Researchers at Imperial College London are launching a major new study to explore whether loyalty card data from major UK retailers like Boots could help reveal the early warning signs of cancer.
As one of the country’s largest and longest‑standing loyalty programmes, Boots Advantage Card is playing an important role in this research.
Cancer Loyalty Card Study (CLOCS-2) is the second study of this kind, and will analyse shopping patterns from almost 3,000 volunteers, comparing the purchase history of people diagnosed with cancer with that of healthy participants.
The hope is this data will reveal subtle trends which could be used to flag the early signs of disease and ultimately lead to much earlier medical interventions for a variety of cancers.
Earlier work using data from Boots Advantage Card showed that changes in buying over‑the‑counter pain or indigestion medicines could appear months before an ovarian cancer diagnosis. Building on that insight, the new study will expand its scope of research to investigate 10 cancer types, including bowel, ovarian, pancreatic, liver, stomach and oesophageal cancers.
Many of these cancers start with symptoms people often self‑manage first including bloating, fatigue or indigestion. Researchers hope that spotting subtle shifts in what people buy could one day act as a nudge to seek medical advice sooner, potentially improving the chances of early detection.
“This study ultimately has the potential to revolutionise how we can use everyday data to understand and improve people’s health,” said Professor James Flanagan from Imperial’s Department of Surgery and Cancer, who is leading the study. “We’re excited to build on the success of our first CLOCS study and to see if looking back at people’s shopping history can give us clues to the way different conditions start to appear.”
If successful, the researchers hope to launch an intervention study to monitor the purchasing data from consenting healthy individuals for specific ‘triggers’. This could eventually pave the way for a potential digital alert system that prompts shoppers to seek medical advice based on their specific purchasing behaviour.
Marc Donovan, Healthcare Development Director at Boots, said: “CLOCS-2 is an inspiring example of what’s possible when retailers, researchers and charities work together to connect different data points. Over a quarter of the UK population has a Boots Advantage Card, and this study represents the potential for everyday shopping data, when used responsibly, to be a powerful tool in helping customers spot and act on early healthcare warning signs.”