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Exploring sales data during a healthy corner store intervention in Toronto: the Food Retail Environments Shaping Health (FRESH) project

Equity Focus

This study targets health-promoting interventions in food retailing, such as corner shops, to encourage consumers to choose healthier options. The study  analyses the impact of the interventions on sales in Toronto, Canada.

Case Summary

This project explored store sales over time and across product categories during a healthy corner store intervention in a low-income neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario. Sales data (from August 2014 to April 2015) were aggregated by product category and by day. Overall store sales peaked on the days at the end of each month, aligned with the issuing of social assistance payments. Revenue spikes on peak sales days were driven predominantly by transit pass sales. On peak sales days, mean sales of nonnutritious snacks and cigarettes were marginally higher than on other days of the month. Finally, creative strategies to increase sales of fresh vegetables and fruits seemed to substantially increase revenue from these product categories

Lessons Learned

• Store sales data is an important store-level metric of food environment intervention success. Furthermore, data-driven decision making by retailers can be important for tailoring interventions. Future interventions and research should consider partnerships and additional success metrics for retail food environment interventions in diverse Canadian contexts.

LINK TO CASE STUDY