A new mock retail space at U of G will allow researchers to explore consumers’ food purchasing, consumption and reaction to food advertising.
Funded by a gift from Longo Brothers Fruit Markets, Inc., the new research facility in the College of Business and Economics will explore several areas related to consumers’ relationship with food, including how we value and learn about different foods, and our decision-making when purchasing and consuming foods.
The space will look like a grocery store, including fully stocked shelves, and will be equipped with monitoring cameras and eye-tracking equipment. Researchers will be able to gauge consumers’ responses to grocery store flyers or television advertisements, nutritional information, and surveys before and after their trips to the store.
“The facility will allow business and economics researchers, as well as faculty from across the University, to collaborate on food-related research at the consumer end of the supply chain,” says Julia Christensen Hughes, dean of the College of Business and Economics.