Survey shows shopper perspectives, ranks retailers
Half of the participants in a recent retail survey said they prefer to buy organic products.
More people — 58% — reported they consider local sourcing important for fresh items, according to the U.S. Grocery Benchmark Study by Market Force Information.
Market Force recently surveyed more than 12,700 people about their opinions on organic and local, printed circulars and coupons, competitive benchmarks, prepared meals and meal kit delivery services, and technology.
While some new services are gaining traction, at least one mainstay appears to be on solid footing.
Even as the grocery sector evolves, printed circulars and coupons are as popular as ever, with more than 75% of consumers saying they review them in search of good deals. Fifty percent reported using them once a week, up from 39% last year.
The research indicates many consumers plan their shopping trips around the deals listed in those publications, with 38% saying they frequently go to a certain grocery store because of the specific promotions offered in the weekly circular and 23% saying they almost always do so.
Nearly 80% of those who review circulars and coupons plan their shopping based on the deals offered, according to the survey results. More than two-thirds said they had used a coupon at the register in the previous month, and 36% said they had done so at least four times in the last month.
As for prepared foods, more than two-thirds said they had bought them in the last month, with more than 25% buying them once a week or more frequently. Those numbers were nearly identical for 2016.
Tough competition
Publix, Wegmans and Trader Joe’s ranked highest on the composite loyalty index created by Market Force. Publix ranked first in the categories of store cleanliness, store layout, item availability and checkout speed and ranked second in specialty department service and in cashier courtesy.
Consumers ranked convenient location, good sales and promotions, and value as their top criteria for selecting their primary grocer.
Aldi topped the value chart, followed by WinCo Foods and Costco. Whole Foods came in last in that category.
Few people — only 5% — said they planned to leave their primary grocer in favor of another in the next 90 days. Those who were planning to do so cited better sales and promotions and better value as their top reasons. Better quality produce was mentioned by 25% of those surveyed who said they would switch.
The survey also showed that participation in retailer loyalty programs is high among those aware of the programs, and the same goes for use of retailer apps.
Created for convenience
Nearly 9% of those surveyed said they had tried grocery pickup — “click and collect” — compared to about 4% last year. Among those, 58% qualified as repeat users of the service. Pickup services of Wal-Mart and Kroger have been used the most, according to the report.
Eighteen percent surveyed said they had tried grocery delivery at least once, and 64% used the service more than once.
Only about 10% of those surveyed had tried a meal kit delivery service, and almost half were not satisfied with the experience. Forty percent said convenience was a reason for trying it, but more highly cited reasons were to add variety to meal planning (51%), have a fun experience (47%), and experience new ingredients (43%).
Three-fourths of those who tried the service no longer use it, and 65% cited the value for money spent as their reason for jumping ship. Nearly 40% of those who tried a meal service said they used Blue Apron, nearly 30% used HelloFresh, nearly 10% used Home Chef, and about 4% used Plated.
