Technological innovations in the online food delivery sector include the use of autonomous delivery vehicles. The aim of the present study was to investigate consumers’ intentions to use these services once they are widely available and their motivations for using them to access unhealthy food.

Online survey including a vignette describing a future world where autonomous food deliveries are in common use in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.

Australia

1078 Australians aged 18 years and older, nationally representative by sex, age, and location (metropolitan versus non-metropolitan residence).

Around half of the sample reported intending to use an autonomous food delivery service at least once per week for fast food (53%) and/or healthy pre-prepared food (50%). Almost two-thirds (60%) intended using autonomous vehicle deliveries to receive groceries. Around one in five (17%) anticipated an increase in their fast food intake as a result of access to autonomous delivery services compared to one in two (46%) expecting others’ total fast food intake to increase. The most common reason provided for using autonomous food deliveries was increased convenience. More frequent current fast food ordering, higher socioeconomic status, younger age, and regional location were significantly associated with an anticipated increase in fast food consumption.

The emergence of autonomous food delivery systems may bring both benefits and adverse consequences that in combination are likely to constitute a substantial regulatory challenge. Proactive efforts will be required to avoid negative public health nutrition outcomes of this transport evolution.

Many countries are considering the implementation of front-of-pack nutrition labels as a strategy to address high and increasing levels of overweight and obesity. A growing body of work demonstrates the superiority of labels that use colour and/or provide a summary indicator of product healthiness to enhance comprehension. However, previous studies have been confounded in determining the relative effectiveness of these two attributes by comparing labels that also differ in other ways. The present study tested labels that varied only on use of colour and/or reliance on a summary indicator across an international sample to provide unique insights into the relative importance of these attributes.

Participants were randomised to see one of four variations of the Health Star Rating label that differed on the basis of use of colour and sole provision of a summary indicator.

Australia, Canada, China, India, New Zealand, the UK and the USA.

Adults (n 7545) in seven countries were exposed to online choice tasks requiring them to select a preferred breakfast cereal and then nominate the healthiest cereal.

Overall, the coloured versions, and particularly the one with just a summary indicator, outperformed the monochrome version that included nutrient-specific information. However, there were some differences by country, with results from Canada and China indicating superior outcomes for monochrome labels and those providing nutrient-specific information.

The results highlight the importance of colour, but suggest that the introduction of front-of-pack nutrition labels should be preceded by country-specific formative testing to identify potential differences in outcomes.