In-store shopping, discounts cited as top food & beverage trends of 2023

Most Britons are shopping around more, still believe in-store shopping is better while searching for best deals on groceries, rank discount as top promotion type and are likely to stick to own-label brands, states a report by an industry expert today (14).

According to recently-released “Top 10 UK food & beverage trends of 2023” by Attest, 92.5 per cent of consumers are shopping around for better deals with 58.7 per cent of Brits say they visit different supermarkets in person, while 43.7 per cent compare them online.

The pandemic might have boosted the adoption of online shopping, but consumers still believe it’s better to go to a shop when searching for the best deals on groceries, states the report, highlighting how more than 53 per cent of Brits think in-store shopping is best for bargain hunting, while only 13.3 per cent favour online.

Discounting the price of a product is the tactic most likely to get Brits to buy it. Out of six promotion types, a discount was ranked as the most effective, closely followed by “buy one get one free” deals. Offering a “% of extra product free” was ranked third, alongside a “pre-inflation price freeze”.

Interestingly, the report shows that discounts don’t need to be huge to incentivise shoppers.

“We asked respondents about the minimum discount that would persuade them, and the top answer was 20 per cent (38.0 per cent of people said this). A further 22.3 per cent would buy with a 30 per cent discount. But 20.4 per cent would be convinced by a discount of 10 per cent or less,” states the report.

Furthermore, 90.4 per cent of consumers are likely to buy own-label brands. More than 60 per cent of Brits say they are ‘very likely’ to purchase them, with a further 30.3 per cent ‘somewhat likely’, states the report, adding that “millennials are most likely to seek out own-label brands, while Gen Z will pick them up if they take their fancy”. Almost 70 per cent plan to stick to own-label brands.

Lowering prices overall is the primary action stores can take to keep customers: it’s more than 4x as effective as implementing store-wide special offers and promotions, adds the report, stating that “fancy in-store technology is ranked as the factor least likely to incentivise shoppers”.

Expensive supermarkets will get the chop, states the report, citing 21 per cent consumers who have ditched Morrisons.