Abstract
Objective:
Online grocery shopping could improve access to healthy food, but it may not be equally accessible to all populations—especially those at higher risk for food insecurity. This study aimed to compare the sociodemographic characteristics of families who ordered groceries online versus those who only shopped in-store.
Design:
We analyzed enrollment survey and 44 weeks of individually-linked grocery transaction data. We used univariate chi-square and t-tests and logistic regression to assess differences in sociodemographic characteristics between households that only shopped in-store and those that shopped online with curbside pick-up (online only or online and in-store).
Setting:
Two Maine supermarkets.
Participants:
863 parents or caregivers of children under 18 years old enrolled in two fruit and vegetable incentive trials
Results:
Participants had a total of 32 757 transactions. In univariate assessments, online shoppers had higher incomes (P<0.0001), were less likely to participate in WIC or SNAP (P<0.0001), and were more likely to be female (P=0.04). Most online shoppers were 30–39 years old, and few were 50 years or older (P=0.003). After controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, number of children, number of adults, income, and SNAP participation, female primary shoppers (OR=2.75, P=0.003), number of children (OR=1.27, P=0.04), and income (OR=3.91 for 186–300% FPL and OR=6.92 for >300% FPL, P<0.0001) were significantly associated with likelihood of shopping online.
Conclusions:
In this study of Maine families, low-income shoppers were significantly less likely to utilize online grocery ordering with curbside pick-up. Future studies could focus on elucidating barriers and developing strategies to improve access.
