The Top Four Issues Worrying Food Shoppers Struggling with Austerity

According to the Institute of Grocery Distribution’s Shopper Track research the top four areas where cash strapped consumers are seeking help are:

1.       Sticking to a budget

2.      Reducing waste

3.      Making shopping a less tedious experience

4.      Understanding enough about product provenance to make the ethical choice

Joanne Denney-Finch, from IGD, speaking at their annual convention went on to explain what the frustrations are.

What shoppers do not want to see as they grapple with budgets is tinkering around with a product to hit a price point. So reducing weights or quality is a no no.

They are not happy with offers which encourage multiple purchase such as 3 for the price of two, or two for a discounted price.

What they do want are straight price reductions, and more advance notice of offers to enable them to plan better. They would also like to be able to keep a running total of spend as they go round the store to avoid the shock that can often come when the final bill is presented at the checkout.

Shoppers also say that branded budget ranges would be welcome as an alternative to buying a retailer’s own brand.

On the subject of waste, shoppers would like to see re-sealable packs, and a longer shelf life on products, as well as a reduction in the number of multi buy offers which they feel encourage over-purchase and often result in product being thrown away.

Food shopping remains a harassing experience for most, with crowds and a bewildering choice being the main sources of angst. This should point to an opportunity for online shopping but it seems that a half of all online shoppers have stopped buying this way, with a third of those finding the whole experience too tedious.

And so to provenance. Denney-Smith does not actually say that consumers will walk away from a product if they do not understand where it has come from. Rather, that giving information about provenance is a vital way of encouraging brand loyalty. She cites the Patagonia clothing website as a good example of how to do this.

So how much of this shopper wish list are we likely to see during our forthcoming supermarket trips?

It would be a brave supermarket that stopped multi- buy promotions in favour of straight money off, because the multi-buy means that shoppers spend more money in the store which helps boost turnover. This in turn boosts market share, and makes a contribution to covering overheads. Equally, anything which means shoppers limit the number of trips they make to a store is bad news as once in, many shoppers are likely to be tempted to buy something which could be classed as unnecessary.

Shoppers’ requests for budget brands are admirably served by Aldi whose whole reason for being rests on just that, but it is unlikely that major branded manufacturers will move this way. It is too costly to build a separate brand, particularly one with a low price.

The ability to keep a running total of the bill whilst going round the store is already available through Waitrose.

So far no supermarket has cracked the code to a pleasurable food shopping experience despite much effort being put in. In fact Sainsbury and Tesco with their emphasis on self serve checkouts and consequent reduction in checkout operators are merely adding to the stress of shopping.

 I have a feeling that communicating provenance will become more widespread. Certainly the technology is available for consumers to find out where there item has come from, whether through a company  websites, or social media like Facebook, or an app on their smartphone, or even through good old fashioned wording on the pack.

The thrust of Joanne Denney-Finch’s speech was that in an age of austerity which shows signs of being around for years, the winners will be those who listen hard to their customers and who are brave enough to pursue radical innovation in response to their customers’ needs. Quite right.

A change in ethical food buying - consumers now "want value for their values"

Joanne Denney Finch of the Institute of Grocery Distribution in her keynote speech to the Consumer Goods Forum stated that consumers now "want value for their values". The conclusion is based on research they carried out in Britain, France ,Spain and Germany, and its interesting because it indicates that consumers are once again raising the bar on what they expect when they buy food.

Cynics would say that consumers have always wanted more than they are prepared to pay for, but I think there is a subtle shift of emphasis here. Yes, in the past a sizeable minority have been prepared to pay for what they believe in, but what seems to be happening now is that people expect higher standards but don't expect to have to pay for them. As Mary Vizosa of Waitrose said in the Times, consumers expect their retailers and suppliers to act ethically and sustainably, and not present ethics as an extra which commands a premium.

We can therefore expect a change in consumer behaviour, as they shop around to find the outlets that offer both value and values for a given product. Those who fail to deliver will lose custom.

This could be why Sainsbury took full page advertisements in today's papers to say that they have been named as "Best large supermarket 2010" by Compassion in World Farming, and put a value offer in the advert too ( 2 packs of sausages for £4, and 20% off Freedom Food chicken). Waitrose stopped short of adding a value twist to their communications but the front page of this weekend's newsletter features a very handsome beast with the caption "Farming with Compassion - Waitrose wins award for putting animal welfare first".

It would seem that ethical foods are just another example of what was niche gradually becoming the norm.

With the move to mainstream comes the loss of any price premium. The best example is Fair Trade, where volumes have rocketed but price stayed the same as the standard version, witness Sainsbury's Fair Trade bananas, and Cadbury's Dairy Milk.

Ms. Denney Finch argued that ethical products now offer competitive advantage, and that British business, which generally has a good ethical reputation, can use them as a springboard for growth internationally.

The notion that British business should raise the ethical bar is very welcome. The challenge of course to raise the bar without raising the price, and ensure in the process that all players in the food chain are treated ethically and sustainably.