Green marketing in supermarkets: Conventional and digitized marketing alternatives to reduce waste

Abstract

This article seeks to identify and analyze green marketing actions that can reduce food waste (FW) of short shelf life (SSL) products by retailers and to propose effective FW mitigation strategies. The article is based on a multiple case study of selected supermarkets that have enacted strategies that emphasize FW reduction. The findings unveil both conventional or digitized green marketing actions that should be implemented in the following sequence: product, place, price, and promotion. First, products need to be grouped into categories based on retailers’ brand and suppliers’ brand. This help to prevent future problems with the items that bear the supermarket’s brand. This categorization is also helpful in defining the right place, price, and promotion for products with SSL. Besides, the pricing of items with SSL should be dynamic. Lastly, careful attention paid to where offers are placed inside stores also can also help to leverage sales, leading to reduced food waste.