Retail-led regeneration and store-switching behaviour

Retail-led regeneration of ‘food deserts’ has become accepted policy in the UK, although the impacts of such stores remain under-researched. It is assumed that residents will switch their shopping behaviour to the new store and then alter their purchasing patterns to include more healthy options. A pre- and post-‘intervention’ study in a deprived area and an equally deprived non-intervention area of Glasgow finds that high switching rates to the new store were identified, indicating some success in altering shopping behaviours. Many switched from large food stores outside the area to shopping within the area. Dietary patterns in the intervention area were maintained after store development; store-switching did not induce dietary switching. Results suggest policy should be based on attempting to change both shopping and purchasing behaviours rather than assuming the latter will automatically be transformed by new retail spaces and offers.