Decision-Making Processes While Online Grocery Shopping

May 9, 2019 updated by: Julia Hormes, University at Albany

Individuals living with food insecurity are disproportionately affected by overweight and obesity and associated chronic health problems. There remains a lack of sustainable and scalable interventions targeting widespread barriers to access to healthy foods in this population to increase the nutritional quality of foods purchased for preparation and consumption at home.

This randomized controlled proof-of-principle trial was designed to examine the feasibility and initial efficacy of a "default option" in enhancing the nutritional quality of groceries selected via the online shopping service of a local grocery store under conditions that mimic the financial constraints typical of individuals living with food insecurity.

In behavioral economics, the "default option" refers to the option a consumer selects if no active choice is made. The notion of the default option is based on the concept of "asymmetrical" or "libertarian paternalism," which seeks to subtly shift consumer behavior in a manner that promotes welfare, but without overtly interfering with the individual's freedom to choose.

It was hypothesized that the "default" option effectively increases the nutritional quality of foods purchased online, compared to monetary incentives and psychoeducation about nutrition.

Female undergraduate students (n = 60) selected food for one week using the online shopping service of a local grocery store with a budget corresponding to maximum weekly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Before completing the task again, participants were randomized to: (1) a small monetary "incentive" for selecting groceries that meet nutritional guidelines (n = 17), (2) an "educational" brochure (n = 24), or (3) a "default" pre-filled online shopping cart containing a nutritionally balanced selection of groceries to which they could freely make changes (n = 18).

Primary outcome measures capture the nutritional quality of groceries selected/ purchased.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age 18 or older
  • fluent in written and spoken English
  • able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • significant dietary restrictions (i.e., meat avoidance, food allergies, religious dietary restrictions, etc.)
  • likely presence of current eating disorder diagnosis (score >/= 2 on SCOFF screening measure)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Default
Other: Default option

The "default option" is a behavioral economics construct that refers to the option a consumer selects if no active choice is made (e.g. opt-out 401K plans, which significantly increase enrollment, compared to active sign up).

Participants in the default condition were presented with a pre-filled online shopping cart containing a combination of groceries that meet macro- and micronutrient requirements for their gender and age, and told that they are free to delete, add, and exchange any item they wish to finalize their selections.
Active Comparator: Psychoeducation
Other: Psychoeducation
Participants in the psychoeducation condition were instructed to read a brief psychoeducational brochure adapted from materials currently utilized by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance ("Eat Smart New York").
Active Comparator: Incentive
Other: Incentive
Participants in the incentive condition were informed that they will receive a gift card to a major retailer of their choice if they select groceries that meet recommended nutritional guidelines for macro- and micronutrient requirements. Participants were given examples of macro- and micronutrients to ensure that the instructions were clear.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Nutritional quality
Time Frame: Single laboratory visit, <1.5 hours
The Thrifty Food Plan Calculator (TFPC) was used to quantify the nutritional quality of groceries selected by study participants. The TFPC was developed using U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition and consumption data and is designed to have users input information about the relative amount of money spent on various categories of food and provides comprehensive information on caloric, macro-, and micronutrient content of the foods selected based on participant age and gender.
Single laboratory visit, <1.5 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University at Albany

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 13, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 29, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 29, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 28, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 11, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 14, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 13, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 9, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 16-E-005-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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