Longo’s Food Retail Laboratory

Resembling an actual grocery store with fully stocked shelves and checkout counter, the Longo’s Food Retail Lab utilizes eye-tracking equipment and cameras to gauge buyer behaviour patterns as consumers shop. Researchers can explore a number of areas including how consumers value and learn about different foods, and their decision making when purchasing and consuming foods.

The Longo’s Food Retail Lab focuses on a number of research areas and expertise. Examples of the research that has been completed recently include:

• Price processing: Which prices consumers evaluate when making a product decision, specifically if they consider brands, package sizes, “regular” prices and per unit prices.
• Effect of labelling on product choice: If consumers show preference towards certain product labels, such as GMO free products and the possible effects of certain GMO label characteristics.
• Customer processing of packaging information: What information consumers use, how much they read and if it differs by product.
• Impact of nutrition labelling: Do consumers look at nutritional labelling on restaurant menus or products on shelves, and if so, does it influence consumer choice.