Understanding Today’s Grocery Shoppers

2. Understanding Today’s Grocery Shoppers • Although 76% of women are households’ primary grocery shopper, 58% of them are now men and are taking more responsibility for grocery shopping, food preparation, cooking and managing a household’s stock of food items in the pantry. • Another perspective reinforces the continuation of women’s traditional role as the primary grocery shopper: In households with two or more adults, 56% influences what to buy and 38% influences where to shop, compared to 33% and 23% among men. • According to 2018 survey data from The Media Audit, the percentages of men and women who spend more than $100 weekly for groceries are relatively similar, at 47.1% and 52.9%, respectively, and more than $150, 46.3% and 52.7%, respectively.

3. Consumers Shop at Multiple Stores • According to The Hartman Group’s Food Shopping in America 2017, 65% of consumers shopped at 3 to 6 retail channels for food and beverages during the past 30 days, with 7% at just one retail channel and 8% at 8 to 10 retail channels. • Data from Acosta’s fall 2017 Trip Drivers report revealed 37% of all grocery shoppers made multiple trips to grocery stores or ordered for delivery to ensure they had fresh food to serve, with fruit, at 31%, the largest category. • Deli-prepared foods were second in the Acosta report, at 29%, and the primary reason is the grocerant trend: People are too busy to cook meals. In the same report from The Hartman Group, 39% said they bought prepared food instead of cooking at home.

4. Where Grocery Shoppers Are Spending Their Money • According to March 2018 survey data from Coresight Research, 60.8% of respondents said they had shopped at Walmart during the past 12 months; followed by Target, 37.0%; Kroger and allied chains, 28.9%; Costco, 28.9%; and Trader Joe’s, 27.1%. • Unsurprisingly, shoppers at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Costco had the largest average incomes ($90K+); Target, Kroger and Aldi in the $70K–$85K income range; and Walmart in the $60K–$70K income range. • The survey also revealed a somewhat counterintuitive result: As expected, Walmart and Target had the largest percentages of shoppers, 18–29, at 71% and 50%, respectively, but they were also largest percentage at Whole Foods, or 28%.

5. What Drives Foot Traffic and Purchases • In Acosta’s fall 2017 Trip Drivers report, 60% of survey respondents said price was the #1 motivator for shopping for groceries at more than retailer while 41% said quality; 33%, availability; and 23%, convenience. • The Acosta report also revealed 33% of all shoppers will shop more than one store because it didn’t offer all the brands shoppers wanted. Those with the highest incomes were more likely to do so: $125K–$199,999, 40%, and $199,999+, 37%. • Another motivator becoming more prevalent is the self-checkout option, as a January 2018 survey from Field Agent found 57% of US smartphone users “usually” or “always” use self-checkout.

6. Grocery Shoppers’ Generational Differences • As Millennials age, some distinctions are emerging, such as younger Millennials (18–27) are interested in variety and availability of various cuisines while older Millennials (28–37) seek nutritional information, especially for prepared meals when they don’t cook. • Older Millennials are also focused on food safety and detailed calorie information, often opting for low-calorie salad dressings and turkey meatloaf. • The older members of Generation Z (12–21) are starting to become independent grocery shoppers, although they are only 7% of all shoppers older than 18. Because they are so racially and culturally diverse, they want food selections that reflect their diversity.

7. Grocery Shopping with a Smartphone • Although the smartphone is almost a ubiquitous device in everyone’s pocket, “46% of consumers never use a smartphone in store while shopping for food, beverages or groceries,” according to The Hartman Group’s Food Shopping in America 2017 report. • The report also revealed women more than men create a shopping list on their smartphones or use a retailer app and 12% of women will access a recipe on their smartphones while shopping. • A surprisingly small percentage, 4%, of all consumers are using their smartphones to access a social network platform/app (Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest) while shopping for food, beverages and groceries.

8. Advertising Strategies • Show grocers you are the only media outlet that can maximize reach to Baby Boomers and other seniors with traditional TV programming as well as reach Millennials and other young adults with your Website’s news coverage. • Although women are still the primary target audience by gender for supermarkets, they should also create special offers (meat for grilling, prepared meals, etc.) and ad messaging to attract an increasing male audience. • It’s clear from the research presented in the Profiler that grocers can position themselves first in the minds of consumers by featuring food freshness, fruit specifically; prepared meals for busy lifestyles; and the top brands that appeal to the most consumers

9. New Media Strategies • Self-checkout technology, including a smartphone scanning option, will only become more familiar to and preferred by consumers, so grocers, especially local and independent stores, will be challenged to research these technologies and introduce them quickly. • Because some consumers are using their smartphones will shopping, but many more could, grocers should consider designating an employee as a “smartphone shopping concierge,” roaming the store and helping consumers utilize the coupons, apps, etc. on their phones. • Local and independent grocers can remain competitive with the big chains by conducting regular Website and social media polls and surveys to obtain a clear and granular understanding of their customers and the exact products and services they want.