Online Grocery Shopping Behaviors and Attitudes Among Asian Americans

Abstract

How online grocery shopping behaviors differ among Asian American (AA) ethnic subgroups and acculturation level is unknown. From June 9–15, 2020, we administered an online survey to a nationally-derived nonprobability sample of 2,895 AA adults, including 1,737 East, 570 South, and 587 Southeast Asian adults, assessing online grocery shopping (yes/no, frequency, reasons). We used logistic regression to compare responses by subgroup and acculturation score, controlling for sociodemographics. Thirty-percent of participants reported shopping online for groceries in a typical month, with a higher percentage among South (45%) versus East Asian adults (23%). Participants with low (vs. high) acculturation scores were more likely to report a lack of special foods (OR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.5–0.98) and poor food quality (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4–0.7) as preventing them from shopping online. Online grocery shopping has the capacity to address inequities in health, potentially via culturally-tailored programs designed for less-acculturated AA adults.