Shoppers Becoming Increasingly Specific About What Drives Produce Purchases

Idaho Falls, ID – Good quality, promotions and low prices, displays and targeted assortments are key needs supermarkets are delivering on – and shoppers are noticing – as they purchase fresh produce at their grocery stores.

Less obvious to shoppers (or nonexistent) while they’re perusing produce aisles, are retailers’ apps – featuring sales and usage information – and signage revealing flavor/taste profiles and recipe/preparation ideas, according to Category Partners’ (CP) recent survey. The survey – the latest in CP’s Consumer Perspectives series – polled 1,000 U.S. consumers of various demographics, including geography, age, race, gender and household income.

Range and importance of produce-purchase factors vary by demographic, but the age and generation brackets were most all-encompassing and specific about what in-store variables elicit a positive impact, when selecting produce.

Shoppers ages 65+ like good quality, well-executed displays and optimal selection/varieties.

Shoppers ages 55-64 emphasized everyday low prices and sales/promotions, whereas shoppers ages 45-54 notice information and signage related to produce origin and nutrition/wellness.

Shoppers ages 25-44 cited available and knowledgeable staff and signage highlighting nutrition/wellness and ripeness/storage information.

Cara Ammon, CP director of research, underscored the value behind retailers and suppliers collaboratively modeling their shoppers’ behaviors, to increase conversion and impulse and repeat purchases. To do this, deeper quantitative and qualitative data is essential, and this study showed the importance of targeting ages and generations to drive sales.

“Across all regions and most demographic groups, consumers noted good quality and low price as ways retailers encourage them to buy produce; but, there are interesting differences among the age groups,” Ammon said. “Shoppers ages 55 and older more often noticed quality produce, attractive displays, low prices and a good selection of products; while shoppers ages 44 and younger more often noticed sampling events, store apps and informative signage.”

About Category Partners – a nationally recognized resource, among food companies and retailers, for delivering actionable business/consumer insights, marketing/sales plans and technology/data solutions. Category Partners is grower/shipper owned and headquartered in Idaho Falls, ID, with offices in Laguna Hills, Calif., Denver and Chicago.

Source: Category Partners