Published: February 2022

ID #: CAS072

Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health

Authors: Zhang Q, Park K, Zhang J, Tang C

See more related research

Share


Online ordering is an innovative method being pilot-tested in some stores to facilitate WIC participants’ food benefit redemption, which has become especially important in the COVID-19 pandemic. The present research aimed to examine the online ordering behaviors among 726 WIC households who adopted WIC online ordering in a grocery chain, XYZ (anonymous) store, in Oklahoma (OK). These households represented approximately 5% of WIC households who redeemed WIC benefits in XYZ stores during the study period, which was 1 July to 31 December 2020. This period was during the COVID-19 pandemic but after the temporary lockdown in Oklahoma had been lifted. Descriptive statistics were estimated for WIC online ordering households’ adoption behaviors and their orders. The Cox proportional hazard model and zero-truncated negative binomial regression were applied to examine the relationship between participants’ socio-demographics and the length of time between 1 July 2020, and their first online order, as well as the number of WIC online orders. About 80% of these online orders were picked up without any changes. Minority households had a significantly longer time before adopting their first online order (hazard ratio (HR) < 1, p < 0.001), while households with a child or a woman participant, or more participants, had a shorter time before adopting online ordering (HR > 1, p < 0.05). Non-Hispanic black households had a fewer number of OOs than non-Hispanic white households (B = −0.374, p = 0.007). Online ordering adoption varied across socio-demographics. More efforts are needed to ensure equal access and adoption of WIC online ordering.

Related Research

November 2023

Understanding the Chasm in the Diffusion of Online Food Benefit Ordering: A Service Ecosystem Approach

Although consumers used online grocery shopping more frequently to limit exposure to the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic, the participants of some federal nutrition assistance programs lacked the option to redeem their food benefits online. Some retailers were pilot-testing online food benefit ordering for the participants of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, More

January 2023

Evaluation of WIC Online Ordering during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from an Oklahoma Grocery Store Chain

The COVID-19 pandemic is worsening the disparities in food access in the United States. As consumers have been increasingly using grocery online ordering services to limit their exposure to the COVID-19 virus, participants of federal nutrition assistance programs lack the online benefit redemption option. With the support of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), retailers More

September 2020

Online Ordering and Curbside Pick-up for WIC Participants during the COVID-19 Pandemic

A growing number of consumers are ordering groceries online and picking them up in-store (OOPIS) to limit their exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Although OOPIS has been widely adopted, WIC participants in most states are unable to use OOPIS to redeem their WIC benefits due to significant legal barriers. To overcome these barriers, Prime Time More