Gannett's Grocery Consumer Survey aims to understand how consumers shop for groceries, measure the consumers interest in loyalty cards and grocery apps, and determine the current usage and interest in grocery delivery services. Gannett Grocery Business Summit took place in Phoenix, Arizona on March 22-23.
3. Survey
Methodology and
Demographics
SURVEY GOAL
• Understand how consumers shop for groceries
• Gauge usage and interest in loyalty cards and grocery apps
• Determine current usage and interest in home delivery services
1379 Roundtable Members completed the survey
257 Roundtable Members age 25 - 49
Survey sent out on Monday, March 6th and closed Thursday, March 9th
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS AGE 25 - 49
Female 63%
Married 75%
< $50,000 16%
$50,001-75,000 21%
$75,001+ 59%
Income Undisclosed 4%
College Degree 86%
5. Q2
How often do you
visit a grocery
store in a given
week?
28% 0-1 visits
63% 2-3 visits
9% 4-5 visits
<1% 6-7 visits
6. Q3
Do you shop at
more than one
grocery store?
YES 79%
NO 21%
7. Q4
What influences
the stores you
choose to
shop at?
(select all that apply)
28% 28%
21%
17%
4%
2%
Price Location of the
store
Variety of
products
Freshness of
produce
Number of
organic options
Other
8. Q5
Using the 5-point
scale below,
please indicate
your level of
agreement with
the statement:
Completely Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Completely Agree
“I compare prices before
visiting a grocery store”
9. Q6
How do you
compare prices of
groceries?
(select all that apply)
45%
17%
15%
6%
17%
Weekly Grocery
Inserts/Flyers
Grocery Web Sites Grocery Apps I do not compare
prices at grocery
stores
Other
Age 25 - 49
50+
10. Q7
How do you
create your
grocery list?
(select one)
64%
23%
9%
3% 2%
I write my list on
paper
I use my phone I don't create a
grocery list
I use a
grocery/loyalty
card app
Other
11. Q8
Do you use any
grocery store
apps or apps that
store your
grocery loyalty
cards?
NO 35%
YES 65%
12. Q9
What percent of
your grocery
shopping is done
online for dry
goods and pantry
items?
52%
31%
7%
6%
3%
1%
None
less than
10%
10%-24%
25%-49%
50%-74%
75%+
13. Q10
Have you ever
placed an online
order for
groceries and
picked them up or
had them
delivered?
YES 22% NO 78%
14. Q11
Do you plan to
order your
groceries online
in the next year?
YES 37%
15. SUMMARY
• On average, respondents visit the grocery
store two to three times a week, shopping at
more than one store
• Price and proximity are key in selecting a
store
• Price shopping prior is popular with half the
respondents and the majority of this effort is
done with weekly grocery inserts
• The shift to digital is slowly evolving with
many still most comfortable with a printed
grocery list and few utilizing online shopping
in their weekly purchases
• Nearly 40% of respondents will place an
online delivery order in the next year
Editor's Notes
Primary research is an effective tool to better understand consumer behavior, interests and opinions and often plays a role in driving strategic campaign recommendations. For the purpose of this survey, we polled Digital Subscriber Roundtable members who are primarily responsible for grocery shopping in their household. The survey was conducted in Cincinnati, Louisville, Des Moines, Indianapolis and Phoenix.
We are prioritizing insights from those Roundtable members age 25 – 49 (257 survey respondents, or 19% of our sample size), recognizing they will be more likely to have been exposed to and utilize digital promotional efforts by grocery stores and fall within the initial target audience for new services such as grocery home delivery. As you can see from the demographics listed, the respondents are primarily married females who are affluent and educated.
We initiated the survey with broad questions that will help us define the profile of our respondents and their grocery behaviors on a weekly basis. From there we will explore their use of grocery apps, online ordering and delivery services.
To begin, we wanted to understand what households are represented in our sample size. And to clarify again, we are only using results from the 25-49 age group unless otherwise noted.
With our first question, inquiring how many people are in their household, we have determined that 35% of respondents’ households are singles and couples, while the remaining 65% represent families.
Question 2: How often do you visit a grocery store in a given week?
The majority of respondents visit a grocery store two to three times a week. The only deviation in these results was in Louisville, where over 10% more - 39% shopped 0-1 times a week and 53% shopped 2 to 3 times. It should be noted that when we speak to market results, we are including all respondents and age groups.
Overall, we can make some assumptions with this information as it relates to organization and meal planning for the week. Most respondents have a system in place that helps with efficiencies in shopping. We’ll learn more about how that plays out in the coming slides.
Question 3: Do you shop at more than one grocery store?
Nearly 80% of respondents shop at more than one grocery store in a given week. Any thoughts on why this number is so high?
Phoenix results showed the highest preference for multiple store visits, with over 88%. If you are familiar with the Phoenix grocery marketplace, you know that the competition here is the highest in the country, giving shoppers many choices and some of the lowest prices you’ll see anywhere.
Question 4: What influences the stores you choose to shop at?
Price and Geography were the main influencers in store selection, with variety of products following closely behind for all markets. It should be noted that these answers were directly in line with the 50+ age demographic, who also happened to put more emphasis on freshness of produce (21% vs 17)
Answers under the “Other” category included: Quality of products/meat, Gluten-free options, cleanliness of store, customer service
Question 5: Using the 5-point scale below, please indicate your level of agreement with the statement: “I compare prices before visiting a grocery store”
Price shopping is popular among younger audiences, with nearly half of respondents affirming this is part of their regular grocery shopping routine. Again, this response summary is nearly identical to the 50+ age category and important to note when considering the future of inserts in the digital landscape.
The only deviation in these results was in Cincinnati, where more people felt neutral and disagreed than agreed with the statement. As expected, Phoenix ranked highest in price shopping.
Question 6: How do you compare prices of groceries?
45% of respondents, age 25 – 49 currently use grocery inserts to price shop. In comparison overall, behaviors as it relates to grocery shopping are nearly identical with the two age groups, except for use of grocery apps. Cincinnati again ranked lowest for use of inserts, Phoenix highest.
Question 7: How do you create your grocery list?
The tradition of the written grocery list is still prevalent with nearly 2/3 of respondents. While nearly a quarter use their phone, the shift to digital in grocery list-making is still not of interest to the majority of shoppers. Notations under “Other” included using coupons or circled items in their inserts as their “list”, others are more adventurous and use Amazon’s Alexa to help them create a list.
Question 8: Do you use any grocery store apps or apps that store your grocery loyalty cards?
The tradition of the written grocery list is still prevalent with nearly 2/3 of respondents. While nearly a quarter use their phone, the shift to digital in grocery list-making is still not of interest to the majority of shoppers. Notations under “Other” included using coupons or circled items in their inserts as their “list”, others are more adventurous and use Amazon’s Alexa to help them create a list.
Some noted favorite features of their apps include digital and personalized coupons, keeping track of fuel points, earning and tracking loyalty rewards, automation of in-store
coupons.
Des Moines respondents were the least likely to use apps, with 59% responding no.
Question 9: What percent of your grocery shopping is done online for dry goods and pantry items?
The response was nearly split with 52% of respondents who haven’t yet translated any of their grocery list online and those who capitalize on it in some respect. This information was consistent in every market. The percent of those who have ordered online with the 50+ age demographic shrunk to 35%, or roughly 13% less than the 25-49 age group.
Where does your household fall in that category? None? Less than 25? Half? More than half?
Question 10: Have you ever placed an online order for groceries and picked them up or had them delivered?
Over three quarters of respondents haven’t tested the water for grocery delivery services yet. Indy ranked highest, with over 16% of respondents, versus the lowest in Phoenix, at 10%.
Question 11: Do you plan to order your groceries online in the next year?
While only 22% have already tested the waters of online grocery delivery, 37% of them plan on using this service in the next year. That’s a 68% increase in online delivery orders for our panel alone, in the next year. Leading the charge are Cincinnati, Louisville and Indianapolis, with Phoenix capturing the lowest interest, at only 12%.