Digital tools Boost Healthy Grocery Shopping,Study finds

‍ ​ Updated June 12,2025

A new digital toolkit designed ⁤by Duke-NUS Medical School aims to help consumers make healthier choices while
‍ shopping for groceries online. This innovation could significantly ​impact the fight against chronic diseases
like heart disease,stroke,and diabetes,researchers⁣ say.

The study, published in‍ the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, revealed that adding strategic
digital features to online grocery platforms improved​ the nutritional quality of shoppers’ carts. These features
‍ ⁤ included color-coded nutritional quality signals‍ and prompts suggesting healthier alternatives.

the team’s findings confirmed⁤ that front-of-package (FOP) labels, ​which have limited impact alone, are more
effective when⁣ combined with other interventions. The study highlighted the​ potential of⁢ digital tools to
promote healthier eating habits⁣ and improve overall diet quality.

Participants in the⁤ experimental group used a version of ​the online store with several additional digital
⁣ ⁢ features:

• Traffic Light Signals: ​ Front-of-package labels used green, amber, and red⁣ (with an “X”) to
  ​ ​⁤ ‍ indicate nutritional quality.
• Nutritional ⁣Sorting: Groceries were sorted by nutritional value, with⁤ the healthiest ‍options
  ‌ ⁢ listed first.
• Real-Time ⁢Cart Feedback: A pie chart displayed the nutritional quality of‌ the grocery​ cart,
  allowing comparison with a curated healthy cart.
• Healthier Alternatives: Shoppers could view‍ and select up to four healthier, similarly priced
  alternatives for each item.

The interventions improved the nutritional quality of participants’ grocery⁣ carts from a Nutri-Score grade C to
⁣ B.‌ Researchers ⁤also⁢ noted a reduction ⁢in the amount⁣ of calories, total⁣ fat, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium
⁤purchased.

Notably, ⁣the study found that using these digital features led to consistently healthier food choices across all
‍ ​ three orders placed by participants.

“As online grocery shopping is rapidly gaining ground, ‍we wanted to see if we could design low cost, scalable
online tools that could ‍be used to nudge consumers toward healthier choices at the point ‌of purchase. These
⁣ ​ ⁢ results show the potential of these tools to improve diet and health outcomes,” saeid Assistant Professor Soye
​ Shin from Duke-NUS.

The findings support the introduction⁣ of‌ diet quality labels, such as Singapore’s Nutri-Grade⁢ labeling
‌ initiative, which is planned to expand beyond beverages to include other food categories.

“These results⁢ are encouraging but the next step is to work with retailers to incorporate these features into
existing online ​stores. Only than will the full value of this approach be realised,” said ⁢Professor Eric
‍ Finkelstein, senior‌ author from Duke-NUS.

What’s next

The researchers plan to expand the study to include consumers of lower socioeconomic status and those with
limited nutritional knowledge. They will also‌ investigate the long-term impact ​of this multi-pronged
intervention strategy on consumers’ health.