Key points from article :
Online shoppers buy fewer alcoholic drinks when presented with an increased selection of non-alcoholic options.
Participants from England and Wales were presented with various alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to purchase online.
Options included beers, ciders, alcohol-free beer and cider alternatives, and soft drinks.
607 adults (mean age, 38 years) were randomly grouped.
Non-alcoholic drinks formed 25% of the options for group one, 50% for group two and 75% for group three.
Group 1 exposed to the lowest choice of non-alcoholic drinks selected 29.4 units of alcohol.
Group 3 with the highest choice of non-alcoholic drinks selected 17.5 units of alcohol.
Participants were then asked to purchase the same drinks online from Tesco.
422 participants actually purchased drinks, with alcoholic drinks comprising 70% of drinks for group 1 and 52% for group 3.
Senior author Gareth Hollands said: “If non-alcoholic options were to become the majority instead, we might see substantial reductions in alcohol purchasing.”
“Even relatively small changes can make a difference both to individuals and at a population level.”
Research by Cambridge University published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
