried out in six Finnish cities situated in different parts of Finland. For the study supermarket sales data of milk, sour milk, fats and oils for 1 month, September 1997, were obtained from eight supermarkets. Proportional sales of different types of dairy products were calculated as well as mean salt and fat per cent and the proportion of saturated fat to total fat. The health behaviour surveys from spring 1995, 1996 and 1997 provided information about dietary habits of the adult population in the cities. The reported use of dairy products was compared with the percentage sales.

The proportional sales of dairy products varied between the cities. In Pori in western Finland the sale of milk fat was highest in all food groups. In Oulu, northern Finland, the sale of non-fat milk was high. In the capital region the sale of oil was highest. Regional differences could also be seen in the survey data. The similarity between the two different datasets was high.

The use of supermarket sales data for assessing regional differences in health behaviour is feasible. The challenge will be to get supermarket managers willing to provide sales data on a routine basis for monitoring and research.

The aim of the study was to examine the daily variations in sales data for individual food items in a supermarket and to assess the usefulness of the computerized sales data of supermarkets for reliable monitoring and evaluation of shopping behaviour.

Longitudinal observational study.

The study was carried out in one supermarket in Mikkeli, Finland. Seventy-nine packed food items from food groups important for salt and fat intake were monitored. In all food groups both ‘healthier’ and ‘reference’ products were included for assessment of both direct sales and proportional sales. The sales data were collected daily for 2 months in May and September 1996 by reading the European Article Numbering (EAN) codes of the packed foods.

The proportional sales turned out to be a more stable and useful measure than the direct sales data and the variation remained the same when the monitoring time was increased from 1 week to 1 month.

Proportional sales data are proposed as a tool for measuring the effect of nutrition interventions and also as a possible indirect assessment for population salt and fat intake.