Identifying patterns in fresh produce purchases: The application of machine learning techniques

In this chapter, machine learning techniques are applied to examine consumer food choices, specifically purchasing patterns in relation to fresh fruit and vegetables. This product category contributes some of the highest profit margins for supermarkets, making understanding consumer choices in that category important not just for health but also economic reasons. Several unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques, including hierarchical clustering, latent class analysis, linear regression, artificial neural networks, and deep learning neural networks, are illustrated using Nielsen Consumer Panel Dataset, a large and high-quality source of information on consumer purchases in the United States. The main finding from the clustering analysis is that households who buy less fresh produce are those with children - an important insight with significant public health implications. The main outcome from predictive modelling of spending on fresh fruit and vegetables is that contrary to expectations, neural networks failed to outperform a linear regression model.