The frequency and magnitude of price‐promoted beverages available for sale in Australian supermarkets

• Published in: Australian and New Zealand journal of public health Vol. 43; no. 4; pp. 346 - 351
• Main Authors: Zorbas, Christina, Gilham, Beth, Boelsen‐Robinson, Tara, Blake, Miranda R.C., Peeters, Anna, Cameron, Adrian J., Wu, Jason H.Y., Backholer, Kathryn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Elsevier B.V 01-08-2019; Elsevier Limited; Elsevier
• Subjects: Advertising as Topic - methods; Alcoholic beverages; Audits; Australia; Beverage industry; Beverages; Beverages - economics; Beverages - supply & distribution; Carbonated Beverages; Commerce - economics; Consumers; Data collection; Diet; Discounts; Energy drinks; Food; food policy; Health care; Health care policy; Health education; Health policy; Health promotion; Humans; Internet; Mineral water; Nutrition; Obesity; Obesity - prevention & control; Population policy; Prevention; price promotions; Prices; Pricing policies; Product lines; Public health; Sales promotions; Soft drinks; Sugar; Sugar‐sweetened beverages; Supermarkets; Taxes; Tea; Australia; United Kingdom > UK; Sugar‐sweetened beverages; food policy; obesity; price promotions; Sugar-sweetened beverages
• ISSN: 1326-0200; 1753-6405
• DOI: 10.1111/1753-6405.12899

Price promotions are used to influence purchases and represent an important target for obesity prevention policy. However, no long‐term contemporary data on the extent and frequency of supermarket price promotions exists. We aimed to evaluate the frequency, magnitude and weekly variation of beverage price promotions available online at two major Australian supermarket chains over 50 weeks.
Beverages were categorised into four policy‐relevant categories (sugar‐sweetened beverages, artificially‐sweetened beverages, flavoured milk and 100% juice, milk and water). The proportional contribution of each category to the total number of price proportions, the proportion of price promotions within the available product category, the mean discount, and weekly variation in price promotions were calculated.
For Coles and Woolworths respectively, 26% and 30% of all beverages were price promoted in any given week. Sugar‐sweetened beverages made up the greatest proportion of all price promotions (Coles: 46%, Woolworths: 49%). Within each product category, the proportion of sugar‐sweetened and artificially‐sweetened beverages that were price promoted was similar, higher than the other categories and reasonably constant over time. Diet drinks and sugar‐sweetened soft drinks were most heavily discounted (by 29–40%).
Beverage price promotions are used extensively in Australian supermarkets, undermining efforts to promote healthy population diets.
Policies restricting price promotions on sugar‐sweetened beverages are likely to be an important part of strategies to reduce obesity and improve population nutrition.