(P02-068-25) Developing an Innovative Digital Solution for Collective Purchasing of Locally-Sourced Healthy Products by Urban Corner Store Owners

Objectives: Corner stores serve as primary food access points in many under-resourced urban communities where grocery stores and supermarkets are scarce. However, these stores are often unable to meet the minimum wholesaler requirements (e.g., quantity, price) needed to affordably stock healthy products. We originally developed the Baltimore Urban food Distribution (BUD) digital application (app) as an online shopping tool that provides corner store owners with access to wholesalers in Baltimore, Maryland. This app was subsequently enhanced by a feature called ‘BuddyUp!’ to facilitate collective purchasing of bulk orders at wholesaler pricing among geographically-proximate corner stores

Methods: BuddyUp! was designed, developed, and tested through four main phases: (1) conceptualization, (2) back-end development, (3) front-end design, and (4) pilot testing (n=1 wholesaler, n=3 East Baltimore corner store owners). The pilot included an initial subsidy to offset costs, as well as technical assistance and weekly support from the research team.

Results: Formative research (e.g., landscape analysis, informant interviews, direct observation) conducted to inform the larger BUD app led to the initial conceptualization of BuddyUp!. Following iterative user-centered design of the back- and front-ends, a two-month pilot test from September-October 2024 demonstrated high operability and acceptability among all users. The wholesaler reported particular satisfaction with moving more product from their warehouse to small stores. Corner store owners supported the incorporation of push notifications, instant messaging for coordinating logistics, and an order fulfillment deadline countdown. A need for future testing of in-app gamification and rewards on corner store owner incentivization to participate in and help distribute BuddyUp! orders was identified.

Conclusions: To our knowledge, no digital apps that support collective purchasing among small independently-owned store owners currently exist. BuddyUp! has potential to streamline the distribution process for healthy products while expanding the market for wholesalers, strengthening local retailer networks, and offering a replicable model to address distribution barriers in similar urban contexts.

Funding Sources: NIH R34HL145368