PREVIOUS RESEARCH

WIC Shopping Experience: Shopping Challenges

Abstract: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) successfully improves participant nutrition, but program effectiveness is threatened by retail shopping challenges, which may reduce benefit redemption and participant retention. Focus groups with WIC participants examined barriers to using WIC benefits and potential strategies to improve redemption. The analysis included a three-pass qualitative process using deductive and inductive thematic analysis. Barriers included confusion over finding eligible products, difficulty checking out, and perceived stigma. Strategies included promotion and strategic placement of approved items and better customer service. Retailer practices and regional policy amendments are potential strategies for improving the WIC shopping experience and program effectiveness.
Lucia Leone, Lindsey Haynes-Maslow, Christina Kasprzak, Samina Raja & Leonard H. Epstein (2021) The WIC Shopping Experience: A Qualitative Study Examining Retail-based Strategies to Increase WIC Retention and Redemption Rates, Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, DOI: 10.1080/19320248.2021.1915906

WIC Shopping Experience Focus Groups

We conducted 9 focus groups in Western New York with WIC participants to understand store-level barriers to using WIC benefits. We asked about their experiences using WIC at the store, what would make it easier for them to use their WIC benefits, and what their opinions were about bundling WIC-eligible products into one package. We also surveyed participants' perceptions of what makes it easier or harder to eat fruits and vegetables and the types of programs that would facilitate access to healthy food. The goal of this research is to recommend retail-level interventions and policies that could both improve the WIC shopping experience and benefit vendors. 

Study Results
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Chauvenet, C.; De Marco, M.; Leone, L.A.; Haynes-Maslow, L.; Ammerman, A.S. “The Role of Food Retailers in the
Promotion of Healthful, Low-Cost Products to WIC Recipients” Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. Published online: 01 Aug 2019
Abstract and Full Text
There is a gap in the literature around promotion of healthy and low-cost food options for WIC recipients. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with retailers to explore the challenges and opportunities of promotions to WIC recipients. Retailers reported doing little to no promotions targeted at WIC recipients at the time of interview. The possibility of increased revenue, particularly for fruits and vegetables, presents an area of potential collaboration between public health officials and retailers. The main barriers to increased promotions were restrictions around promotions directly marketed to WIC recipients and concern by retailers and policymakers about potential stigmatization.
Lucia A. Leone, Lindsey Haynes-Maslow, Margaret Lapp, Leonard Epstein, "The Triple Bottom Line: How can we use in-store promotions to decrease WIC program costs, maximize store profitability and improve participant satisfaction? White Paper Prepared for the USDA Duke-UNC Center for Behavioral Economics and Healthy Food Choice Research (BECR)