Our research drives Cancer Council Western Australia call for tougher supermarket regulations to prioritise healthier food choices

The research evidence appears in the report  ‘Tales from the supermarket shelves: Are price promotions and product placement assisting WA shoppers to purchase healthy, affordable food’, which summarises investigations into supermarket promotional strategies, the influence they have on WA shoppers, and what can be done to regulate them.  

It uses evidence from three Western Australian research and audit projects, one of which was led by Prof. Blake. The research highlighted that price and product promotions in store and in online supermarket catalogues overwhelmingly featured unhealthy food and drinks which were offered at discounted prices which drove sales of these highly processed foods. 

Other key findings from the report include: 

• 65% of the stores audited had unhealthy food on special at the end of aisles; 

• 4 out of 5 of the most frequently price-promoted food and drink products in catalogues were unhealthy; 

• Sugary drinks were the most price-promoted food and drink item; 

• Unhealthy food and drinks were price promoted almost twice as much as healthy foods and drinks. 

Cancer Council WA Food and Movement Manager Ainslie Sartori said the new report reveals that from the moment customers view the catalogue to plan their shopping, enter the supermarket, navigate the aisles, and pay at the checkout, they are encouraged to purchase unhealthy food and drink products through price promotions in prominent locations. 

“Supermarkets are where most Australians purchase their food, and the products these companies choose to promote and discount can have a big impact on what shoppers put in their trolleys,” Ms Sartori said. 

“Sadly, supermarkets often use price promotions and prominent locations to display unhealthy, highly processed food and drinks, rather than the core healthy items on our shopping list. 

“These promotions are usually for confectionary, chocolate bars and soft drinks. When unhealthy food and drinks make up a significant proportion of price promotions and are the most promoted and accessible food and drink whilst shopping, we are more likely to impulse-buy more of these items. 

“Families across WA are grappling with rising costs of living, and supermarkets should be empowering parents to pack healthier school lunchboxes, not pushing unhealthy food and drink promotions at every opportunity.” 

The report calls for supermarkets to “do better” by “rebalancing price and location promotions to healthy options to support Western Australians to access healthy, affordable foods that support their health and wellbeing”. 

Cancer Council Western Australia has urged policymakers to act swiftly on the report’s recommendations, including:  

• Dedicating a higher proportion of price promotions to healthy food and drink options; 

• Restricting the placement of unhealthy products in high-exposure locations such as checkouts and end of aisles; 
• Limiting “multi-buy” discounts on unhealthy snacks and drinks.