Consumers Prefer Buying Fresh in Supermarkets

A newly released study by Information Resources reports that while supercenters gained roughly five million new customers in 2001, consumers prefer to purchase meat and produce from the grocery store. The study also concludes that convenience continues to be a major factor in determining where consumers shop, and that channel differentiation is evident in consumer expectations of each outlet.

The new study, IRI Insights on Channel Differentiation, examines consumer attitudes and shopping behavior across the grocery, drug, mass merchandiser and supercenter channels. It reviews channel trends from IRI's retail sales and household panel tracking services. Additionally, the study features findings from a survey of IRI's household panel regarding attitudes about shopping, expectations of each channel, and satisfaction with 47 different retailers across 16 metropolitan markets.

The survey will serve as the foundation for three additional studies that will be available later this year: IRI Insights on Shopper Segmentation, Dollar Store Shoppers, and Private Label Buyers. Detailed tabulations of the survey results by channel, market, and retailer are also available.

Moderator Comment: Will a large number of consumers that began shopping a supercenter when it entered a market eventually tire of the format once the newness/novelty has worn off?

Supercenters will be constrained by their very size, if location is the most important factor in deciding where to shop. Based on this research, perhaps Wal-Mart should consider putting butchers back in the store. [George Anderson - Moderator]

• New IRI Study Compares Consumer Shopping Attitudes and Behavior Across Channels - IRI