Consumer Food-Shopping Trip Patterns, 2003

Consumers are continuing to scale back their trips to the grocery store, opting instead for supercenters, dollar stores, and warehouse club stores, according to the latest "Channel Blurring" study from ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU company. The findings are based on an analysis of data from the ACNielsen Homescan consumer panel. Todd Hale, senior vice president, consumer insights, ACNielsen U.S., said, "New store openings are helping fuel the growth of supercenters, dollar stores, and warehouse club stores. These channels are competing vigorously with the grocery channel, which enjoys 100% household penetration. In order to defend their turf, grocery retailers need to focus on perimeter departments, making sure that their 'fresh' departments -- produce, baked goods, meat, seafood, and deli -- are the best in town. Lets face it, today you can get pain relievers at office supply stores and snacks at video rental stores, but not everyone can do a great job with fresh produce." As shown in the chart (at right), supercenters and dollar stores made gains in both the percentage of households who shop in those channels and the number of shopping trips consumers made to them last year. Warehouse club stores grew their shopper base while holding steady in shopping frequency; drug stores stayed even on both measures; convenience stores notched up in household penetration but slipped in trip frequency; and traditional mass merchandisers continued their multiyear slide in both household penetration and trip frequency. With more retail formats to choose from, some consumers are spreading their shopping across many stores, a phenomenon Hale refers to as "channel grazing." Nearly one-third (31%) of households are what he terms "heavy grazers," those that shop in 29 or more retailers or retail channels per year.In part, deal-seeking appears to be a motivating factor for people who shop in the highest number of stores. For example, heavy grazers are more likely than light grazers to agree with statements such as, "I use coupons on most of my shopping trips," and, "I always look around food aisles in non-grocery stores for a good deal or to see what's there." However, Hale said there is more to channel grazing than an attempt by consumers to save money. "If they perceive it to be inconvenient, heavy grazers are no more willing than light grazers to shop at a store that offers low prices. So, I believe part of the channel grazing phenomenon can be attributed to the novelty of seeing what's new; it's the notion of 'shopping as entertainment.'""Supercenters are doing a great job generating more trips (to) the store and getting $12 more per basket than traditional grocers," Hale told USA Today in March. Hale told the newspaper that, in order to address the shift, supermarkets must work harder on price, but also emphasize such strengths as perishables and ready-to-eat foods. "Each grocer has to figure out what they want to be and who they want to compete against," he said.Mark Miller, an analyst at William Blair & Co., predicted that the encroachment should continue, especially since supercenters currently only have 63% market penetration in the U.S. Miller predicted that supermarket share of grocery sales will drop to 34% by 2011.

Consumer Food-Shopping Trip Patterns, 2003

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