The Impact of Online Purchasing on Healthy Food Consumption in East Java, Indonesia

With the rapid growth of e-commerce, online shopping has become an integral part of consumer behavior, transforming food purchasing patterns across various regions in Indonesia. This study investigates the impact of online purchasing behavior on healthy food consumption patterns among communities in East Java, Indonesia, utilizing survey data from 12,514 households. By applying a comprehensive analytical approach using a Probit model and Propensity Score Matching (PSM), the research identifies critical factors influencing the adoption of online shopping, such as household size, urban residency, gender, age, education level, mobile phone ownership, and monthly income. The findings indicate that urban residency, higher education levels, income, and mobile phone ownership positively affect online shopping adoption, while larger household size, male gender, and older age negatively influence this behavior. Importantly, the study reveals a significant negative association between online shopping and the proportion of expenditure allocated to healthy foods within household budgets. The Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) results suggest that households engaging in online shopping allocate a lower budget share to healthy foods compared to non-adopters, possibly due to preferences for more accessible, yet less nutritious, food options. These results highlight the need for targeted policies to encourage healthy food choices among online shoppers.