Junk Foods Tally Up Revenue for Retailers and Pounds for Shoppers

A study of more than 1000 non-food stores in the US found that 41 % sell snacks and soft drinks. Typically the foods were positioned at the checkout, with hopes of being an impulse purchase.

Researchers believe that people don’t compensate for these impulse purchases by eating less at meals.  If a person sees snack foods at retail stores twice per week, and ends up buying a typical product only 10 percent of the time, that would mean an extra 2,600 calories in a year. That, in turn, could translate to close to a pound of weight gain per year, 10 pounds in 1y years.

Many vending-machine companies supply food to outlets free of charge, splitting the revenue without an investment by the retailer. via Reuters