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 During a recession shoppers are looking for ways to save money – but they are also keeping one eye on the environment, as Gerardine Padbury, Senior Consumer Analyst, reports.
Wasting good food costs money and adversely impacts on the environment. Having experienced steeper food price increases in 2008, shoppers are gaining a greater appreciation of the value of food. With household budgets being squeezed, shoppers increasingly appear reluctant to throw food away recognising that wasted food is wasted money.
The recession has resulted in smarter shoppers, more willing to invest time to save money. They’re shopping around more, cooking from scratch, and increasingly looking at ways to reduce waste.
Shoppers becoming more aware of waste
Since 2007 when IGD last looked at the issue of food waste in the home, a growing number of shoppers have expressed support for the following top four ways to reduce food waste.
- Better food planning (increased by six percentage points)
- Resealable packaging (increased by eight percentage points)
- Smaller portion sizes (increased by nine percentage points)
- Recipe ideas to use leftovers (increased by ten percentage points).
Top 4 ways to reduce food waste
While many of these are areas where the shopper can take personal action, the food industry can provide solutions and recommendations to help shoppers reduce food waste. Food companies could gain strong praise and recognition from shoppers by helping in this area, particularly as it’s not regarded as being directly of commercial interest. Furthermore, providing solutions to shoppers that will save them money and reduce the guilt of food waste could in fact, build brand or retailer loyalty.
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| The industry is promoting the use of leftovers | |
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Using leftovers
The solution to help reduce food waste which has grown most significantly for shoppers, is the desire for inspirational recipe ideas for leftover food (from 14% in 2007 to 24% in the latest survey). This is something which the industry is already addressing. For example, Sainsbury’s in partnership with Good Housekeeping are promoting the use of leftovers and providing recipe ideas. Other retailers are also following suit and providing ideas within their in-store magazines as well as WRAP, with its dedicated ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ website.
These suggestions can encourage shoppers to improve their value perception of the main ingredient and try new recipes, through buying additional ingredients for inclusion in the meals.
Better planning
The most popular solution suggested for reducing food waste was better food planning, which was mentioned by almost half of shoppers questioned (49%). While this is primarily an area that needs to be addressed by the individual householder, the food industry could potentially facilitate this by providing shoppers with tools that enable them to plan better. For example, tools that create shopping lists and conduct stock audits can all help to reduce food waste. To a certain extent, shopping lists are already being provided through on-line shopping but there are opportunities to develop this further.
Reducing food waste continues to be a major issue. There’s a growing interest amongst shoppers to make good use of leftovers, yet they’re looking for help and inspiration from the food industry. This presents a good opportunity for food companies to support consumers in difficult times.
More information:
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Shopper Trends 2009: Food Shopping in a Recession |
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It has never been more important to keep your finger on the pulse of UK shoppers. IGD’s Shopper Trends 2009 will help you identify the opportunities and threats as you aim to meet the evolving needs of shoppers in a time of unprecedented economic uncertainty. |
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