PLOS Medicine · 21 August 2026 · From issue 25
Effect of food swap recommendations on the healthfulness and carbon footprint of grocery purchases in a naturalistic online store: A randomized parallel trial
Grocery swap suggestions made online shopping carts healthier or lower carbon, depending on the suggestion type.
Anna H. Grummon, Kevin O’Sullivan et al.
Pop-up suggestions for swapping groceries changed what people put in their online shopping carts. Suggesting greener food swaps lowered the carbon footprint of carts. Suggesting healthier swaps made carts more nutritious. Mixing both types of suggestions helped both goals a little, but did not beat single-focus suggestions at either one.
The improvement in grocery cart healthfulness when shoppers saw health-focused swap suggestions, compared to no suggestions.
1,201 US adults, online simulated store only, not real shopping.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 23 August 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (PLOS Medicine). Read the source
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