Most Britons are altering buying habits amid higher grocery prices: NielsenIQ

Over half of consumers (53 percent) Britons claim that the cost of their normal weekly grocery shop has risen in the last six months, states a recent insight released by NielsenIQ, which claims that most consumers are altering their buying and consumption patterns amid decades-high inflation and cost of living squeeze.

NielsenIQ noted that these segments demonstrate that 76 percent of UK consumers overall are cost-conscious consumers who are altering their buying and consumption patterns.

Identifying five new consumer groups, Nielsen IQ research Economic Divide study reveals trends and shopping behaviour in the year ahead amid soaring inflation.

The five groups are based on the pandemic’s economic impact on consumers’ financial security and associated spending patterns and are each shaped by their unique circumstances and approach to endemic living:

• Strugglers: 19 percent of those surveyed falls into category of strugglers, consumers who experienced job or income loss and continue to do so today.
• Rebounders: Making up 22 percent, these shoppers experienced job or income loss during Covid-19, but are back on track now.
• Cautious: The most widespread (35 percent), these consumers did not see an impact on their household’s financial security during the pandemic, but are still cautious with spending habits.
• Unchanged: For 16 percent of consumers, there was no impact on their household’s financial security and continued to spend as they normally did.
• Thrivers: Making up just 8 percent of consumers surveyed, they saved money during the Covid crisis and feel more financially secure now than they did prior to the pandemic.

Although ‘thrivers’ are the most financially secure, they too have noticed a climb in grocery spend (62 percent), despite purchasing the same items.

In terms of managing grocery spend amid rising costs, 16 percent of all UK consumers have taken a radical approach and stopped buying certain products completely. The biggest consumer group to make such changes is the strugglers.

According to the data from NielsenIQ, 21 percent of all UK shoppers select the lowest priced product irrespective of brand, with this figure climbing to 27 percent for strugglers. Meanwhile, thrivers are the least likely to make this choice, with 13 percent saying they choose to stick to their preferred brand irrespective of price.

In an interesting shift, NielsenIQ found that thrivers are the most likely to buy whatever brand is on promotion (21 percent) followed by the cautious (19 percent).

Additionally, in-store grocery shopping remains the preferred method for Britons (61 percent). Ordering online is most popular among the strugglers, with a combined total of 84 percent either ordering groceries online for delivery or pick-up at either a supermarket, local traditional store or from a pure-player like Amazon. 

“The last two years have seen an unprecedented level of uncertainty for consumers and the war in the Ukraine has only exacerbated sentiment about rising cost of living and inflation, said Rachel White, Managing Director, NielsenIQ UK and Ireland.

“In order to adapt to how consumers are reacting, retailers and manufacturers will need to forge new strategies and reinvent portfolios as they navigate these changing needs and priorities of a divided consumer landscape.”