FMI Grocery Shopper Trends 2009: recession changing consumers shopping behavior at the supermarket

Frozen Food Digest, July, 2009

American consumers are changing their food shopping behavior and focusing on price and value at the supermarket, according to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) 2009 U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report released today.

"Shoppers in every income bracket are facing budgetary pressures, and they are making different choices when it comes to the foods they purchase," said Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and chief executive officer. "The recession is affecting shopper decision making in ways that may endure. Retailers are challenged with a great opportunity to win over shoppers with money-saving ideas that appeal to their customers."

Consumers Adopting New Behavior to Save on Food

Shoppers are economizing when it comes to food purchases. Trends identified three stages of consumer behavior:

Stage One--Shoppers save money on eating out by switching from fine dining to fast food. They also seek supermarket meal solutions in place of restaurant fare.

Stage Two--Consumers change their saving measures in the store by buying more private brands, using coupons, buying basic ingredients and shopping with a plan.

Stage Three--Shoppers switch store formats and choose supercenters, warehouse clubs and limited assortment stores.

A majority of consumers (69 percent) say they are eating out less. An additional 50 percent are eating out at less expensive places.

When deciding how to save money on their grocery bill, consumers are making plans before heading to the supermarket, resulting in fewer impulse purchases. In fact, 53 percent say they make a shopping list, 40 percent search newspaper or advertising inserts, and 35 percent report they look for coupons in the mail, newspapers and magazines.

Price and Value Are Important to Shoppers

"Shoppers are focused on finding the best prices for the food they purchase," said Sarasin. "It is the number one reason consumers pick which stores they shop at to stock up and which ones they choose for fill-in trips."

More than three-quarters of shoppers (76 percent) almost always check the price of a product before they decide to purchase it for the first time.

Consumers spend an average of $98.40 weekly on groceries, up slightly from $97.80 in 2008. However, this increase is offset by the 5.7 percent food-at-home inflation rate.

"The recession has brought consumers home--55 percent say they are preparing more meals at home than last year," said Sarasin. "Preparing meals at home is the best way to control food costs and ensure healthy eating."

Consumers are more comfortable with food produced or grown in the U.S. than imported products: 90 percent of shoppers are either very or somewhat comfortable with U.S. foods compared with only 42 percent for foreign foods.

"The most important goal of America's food retailers and wholesalers is to sell safe products," said Sarasin. "We actively work with the government and all partners in the supply chain to collaboratively undertake the responsibility to protect the safety of the food supply."

"Supermarkets are in a unique position to help restore consumer confidence in the safety of food because they can enhance change in several areas: consumer education, supermarket operations, product recall management and improved working relationships with manufacturers and suppliers," she said.

(FMI will hold its Sustainability Summit in San Francisco, CA, August 17-19, 2009, to bring together key stakeholders to create an opportunity for education, develop new partnerships and help the industry move forward with innovative new sustainability strategies.)

Methodology

Data for U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2009 were collected through surveys conducted by Harris Poll Online among a nationally representative sample of 2,040 U.S. shoppers. Respondents must have met the following requirements to participate in the survey: a minimum of 18 years of age, primary or equally shared responsibility for food shopping, and they must have shopped for groceries in the past two weeks.

This report was made possible by the generous support of PepsiCo.

To purchase a copy ($95 for FMI Retailers/Wholesaler Members, $175 for FMI Associate Members and $250 for nonmembers), contact the FMI Store at 202-220-0723

Website: www.fmi.org/store/