The Effect of Supercenter-format Stores on the Healthfulness of Consumers' Grocery Purchases

We examine the effect of supercenter market share on consumers' food-at-home purchasing habits in the United States. We measure healthfulness several different ways to ensure robustness, but all measurements place a greater value on fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains than on processed foods high in sugar and sodium. We find that from 1998-2006 consumers generally purchased less healthful foods at supercenters than they do at supermarkets. Moreover, a one-percent increase in the local market share of supercenters results in a decrease in purchase healthfulness for groceries of 0.10 to 0.46 percent. This relationship is statistically significant and robust.