The Price of a Good Deal in the Digital Grocery Aisle
Are consumers trading their privacy for discounts? A Duke-led study tackles online shopping behavior
Food isn’t just about taste, it’s a fascinating intersection of biology, chemistry and data collection. In this series, we will dive into the research shaping what we eat and why, from breakthroughs in nutrition and sustainability to online shopping trends and their privacy implications.
The study is part of a three-year grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to examine the social and economic implications of online grocery shopping.
At the heart of the three-phase project is a pressing question: If people knew exactly how much of their data was being collected, would they still shop the same way?
Consumer Choices in the Digital Aisle
The third phase tackles this question head-on. Noah Gibson, a postdoctoral associate at the World Food Policy Center, is leading a “choice experiment” to measure consumer preferences. This research method presents individuals with sets of hypothetical online grocery retailers, each with different attributes: Some offer low fees but collect extensive personal data, while others promise stronger privacy protections but fewer deals. By analyzing these choices, researchers can calculate a “willingness to pay” for privacy.
The experiment reveals whether shoppers worry about privacy when they understand what’s at stake. And the stakes are high. Online grocery platforms — from giants such as Walmart to delivery services such as Instacart — thrive on data. Every click, search and purchase feed algorithms that shape marketing strategies and profit models. Yet consumers rarely see the full picture of how their information is used or sold.
Gibson’s work explores how data collection shapes trust and behavior. Brick-and-mortar stores have long relied on loyalty cards and purchase tracking, but online platforms amplify the scale and sophistication of data harvesting. For retailers, this information is gold. For consumers, it’s often invisible.
This can include what products people view, what they place in their cart but do not purchase, which brands they compare, and how their purchasing patterns change over time.
“Retailers use this information to predict future purchases, prompt consumers with recommendations or discounts, and optimize inventory and delivery logistics,” says Gibson.
“In some cases, these data are also used to build detailed consumer profiles that can be shared with or sold to third-party advertisers.”
In addition, there is also growing concern around surveillance pricing, where data about what consumers buy and how they shop could be used to set personalized prices online.
Unlike in-person shopping, where prices are typically uniform for all customers in a store, online platforms can tailor prices based on behavioral data, which can result in people from the same area paying different amounts for the same goods.
Social scientists such as Gibson argue that understanding these dynamics is essential to ensuring fair access and protecting vulnerable populations.
“What are the implications of all this data being collected?” Gibson asks. “If people had full knowledge, would they still make the same decisions?”
“What are the implications of all this data being collected? If people had full knowledge, would they still make the same decisions?”
Noah Gibson, Postdoctoral Associate at the World Food Policy Center
The answer could influence corporate strategies and public policy. As online grocery shopping becomes more common, questions of equity, privacy and health loom large.
Online Grocery Shopping and Nutrition
Earlier phases of the study have focused on online shopping and nutrition labels.
The first phase examines how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients use online grocery shopping, which became available during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to make shopping easier for families without transportation or with busy schedules. However, fewer people used it than expected because of tech challenges, confusion about enrollment, and a preference for in-person shopping.
The second phase explores how nutrition information is shown in online grocery stores. Researchers built a mock store and are testing different ways of displaying labels to see if clearer designs could help people make healthier choices. Online platforms might offer a better chance to highlight nutrition details than traditional stores.
Gibson says this social science research is important alongside biomedical studies.
“Health scientists can tell us what food insecurity does to the body,” he explains. “But social scientists help us understand why people are food insecure in the first place, and how policies or social structures drive those outcomes.”
His own dissertation examines racial segregation and food insecurity, finding that Black households in highly segregated cities face rates of food insecurity two to three times higher than those in less segregated areas. Such insights highlight the societal forces behind health disparities.
Collaboration Across Disciplines
At Duke, Gibson and his colleagues are working to connect with researchers in medicine, public health, and environmental studies. By linking health data with social science surveys, these efforts aim to measure the real-world impact of interventions. For now, Gibson sees the project as a window into the future of food.
The Future of Food
Norbert Wilson, director of the World Food Policy Center and Gibson’s collaborator, has also sought to build cross-disciplinary research around “food as medicine,” a growing area that bridges agricultural economics, medical sociology and nutrition science.
Go to Sanford’s World Food Policy Center to read more.
Online grocery shopping is not just a convenience; it’s a transformation of how society acquires and consumes food. The questions being asked today about privacy, equity, and nutrition will shape policies and practices for decades to come.
“Twenty or thirty years from now, the way we acquire food will be completely different,” Gibson says. “We need to understand the implications now, so that the transition is equitable and supports people’s health.”