Out of home businesses - marketing strategies: research

Appendix B – Interviewer instructions

Scottish Government: In-store marketing Shopper Instructions – in-premise

Background and aims of the research:

This research is being carried out on behalf of the Scottish Government and Food Standards Scotland (FSS). They are looking to establish what kind of promotions, strategies and advertisements are being used to promote both healthier and less healthy foods. The focus here is on "out of home" foods - these are foods that are designed to be purchased and eaten straight away or 'on the go', typically for lunch or for a snack, and don't need any further preparation/heating e.g. sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, crisps, pots of fruit, takeaway coffee, cans of fizzy drink, small bottles of water etc.

Grocery shopping (e.g. for foods that would need heated up or prepared at home) and non-food/drink shopping is not included. The outlets we will be visiting overall are varied to capture the wide market here.

In visits to Tesco Express, Sainsbury's Local and M & S Simply Food we only want you to go to the 'out of home' food section of the store (usually near the entrance) and from there to the manned tills. So, you only need to pay attention to promotions at the entrance, in the 'out of home' food area, and in the queue/till area. And you only need to record promotions relating to 'out of home' food and drinks – not other groceries or non-food/drink items.

Questions are asked about the following key areas: price promotions, meal deals, upselling of products by staff, other promotions and advertising of products and nutritional content information.

The survey

The survey is split into two visits- so it is possible that you may visit the same outlet twice. Although some of the questions are different for the Visit 1 and Visit 2 surveys, some of them are also the same. You will be advised which item(s) to purchase for each visit.

Notes for specific sections/ questions

*VISIT 1: Section 1- Price promotions (Q1-Q5)

Q 1- Q5 ask you to record any clear price promotions or advertisements at each outlet- both inside and immediately outside. This sequence of questions will record the type of products being advertised, the nature of the price promotion (e.g multi-buy) and where it was located.

(Please do not include meal deals when answering Q1-5, as these are asked about at Q6).

You will answer these questions about one product at a time, but can repeat Qs 2- 5 until all of the price promotions have been recorded. Once all have been recorded, please select "No" at Q5.

Please note we would like you to record promotions that are obviously visible to you on your visit.

Q2 – include all popcorn (including sweet popcorn) under 'Crisps and savoury snacks'

Include diet fizzy drinks under 'Low / no sugar soft drinks'. Only include 100% pure fruit juice and smoothies under 'Pure fruit juice and smoothies'.

Only record food and drinks products that are designed to be eaten out of home/on the go.

Q3 asks "What was the nature of the price promotion?" and lists options such as multi-buys. Please note that in express supermarkets this is not to include multi-buys of bags of 10 packets of crisps/6-packs of fizzy drinks etc, or 2 litre bottles of fizzy drinks. - which may be located in other areas throughout the supermarket and which are generally aimed at people doing grocery shopping rather than buying 'out of home' food.

Multi-buy – use this for 2 for 1, 3 for 2, buy-one get one free offers. Also use for e.g. pack of three (if that's being promoted as a better deal than buying individually).

Reduced price – this would include offers promoted as '25p off', 'half-price', '50% off', 'normally £2.50 but now £1' etc.

Discount for minimum spend – this would be a percentage or an amount off your total bill if you spend a certain amount.

Prominent low price promotion – this is where the price isn't being promoted as having been reduced (which would be covered by 'reduced price' above), but the price is low and this is obviously being highlighted e.g. '£1' or 'only 50p' in big signage. Don't include things just because the price is shown in ad – only if it's prominent and it is clear that they intend a 'this is cheap!' message.

Larger size for same price/small amount more – we don't expect you to work out what's a better buy – use this code when the fact that you can get a larger size for the same price, or a relatively small amount more, is advertised and promoted e.g. 'go large for only 40p', '500 ml for the price of 250 ml' etc. If there are no price promotions in store at all, then answer 'no' at Q1 and the questionnaire will move to the next section (Q6). (Please note that this is only likely to be the case in only a small number of outlets).

Q4-'Signage outside of shop/outlet' - don't include adverts on billboards or bus stops etc. that just happen to be near the outside.

*VISIT 1: Section 2- Other price promotions – meal deals (Q6-9):

Meal deal for one – usually 3 items (sandwich, drink and snack), may be a different number of items in coffee shops.

Meal deal for more than one person – might be 2 mains and 2 desserts, or a deal for a family of four.

In supermarkets- only include these items if they were obviously available in the area around the meal deal locations- not if you would have to go looking for them in the wider supermarket store.

In outlets where you place an order at the counter rather than pick it up yourself, code that products are 'obviously available' if they are obviously advertised on the signage/menu. Do not record them if they are only mentioned in the small print.

Q9 asks: "Were the following healthier items obviously available to pick up in the meal deal"- for this question please only record the items if they were "obviously available". For example, if they were on the signage for the meal deal, but you could not find them in the meal deal area, then please do not record these items.

Low / no sugar soft drinks – this includes fizzy drinks like diet coke, flavoured water, Vit Hit (vitamin infused fruit drinks) etc.

*VISIT 1: Section 3- Staff/verbal interaction/ordering (Q10-15)

Q10 - If possible, please order from a person. However, if this is not an option, you can still complete your visit by ordering on an in-store digital display. Please do not use self-service checkouts.

Q11-Q14 ask about the process of you being served your items. Here we are looking to see if there is any upselling occurring in outlets, encouraging consumers to buy more than intended, for example upsizing their portion of fries or adding a cake with their drink. Please listen out for these requests when being served.

Q11- We are interested here in whether there is any promotion/encouragement to get a larger size. In order to test this, please remember not to specify the size when you place your order. For example, just say 'a latte please' rather than 'a small latte'. If you order a burger and fries and they suggest a larger size for either or for both, code Yes. Or if they say 'is that small, medium or large' and therefore don't promote/suggest any particular size, code "No- just asked what size I wanted." We don't want you to opt to buy what they are suggesting – stick to the size / order you have been asked to purchase, as this is about recording whether you were encouraged to buy more.

Q13-If you are buying some items which are part of the meal deal, please record if the cashier advises you that you can get other products (e.g. a snack or a drink). Please ask them what snacks/ drinks are included (if they don't advise) and record if they mention fruit water/low/sugar soft drinks.

*VISIT 2: Section 1- Staff/verbal interaction/ordering (Q16-21)

Q16-21 Same as Visit 1 (but you will be making a different purchase).

Again, if possible, please order from a person. However, if this is not an option, you can still complete your visit by ordering on an in-store digital display. Please do not use self-serve checkouts.

Q21 asks if there are any products prominently displayed at or near the till point to encourage purchase. Please only include items immediately next to the cash desk. For example, in coffee shops , do not include all items in the queueing area- as this is where most of their produce is displayed - just include any items on prominent display on top of the counter or next to the till, and which seem to be being particularly promoted.

*VISIT 2: Section 3: Other promotions (Q22-24)

Q22 asks - Were there any other ways specific products were advertised, not already mentioned? (Inside or outside of the outlet or on the screen). Please do not include price promotions (e.g. multi-buys, meal deals) or checkout placement as these have already been covered in earlier questions. You can add up to 3 other ways items were advertised in this section.

*VISIT 2: Section 4: Nutritional content information (Q25-27)

This section asks whether calorie information is visible anywhere, and whether any other nutritional information is mentioned (e.g. fat or salt content)

*BOTH VISIT 1 AND VISIT 2: Final question Q15/Q28

Q12 asks you to provide any further feedback. This can be anything that you think would be useful in terms of healthier and less healthy products being promoted and advertised inside and outside the outlet. This question is included in the survey for Visit 1 and Visit 2.

*What products to buy

The products you will be purchasing vary depending on the outlet and whether the survey is for Visit 1 or Visit 2. Please only buy the products specified as we have based the questions around what is (and equally what is not) purchased. It is also important that you buy the right product for Visit 1 and the right product for Visit 2 because knowing whether it is a 'Visit 1' or a 'Visit 2' is what we'll base the data on what was purchased.

If there are variations in the size of a product (e.g. small, medium, large Latte/ burger/ fries) please only purchase a small (to control the cost of each visit)- however, when you place your order please do not specify the size straight away- just ask for a latte, burger, portion of fries etc. This is very important because we want to test whether staff try and encourage you to buy a larger size – and if you specify immediately that you want a 'small' then they are unlikely to do this. Where we know what the approximate cost is, we have included it below as a guide.

In the unlikely event that the specified product is not available, please purchase the closest product available and record what you had to purchase at the last question in the questionnaire.

Scottish Government: Online marketing shopper Instructions - online

Background and aims of the research:

This research is being carried out on behalf of the Scottish Government and Food Standards Scotland (FSS). They are looking to establish what kind of promotions, strategies and advertisements are being used to promote both healthier and less healthy foods. The focus here is on "out of home" foods - these are foods that are designed to be purchased and eaten straight away or 'on the go', typically for lunch or for a snack, and don't need any further preparation/heating e.g. sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, crisps, pots of fruit, takeaway coffee, cans of fizzy drink, small bottles of water etc.

These online mystery shops are aimed at understanding what promotions are visible when you make a purchase in an app or on a website. Please review the questionnaire before beginning your purchase in the app / website so that you know the types of things to look out for. Complete your purchase in the app or website, noting when you saw any promotions and what kind of offers they were – then complete the questionnaire.

Questions are asked about the following key areas: price promotions, meal deals, upselling of products, other promotions and advertising of products, and nutritional content information.

Where to do your shop

You should have received information on whether to use a specific aggregator app (like Just East) or the outlet's own app, and what to buy. Given most people order food on their phones, please use the appropriate mobile app if you can. If a mobile app isn't available (for example, for an independent coffee shop), then using their website is fine.

The survey

There is just one questionnaire and one visit to make to the app / website.

Notes for specific sections/ questions

Section 1- Visit details (QA)

Specify the type of app or website you have been asked to visit.

Section 2- Price promotions (Q1-Q5)

Q 1- Q5 ask you to record any clear price promotions or advertisements you see during your journey through the app / website.

This sequence of questions will record the type of products being advertised, the nature of the price promotion (e.g. multi-buy) and where it was located (which page or if it was a pop-up page).

(Please do not include meal deals when answering Q1-5, as these are asked about at Q6).

You will answer these questions about one product at a time, but can repeat Qs 2- 5 until all of the price promotions have been recorded. Once all have been recorded, please select "No" at Q5.

Please note we would like you to record promotions that are obviously visible to you on your visit – not offers you need to go searching for within the app.

Q2 – include all popcorn (including sweet popcorn) under 'Crisps and savoury snacks'

Include diet fizzy drinks under 'Low / no sugar soft drinks'. Only include 100% pure fruit juice and smoothies under 'Pure fruit juice and smoothies'.

Q3 asks "What was the nature of the price promotion?"

Multi-buy – use this for 2 for 1, 3 for 2, buy-one get one free offers. Also use for e.g. pack of three (if that's being promoted as a better deal than buying individually).

Reduced price – this would include offers promoted as '25p off', 'half-price', '50% off', 'normally £2.50 but now £1' etc.

Discount for minimum spend – this would be a percentage or an amount off your total bill if you spend a certain amount.

Prominent low price promotion – this is where the price isn't being promoted as having been reduced (which would be covered by 'reduced price' above), but the price is low and this is obviously being highlighted e.g. '£1' or 'only 50p' in big text. Only include if it's prominent and it is clear that they intend a 'this is cheap!' message.

Larger size for same price/small amount more – we don't expect you to work out what's a better buy – use this code when the fact that you can get a larger size for the same price, or a relatively small amount more, is advertised and promoted e.g. 'go large for only 40p', '500 ml for the price of 250 ml' etc. If there are no price promotions in the app at all, then answer 'no' at Q1 and the questionnaire will move to the next section (Q6).

Q4- This asks "At what stage was the price promotion visible?"

On the outlet homepage / main homepage – the first page in the app once you are signed in, or in aggregator apps, the first page for the outlet you want to buy from.

Pop up page – this would appear over the page you are on (usually with an x in the corner to close it).

A favourites page (or previous orders page) – this is unlikely to appear in an app, however, if you had ordered there before, there could be a favourites page.

Shopping basket page - this summarises what you ordered so far.

Checkout page - the one that asks you for payment details.

Menu page – main pages with product details and prices.

Section 3- Other price promotions – meal deals (Q6-9):

Q6 – asks "Were there any clear meal deal promotions for one or more people visible during your journey through the app / website?"

Meal deal for one – usually 3 items (sandwich, drink and snack), may be a different number of items in coffee shops.

Meal deal for more than one person – might be 2 mains and 2 desserts, or a deal for a family of four.

Q7 – see notes for Q5 above.

Q9 asks: "Were the following healthier items obviously available to pick up in the meal deal"- for this question please only record the items if they were "obviously available" – i.e.. they were clearly visible as something you could add if you chose to.

Low / no sugar soft drinks – this includes fizzy drinks like diet coke, flavoured water, Vit Hit (vitamin infused fruit drinks) etc.

Section 4- Ordering (Q11-14)

Q11-Q14 ask about the process of ordering your items. Here we are looking to see if there is any upselling, encouraging consumers to buy more than intended, for example upsizing their portion of fries or adding a cake with their drink. Please look out for these kinds of suggestions or prompts.

Q11- We are interested here in whether there is any promotion/encouragement to get a larger size, once you have selected the items you have been asked to buy.

Q13 If you are buying some items which are part of a meal deal, please record if you are prompted to add other products (e.g. a snack or a drink). Please record if they mention fruit water/ low/ no sugar soft drinks.

Section 5- Nutritional content information (Q21-22)

This section asks about calorie information – if this is visible via clicking on a link or button on a menu page, then please do so and answer the questions according to what you see.

Q24 asks you to provide any further feedback. This can be anything that you think would be useful in terms of healthier and less healthy products being promoted and advertised in the app / website.