Grocery Shopper Research

A Presentation Prepared For The National Consumer Agency

September 2008By

2

Amárach Research was commissioned in 2008 to continue the programme of research being conducted by the National Consumer Agency with a view to maintaining the considerable momentum gathered throughout 2007-2008 in terms of empowering the consumer.

Key to the research is the comparison of data collected in 2007/early 2008 with the current consumer landscape.

The research was conducted by means of face-to-face interviewing with 1,000 people between the ages of 15-74.

To ensure that the data is nationally representative, quotas were applied on the basis of age, gender, social class and region.

Interviewing was conducted over a 4 week period in August 2008.

The findings in this presentation summarise the grocery shopping section of the survey – additional details from the survey will be published at a future date.

A. Research Background & Methodology

3

Sample Profile

4

6

45

11

16

25

22

37

2719

9

2217

610

782

46

9

54

SEX AGE MARITAL STATUS SOCIAL CLASS

B. Profile of Sample – I

(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)

Male

Female

% % % %

15-17

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65-74

Married

Living as Married

Single

Wid/Div/Sep

AB

C1

C2

D

E

F50+F50-

46%54%

MAIN GROCERY SHOPPER

Yes No

5

1

52

108

2424

24

2926

14

2320

712

6101

20

1080

SEX AGE MARITAL STATUS SOCIAL CLASS

B. Profile of Sample – II – Main Grocery Shoppers

(Base: All Mainly Responsible for Grocery Shopping in Home – 538)

Male

Female

% % % %15-17

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65-74

Married

Living as Married

Single

Wid/Div/Sep

AB

C1

C2

D

E

F50+F50-

6

B. Profile of Sample – III – Internet Use

(Base: All Respondents – 1,000)

62%38%

USE INTERNET

No Yes 67%33%

EVER PURCHASED ONLINE

No Yes 60%40%

BANKING ONLINE

No Yes

(Base: All Internet Users - 621) (Base: All Internet Users - 621)

Grocery Shopping

8

Average Spend on Main Grocery Shop

4

9

22

26

21

18

Up to €50

€51 to €75

€76 to €100

€101 to €150

€151 to €200

€200+

Average Spend

Average Spend %

(Base: All main grocery shoppers – 538)

€173.60

Q.50: In a typical week, how much on average would you spend on your main grocery shop?

9

1-10%

11-20%

21-30%

31-40%

41-50%

51-60%

61-70%

71-80%

81-90%

91-100%

Don’t know

Average (excl.DK)

Q.51: Thinking about your main grocery shopping, roughly what share of your groceries are the supermarkets own brands and what share are the regular brands?

17

14

13

7

16

6

2

4

3

17

2

4

3

6

16

7

9

16

15

14

7

Own Brand Share

Regular Brand Share

% %

–

Own Brands Vs. Regular Brands

(Base: All main grocery shoppers – 538)

36.35% 67.94%

Own Vs. Regular

10

Main Reasons for Choice of Main Grocery Shop

(Base: All main grocery shoppers – 538)

NB: July results based on different methodology

(telephone survey).

Price has overtaken convenience in recent months as a driver of choice of main grocery shop. Parking has

also, however, become more of a driver.

Men are more likely to cite convenience as a reason for

choosing their main shop while price is more important

to C2DEs.

Quality of produce is more a factor among ABC1s than

lower social classes.

56

43

17

13

12

8

6

7

Price

Convenience

Parking

Quality of Product

Late night opening

Loyalty

Support local shops

Other

Q.53: What are your main reasons for shopping there?

Main ReasonsJuly 2008Wave 1 2008

31

61

9

21

5

**

**

** Not asked in July 2008. Please note, different methodologies used.

11

Features of Convenience which Determine Choice of Shop

(Base: All choosing their main shop for convenience – 231)

Location of the store accounts for the largest share of the element of “convenience” when choosing main shop.

%

62

16

9

9

5

5

3

3

3

8

12

Closest to me/local

Parking/Free parking

Knowledge of the store/used to it

Good prices/best prices

Friendly staff/know staff personally

Late opening/24 hours

Easy access

I can get everything under the one roof

Like the products/better choice

Other

Don’t know

Q.53a: In what way(s) is it more convenient for you to shop in that particular supermarket or shop?

Features of Convenience

12

Change in Grocery Shopping Since the Start of the Year

(Base: All main grocery shoppers – 538)

Q.54: Since the start of the year, has the way you do your grocery shopping changed in terms of what you buy and where you shop?

63%37%Yes No

Change in Grocery Shopping

Female shoppers are more likely than their male counterparts to have changed their shopping behaviour

as are those aged 25-44.

13

Changes Made to the Grocery Shopping Since the Start of the Year

(Base: All who changed their shopping behaviour since the start of the year – 201)

15-24 year old are more likely than other age groups to be buying cheaper versions of products now and also to have cut down on buying some items, e.g. less meat. Lower

social classes are more likely to have started buying cheaper versions of products.

%

48

31

31

30

21

13

9

7

2

Buying cheaper versions of products (e.g. own brands rather than regular)

Cutting back on treats for you/family

Spreading your grocery shopping over different supermarkets and stores to get the best valueTaking more advantage of special offers, using coupons, etc.

Buy less

Spending a lot more just because of an increase in the overall cost of groceries

Do without or cut back e.g. buy less meat

Switched your main grocery shopping from a different retailer to the one you use now

Other

Q.55: what have been the main changes to the way you do your shopping since the start of the year?

Changes to Grocery Shopping

14

10

7

4

3

212

8

14

12

6

Groceries Bought More or Less of in Past 6 Months

(Base: All main grocery shoppers – 538)

Green grocer

Butcher

Bakery

Health Stores

Specialist Food Shops

Groceries Bought

Q.59: In terms of the groceries that you buy, which of the following have you bought more or less of in the past 6 months?

No Change N/A

69% 15%

72% 9%

70% 12%

50% 39%

47% 39%

MoreLess

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