Retail loyalty programmes may soon play an unexpected role in healthcare. Researchers in the UK are exploring whether everyday shopping data from major retailers could help identify early warning signs of cancer.
A new study led by Imperial College London is analysing purchase histories from participants who use the Tesco Clubcard and Boots Advantage Card programmes. By comparing the over-the-counter medication purchases of people later diagnosed with cancer against those of a healthy control group, researchers hope to uncover subtle shifts in buying behaviour that may precede diagnosis.
The research builds on earlier findings supported by Cancer Research UK, which identified differences in purchasing patterns for pain relief and indigestion remedies among women who were later diagnosed with ovarian cancer—sometimes as early as eight months before clinical detection.
The new phase expands the scope to ten cancer types, including colorectal, pancreatic, liver and ovarian cancers. Many of these conditions initially present with mild or non-specific symptoms such as bloating, fatigue or indigestion. As a result, individuals often turn to self-care products before seeking professional medical advice, creating a potential behavioural signal within retail data.
If the research proves successful, scientists hope to develop a system that monitors consenting shoppers’ purchasing patterns and flags potential health triggers, encouraging earlier medical consultation.
The initiative demonstrates how partnerships between retailers, healthcare researchers and charities could unlock new public health insights from everyday consumer behaviour, while raising important questions around privacy, ethics and data governance in the evolving data economy.