The latest in a series of free public professorial lectures will explore how supermarkets learn about our consumer behaviour and food pricing through barcode scanner data.
Most of us shop in supermarkets on a regular basis, but do we give enough thought to the data gathered about our shopping behaviour? As part of his inaugural lecture, Bournemouth University’s Professor Tim Lloyd will be sharing insights from his research into the use of supermarket scanner data and what causes food price inflation.
Professor Lloyd is an expert in agricultural and food economics, with a particular interest in pricing and competition in the food industry.
“Food and food pricing is something that affects us all. When I first began studying in this area, it was Band Aid’s publicity of starvation in Africa offset against European subsidies leading to ‘butter mountains’ and ‘milk lakes’ that caught my attention,” explains Professor Lloyd.
“Thirty years on, we’re facing a situation where the prevalence of fast food and processed food means people are at risk of both over-nutrition and malnutrition from eating poor quality foods. Meanwhile, our high streets are dominated by multinationals with a keen interest in finding out more data about their customers.”
“The concern for us as consumers is how that data is used and what the consequences are for supermarket pricing and our weekly shop.”
Professor Lloyd’s lecture will share insights from his current research into barcode scanner data, food pricing and the wide-spread use of promotions in modern food retailing. It might just change the way you shop.
Professor John Fletcher, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation at Bournemouth University welcomed Professor Lloyd’s lecture saying, “Economics can help us to understand the underlying causes behind many of the challenges we face today. We are all affected by changes in food pricing, so having an insight into how and why they change and how our data might inform this is extremely useful.”
“Here at BU, we encourage our staff to develop research that shapes and changes the world around us, providing solutions to and a better understanding of the challenges facing our society. Professor Lloyd’s research is an excellent example of what this means in practice and I’m very pleased that he joined Bournemouth University to continue his research and teaching.”
Bournemouth University's Inaugural Lecture Series aims to celebrate new professorial appointments and the depth and breadth of research undertaken at the university. For further information on the Inaugural Lecture Series please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/public-lecture-series
To book your free ticket, visit the Eventbrite page.
The event will take place on Monday 5 December at the Executive Business Centre, Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth. Refreshments will be available from 6:30pm and the lecture will start at 7pm.
