Whether in store or online, shoppers like to have options when it comes to where they purchase their everyday groceries and supplies. Shopping and hopping from store to store go hand-in-hand for today’s consumers in the United States, according to Jacksonville, Florida-based Acosta.
New research and insights from the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sales and marketing agency shows that 76 percent of weekly shoppers in the USA visit more than one retailer each week for groceries. Additionally, as spelled out in its latest Hot Topic Report, “Trip Drivers: Top Influencers Driving Shopper Traffic,” 67 percent of those shoppers are visiting approximately two to three retailers weekly.
“Shoppers appreciate having options, which is why we are seeing a rise in hopping from store to store for weekly grocery trips,” said Colin Stewart, senior vice president at Acosta. “People are motivated by not only good deals and fresh products, but also by brand loyalty, which can impact their decisions to either keep returning to a particular store, or hopping to another.”
Price Takes Center Stage
Price, of course, is an important factor as to why shoppers are traveling to different retailer stores within a given day or week to buy a product that is sold at multiple locations.
Sixty percent of shoppers reported shopping at more than one retail outlet because “some products are priced lower at certain retailers.”- Only 45 percent of Millennials cite price as a key driver of retail hopping – this generation is more prone than the average shopper to vary their shopping based on where they are and specific brands.
- More shoppers are choosing at which store to shop based on how much they like the store brand (53 percent of shoppers versus only 34 percent in 2011).
‘Fresh Foods’ Driving Trips
So-called fresh foods continue to be a key driver for why many shoppers hop in the car and drive to the store regularly – so they can purchase ingredients for that night’s dinner in-store.
- Thirty-seven percent of shoppers make multiple trips weekly to ensure their food is fresh.
- From old to young, each generational group surveyed agreed it makes multiple trips or has multiple deliveries to receive the freshest food, including 65 percent of Millennials, 47 percent of GenXers, 25 percent of Baby Boomers, and 22 percent of the so-called Silent Generation (a stereotypical term coined by Time magazine for Americans born between the mid-1920s and the early- to mid-1940s).
- Fruit and deli-prepared foods drive 31 percent and 29 percent of dollar growth, respectively.
- Thirty-seven percent of shoppers report they don’t have time to figure out what to have for dinner, saying it’s typically a last-minute decision.
Brand Loyalty
- Forty-one percent of shoppers reported shopping at more than one retailer because “some retailers carry better quality products in certain categories.”
- Thirty-three percent of shoppers go to more than one retailer due to not finding all the products/brands they want at one store.
- Brand preference drives traffic across all income brackets, including among 37 percent of shoppers with household incomes above $199,000, and 28 percent of shoppers with household incomes below $20,000.
- Forty-three percent of shoppers surveyed agree that brands simplify the selection process when shopping at multiple grocery stores.
