Environmental factors, such as the availability of food for purchase and consumption, are increasingly recognized as significant influences on dietary habits. Consumers must contend with variances in the number, quality, pricing, and marketing of food goods within grocery stores. Due to their widespread accessibility (both in terms of location and operating hours) and market dominance in terms of food and grocery retail spending in many industrialized countries, supermarkets are a key source of food for many households (including Australia, Canada, Sweden, the US, and the UK). Supermarkets are consequently a key focus for studies on food availability within stores.
Retailers in supermarkets have long understood that product placement and marketing play a significant role in influencing consumers' decisions to buy, with marketing strategies playing a more significant role in the sale of impulsive items than in the sale of staples. Findings from market research show that approximately two-thirds of in-store Snack Products purchases are impulsive, underlining the possibility that in-store displays, especially those in highly visible locations, could have an impact on consumer choice and consumption (e.g. at end-of-aisles and checkouts).
