Impact on alcohol selection and online purchasing of changing the proportion of available non-alcoholic versus alcoholic drinks: A randomised controlled trial

This study in an online retail context aimed to estimate the impact of increasing the proportion of non-alcoholic (relative to alcoholic) drinks, on selection and purchasing of alcohol. Methods and resultsAdults (n = 737) residing in England and Wales who regularly purchased alcohol online were recruited between March and July 2021. Participants were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: “25% non-alcoholic/75% alcoholic”; “50% non-alcoholic/50% alcoholic”; and “75% non-alcoholic/25% alcoholic,” then selected drinks in a simulated online supermarket, before purchasing them in an actual online supermarket. The primary outcome was the number of alcohol units selected (with intention to purchase); secondary outcomes included actual purchasing.A total of 607 participants (60% female, mean age = 38 years [range: 18 to 76]) completed the study and were included in the primary analysis. In the first part of a hurdle model, a greater proportion of participants in the “75% non-alcoholic” group did not select any alcohol (13.1%) compared to the “25% non-alcoholic” group (3.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI] −2.09, −0.63;p
Source: PLoS Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Source Type: research