A really interesting article below from The Guardian, regarding our food shopping habits and how consumer behaviour is making radical shifts - surprising even the supermarkets themselves. Who thought trolley downsizing would become a 'thing'?
Well, apparently the traditional 'big' weekly shop is massively on the decline, making way for many consumers to make shorter trips, often just to purchase for one meal.
Whilst there are many factors contributing to this - convenience, working hours, healthy eating trends and a drive to reduce food waste are all cited - it's clear that trends are changing and consumers are driving these trends - more power to us!
I still do a 'weekly shop' for staple items - otherwise, there would be nothing in the house for the kid's lunchboxes - but I am increasingly choosing to buy evening meals depending on what I fancy eating that day. And a convenience driven, vegetarian pre packed trend which, according to this Waitrose report, is also very much on the up, is partly fueling this. Cauliflower rice? Ooh yes. Beetroot spaghetti? Bring it on. Kale? Um, no thanks.
It would be interesting to see how these quick shop trends are influencing our behaviour in terms of customer loyalty as well. Traditionally a Sainsbury's shopper, I now increasingly find myself shopping wherever I happen to be at the time - be that Tesco (next door to work), Waitrose (near the swimming pool) or the local Co-op (I am possibly their most frequent customer. Hell, they have a LOT of nice wine).
Exciting times for the consumer - and challenging ones for the retailers. Diversity and NPD are at an all time high, will these trends continue? And what in turn will that mean for online food shopping...how will it adapt to these new trends?
Jumbo trollies are on their way out, Britain now prefers blueberries to strawberries and sales of vegetarian ready-meals are on the rise, according to a new report on food shopping habits. Two-thirds of Britons now nip to a supermarket more than once a day, and one in 10 people decide what to buy for an evening meal just before they eat it – often stopping to shop for it on the way home from work. Longer opening hours and more convenience stores have combined with a drive among shoppers to waste less and stop themselves “over-buying” to a new trend called “as and when shopping”. The Waitrose Food and Drink Report 2017 says consumers treat supermarkets like walk-in fridges. Waitrose said the changes in the way we shop and eat are bringing some unexpected changes – like the trolley downsizing.
Read the original article here