Sugar-sweetened beverage prices: Variations by beverage, food store, and neighborhood characteristics, 2017

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. A number of U.S. jurisdictions have levied volume-based specific SSB taxes. This study estimated baseline mean SSB prices across categories and sizes as this will help to determine the percentage increase in price resulting from the imposition of specific taxes. Data on food store SSB prices were collected in 2017 in Cook County, IL, St. Louis City/County, MO, Oakland, CA, and Sacramento, CA (N = 11,767 product-level observations from 581 stores). Data were weighted to represent volume sold by category and size. Mean prices per ounce were computed across categories and sizes. Linear regression models, clustered on store, were run to estimate associations between price per ounce and product characteristics, neighborhood (linked by census tract) characteristics, store type, and site. Weighted summary statistics show that the mean price of SSBs was 4.8 cents/oz. Soda was least expensive (3.4 cents/oz), followed by sports drinks (4.8 cents/oz), juice drinks (5.2 cents/oz), ready-to-drink tea/coffee (7.8 cents/oz), and energy drinks (19.9 cents/oz). Prices were higher for individual-sized (9.6 cents/oz) compared to family-sized drinks (>1 L/multi-pack; 3.5 cents/oz). Regression results revealed that prices were lower in stores in majority non-Hispanic black tracts and varied by beverage characteristics and store type but not tract-level socioeconomic status. Given substantial variation in prices by SSB category, a penny-per-ounce SSB tax, if fully passed through, would increase soda prices by 29% versus 5% for energy drinks, highlighting the potential importance of different specific tax rates across beverage categories.