Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Using a Virtual Store As a Research Tool to Investigate Consumer In-store Behavior
Published on: July 24, 2017
Comparing Online and In-Store Grocery Purchases
Laura Y Zatz1, Alyssa J Moran2, Rebecca L Franckle3
1Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Objective:
To describe the grocery shopping patterns of people who shopped both online and in-store and evaluate whether shoppers purchased fewer unhealthy, impulse-sensitive items online.
Design:
Secondary analysis of 44 weeks of grocery transaction data collected for fruit and vegetable incentive trials in 2 Maine supermarkets.
Participants:
A total of 137 primary household shoppers who shopped at least once in-store and online (curbside pickup) for 5,573 total transactions MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND ANALYSIS: Paired t tests and descriptive analyses compared online and in-store transactions with respect to frequency, total spending, number of items purchased, and spending on 10 food groups and 34 subgroups. Mixed-effects regression models estimated differences in online vs in-store spending on 5 unhealthy, impulse-sensitive subgroups.
Results:
When shopping online, participants spent 44% more per transaction ($113.58 vs $78.88, P < 0.001) and purchased more items (38.3 vs 26.6 items/transaction, P < 0.001). Compared with in-store, shopping online was associated with reduced spending per transaction on candy (-$0.65, P < 0.001), cold or frozen desserts (-$0.52, P < 0.001), and grain-based desserts (-$1.29, P < 0.001).
Conclusions And Implications:
Online shopping was associated with lower spending on certain unhealthy, impulse-sensitive foods. Grocery-based healthy eating initiatives might leverage online ordering platforms to increase their reach and effectiveness.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Equivalence: In Vitro and In Vivo Bioequivalence
Comparison Between Electrical And Gravitational Forces
Since both are inverse square law forces, the distance gets canceled when the ratio of the two forces is considered. Instead, the ratio of the electrical and gravitational forces depends on...
Optimal Foraging
Multiple Comparison Tests
It would be easy to compare two samples using a significance alpha level of 0.05. In other words, there is only one sample pair to be compared. However, it would be difficult to identify a significantly different sample if the number...
Drug Product Performance: In Vitro–In Vivo Correlation
Bioequivalence: Overview

