Buying online: how to make healthier food choices

What’s on offer?

The event offers families and individuals of all ages an opportunity to enjoy three 15-minute ‘snacks’: 

Snack 1: explore how you make food choices- in person and online. Choose between different products, and while considering the things that influence your choice 

Snack 2: Experience using eye-tracking equipment: to reveal the unconscious glances we make towards things we care about 

Snack 3:  A quick “explainer” about the research that is taking place to understand how people shop online, and what the eyes reveal to us. 

These will run in 45-minute sessions, but you can drop in and out.

What’s it about?

Join us for an interactive session as we explore the important topic of how do we make food choices: online and in traditional stores.  Hosted by Dr Sally Moore, a nutritionist from the University of Leeds and Dr Yael Benn, a cognitive psychologist from Manchester Met University, we will dive into the world of how we study consumer choices within the complex food environment and how we can encourage more ‘healthy and sustainable’ food purchases. 

Throughout the session, you will experience situations where you have to consider and explore your choices, we will share experiences and show you how we use eye-tracking technology to better understand how people make their food decisions.  

We'll discuss how you undertake food shopping- and the surprising number of decisions you make when you do so. Who does the shopping in your household? What information do they use to make choices?  When and where does the shopping happen? How as a couple/family/individual do these choices affect us? 

By attending this session, you'll develop a deeper understanding of the information you consider when making food choices, and how important “healthy” is for you as an option amongst all other priorities. You will also develop an understanding of our research and how we study these behaviours.   

Who’s leading the event?

Dr Yael Benn – Manchester Met University  

Dr Sally Moore - University of Leeds 

The research project was supported by funding from the Consumer Lab, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with support from the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC) and conducted in partnership with Ocado Retail, UK. 

The “Finding Healthy Online” research project is described here: https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/food-nutrition-research-innovation/dir-record/research-projects/1893/finding-healthy-online 

Open to

All welcome 

Of particular interest to

Those who are responsible for carrying out grocery shops in a household, or those who might order food digitally (i.e. for delivery).  

We wish to encourage families to attend and will provide activities for young children. We will discuss aspects such as “planning” of food shopping and meals together. 

The event will be of special interest to online food shoppers, but also those who shop locally or in-person at larger supermarkets.  

Event Booking details

45 minutes sessions will run at the following times: 10.30, 12.00, 13.30, 14.30 

Places may be limited, so if you wish to ensure a place, please email: y.benn@mmu.ac.uk or s.moore2@leeds.ac.uk