Objective: Public health groups have recommended that government restrict price promotions on unhealthy foods and beverages in an effort to improve population diets and reduce obesity. However, evidence is needed to inform such recommendations. We aimed to synthesise the current literature on the extent and influence of food and beverage price promotions on consumer purchasing behaviour.
Design: Eight scientific publication databases (covering health, business and marketing) as well as grey literature were systematically searched in May 2018 using search terms related to “food and beverages” and “price promotion” to identify studies published between 2000 and 2018. Articles were included if they looked at the availability or extent of price promotions on food and beverages. Article inclusion screening and data extraction were conducted by two independent authors. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa quality scale.
Results: Of the 11 included studies, six examined the availability of price promotions, four the extent of price promoted purchases, and one examined both availability of price promotions and the extent of price promoted purchases. All but one article concluded that price promotions were more prevalent on, or resulted in greater purchase quantity of food and beverages of low nutritional quality. Of the seven studies that reported on socioeconomic position in some way, five reported that there was no significant difference in price promotion purchasing and availability across socioeconomic groups. Two studies reported that those of a higher socioeconomic position were more likely to purchase food and beverages when price promoted.
Conclusions: Price promotions are used extensively as a marketing tool to increase consumer purchasing. This review supports recommendations calling on governments to restrict price promotions on unhealthy foods and beverages. Future empirical studies are required to evaluate the consumer response to such a policy.