Photo: RetailWire
Where’s the beef? For a growing number of consumers, the answer is in dollar stores.
According to a survey by the Food Marketing Institute and the North American Institute, as reported by The Fiscal Times, the percentage of American consumers visiting dollar stores to purchase meat and poultry rose from three percent in 2014 to seven percent this year. The move to dollar stores was part of a rise in visits to alternative outlets among meat and poultry buyers, which included increases for farmers’ markets (15 percent to 18 percent), farm direct (three percent to five percent) and online (three percent to four percent).
Dollar stores are grabbing a greater share of retail purchases among a wide swath of budget conscious consumers. Research by NPD’s Checkout Tracking, for example, found that 29 percent of Millennials who shopped at Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar were from households earning over $100,000 a year.
While alternative outlets have grabbed market share, supermarkets remain the channel of choice for most consumers in the category. The channel gained share from 2015 to this year, according to the survey, with 62 percent now listing grocery stores as their primary outlet for meat and poultry. Supercenters, which saw a share decline over the same period, are the second most popular source for meat and poultry purchases at 19 percent.
- The Power of Meat 2016 (presentation) – 210 Analytics
- Would You Buy Meat From a Dollar Store? – The Fiscal Times
- Millennials with money go shopping in dollar stores – RetailWire
- Eleventh Annual Power of Meat Study Affirms Meat and Poultry Nutrition Benefits, Places Emphasis on Millennial Attitudes – Food Marketing Institute