A detailed look at Deferred Grocery
Shopping in Ireland
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
Research Approach
Household
Diary
3rd June-20th June
2014
• 658 households over 2 weeks.
• 6,833 individual shopping trips.
• Tesco=142, Dunnes=117, SuperValu=115, Lidl=112,
Aldi=153, Centra=219, BWG=218, Forecourts=248
2
Setting the Grocery
Context
3
Current Shopper Climate
Mature recession
Connected
Shopper
Rise of Aldi &
Lidl
Dispersed Shopping
4
Current Climate: Detail
Mature Recession
●
Forest of deals and offers at POS in every category
 Shoppers navigate by aisle ends and special price signage
●
Value of deals scrutinized to avoid:
 Poor quality
 Wastage (especially fresh fruit and veg)
 Being ripped off
“..it was only when I was looking at my receipt when I got home it was two for
3.50. so they were actually 50 cent dearer to buy the two together. And I have
found that so many times I do feel you get conned into buying stuff”
 Self control strategies to inhibit impulsive swooping on offers
 Mental or actual shopping list
●
Shops own brand considered / adopted across many categories
 Realistic alternative (especially premium own brand)
Note: With a two tier recovery (Dublin vs outside), those outside will
hold onto the need to value shop longer.
5
Current Climate: Detail
Rise of Aldi & Lidl
●
Mainstream acceptance of discounters: Key component of grocery shopping in many households
 Sense of fitting with the economic climate
●
Clear rationale for use recently/frequently updated (NB. Newsworthy and relevant, mind
share possibly greater than actual share of shopping): Fresh bread (Lidl)
 Really cheap veg (Aldi)
 Some also buy Irish meat there (Aldi)
●
‘Breadline’ consider use a necessity, others register as part of ‘smart shopping’
nowadays.
●
Recent TV ads support sense of ‘coming of age’: Brands take on ‘character’ not just price defined
6
Evolution of Discounter Shopping
Reading
flyers
Practical
non-food
Cautious
trial
(Embarrassed
to be seen
with bag)
Selected
food
areas
‘Fun’
nonfood
Experimentation
Intermittent
(Smart
shopper
discount
chic)
Discounter
is my main
Deluxe
range
treats
Fresh fruit
& veg jaw
drop price
Continue
split trips
Fresh
bread
Lidl
Not worth
hassle
(petrol/price
benefit
queried/time
consuming)
Regular split shopping
Over
time
Role of Aldi & Lidl continues to evolve. Actual role varies by region
social class and local store repertoire.
NB. Some over claim in usage evidence.
Key
transition
point
7
Current Climate: Detail
Dispersed shopping
●
Many now split their main shopping between a number of retailers to avail of better value:
 Due to incomplete offer (i.e. some branded items not available)
●
Minority claim to have returned to a more simplified one store approach (not worth hassle of
visiting several stores).
 But most consider dispersed shopping the
smart thing to do
●
Given that most also conduct regular top up trips this can result in a much wider repertoire
of retailers on weekly basis.
●
However, online shopping still has many barriers to overcome – not least the ‘smartness’ of
spreading the shop over different stores.
8
Current Climate: Detail
Informed shopper
●
Regular active scanning of supermarket flyers and newspaper ads: Welcomed deal information
 ‘Anchor’ products can drive store selection in very directed way (especially meat
and wine). There is a seasonal aspect here.
 It’s worth stressing that some products have a bigger anchoring influence, not just
because of their perceived price, but because of their perceived significance.
●
Meat:
 The central part of every meal. We often refer to a meal by its meat constituent,
rarely the other elements
 Poor quality can be a real problem – not just unpleasant, but dangerous
 For Mum, a sense of success can be tied to buying good quality meat at the right
price
●
Wine:
 A symbol of modern Ireland and our connection with European values
 A significant part of alcohol consumption at home
 An area of experimentation, discovery and delight where trial of new cheaper
options is always worthwhile
9
Anchors
●
Main Weekly
Stock-Up
●
Store selection can be motivated by a range of ‘missions’, some of
which are quite broad and habitual:
 Where much of the selection is based on past behaviour,
convenience and a ‘large basket’ trip.
However, store level missions can have a much more narrowly
defined focus where the store is selected based on a specific
destination, product or offer for example:
 Often resulting from the effective communication of an ‘anchor
Offer
Swooping
product’ offer (alcohol, meat, nappies). So much so that in
some households there is a weekly routine of checking the
flyers and newspaper ads before planning their supermarket
trips.
●
NB: even where the initial focus is narrowly focused on one
category, a store level mission may lead to shopping of other
categories.
10
10
Who are
grocery
shoppers?
11
Profile Of Households
Base: All Households – 658
Social
Class
%
ABC1
C2DE
F1F2
Household
Size
0
Accommodations
Type
%
1 person
24
2 people
29
3 people
13
4 people
21
0
%
Broadband
Access
%
0
41
Detached/ semidetached
73
Terraced
15
Apartment/flat
11
Yes
73
No
23
52
7
5 people
7
6+ people
6
Not stated
12
1
N/S
4
Grocery Shopping
Headlines
13
Despite good intentions impulse purchasing
is alive and well
Base: All households - 658
46% always have a shopping
list when doing their main
stock-up shop and try to
stick to it. (53% among
shoppers from 5+ person
households).
83% normally buy some
product on their grocery
shopping trip that they
hadn’t planned to.
(Rises to 90% among 3-4
people households).
41% feel guilty if they go
over budget when grocery
shopping. (46% among
females, 30% of males).
68% spend more on
grocery shopping than
they’d originally planned
to. (Higher among those
living in the Dublin and
ROL regions)
14
A natural desire for brands and quality is
evident….however brands have been
damaged
Base: All households - 658
73% believe that quality
is more important than
price when buying food
or drink (rises 78%
among ABC1s)
77% want to choose
their preferred brand as
long as the price doesn’t
seem too much.
62% find the quality of private label food and drink
products is as good as, if not better than leading brands.
(Rises to 68% among working class).
Only 56% agree that price is the most important thing
when buying food and drink for the household – note
53% check the relative prices of brands when in a
supermarket
15
Shopping is like a military exercise
Base: All households - 658
60% plan their shopping for
food and drink on-the-go
now and buy in bulk in the
supermarket rather than
buying them in a
convenience store. (Rises to
72% among larger
households).
2 in 3 tend to organise
top-up shops around
routines - way to / from
work, or around children’s
extra-curricular activities
(eg classes, sports, etc
49% go to a variety of stores to get
products at different prices/offers.
(58% among C2DE and 66% among
households with 5+ people).
16
The savvy shopper
Base: All households - 658
37% are sceptical about
so-called ‘bargains’
(Highest among Dunnes
Stores most often
shoppers at 49%)
35% regularly compare
the advertised offers
(e.g. in brochures,
leaflets, ads) between
supermarkets
72% always let friends /
family know if they
come across a good
bargain when grocery
shopping
17
Irishness has a role, most likely deeper than
just country the country
Base: All households - 658
42% look out for country
of origin information
when buying food or
drink and always try to
buy Irish. (Higher among
females, farmers, those
living in Dublin and
Supervalu most often
shoppers)
% look out for county of origin
x store used most often %
SuperValu /
Superquinn
47
Centra
46
Tesco
42
Dunnes Stores
Spar
Aldi
Lidl
40
35
34
33
18
Reassurance and brand building important
Base: All households - 658
59% are always reassured
when they see the Bord
Bia quality mark.
(Higher among those aged
45+, farmers and also
those living in the Dublin
area).
19
But limited attention, especially if online
takes off
Base: All households - 658
33% always read the
labels for nutritional
information (40% of
females, 17% males).
14% have ordered groceries
online and liked the
experience.
20
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