Latest research from him! research & consulting shows that UK adults are spreading their monthly grocery spend even thinner across a growing number of retailers. 27% of UK adults say they are using a higher number of different retailers in a typical month vs this time last year. Just 8% said less.

“UK adults use 4 different grocery retailers, on average, per month and this number is increasing. Not only are we continuing to see shoppers do smaller, more frequent shops, but those smaller shops are now being spread thinner across a wider number of retailers with each retailer.  Their weekly ‘grocery footprint’ is growing,” commented Katie Littler, Communications Director at him!
 
The research shows that in a typical week 96% of UK adults will now use a supermarket, 70% will use a convenience store, 43% will use a discounter and a similar proportion are now buying groceries online.  30% of UK adults don’t do a regular ‘main shop’ anymore, they spread their monthly grocery spend across a number of retailers throughout each week.
 
Littler added: “We are trying to understand the total shopper footprint. We’re tracking shopper visits from convenience stores, to supermarket, to discounters, online and beyond, and they’re telling us that their weekly ‘grocery footprint’ is growing. It’s important that both retailers and suppliers understand where their shoppers are going and why they may not be purchasing certain products in certain stores.”
 
The data comes from him!’s new ‘Convenience Barometer’ – interviews with a nationally representative sample of UK adults every month. It aims to understand convenience shoppers, wherever they are shopping. And its new ‘High St’ study – capturing shoppers opinions on supermarkets vs discounters vs convenience stores.
 
Other data from the study:

• 85% UK adults do a top up SOMEWHERE every week (+5% net increase YoY)
• 70% of households do a ‘main weekly or monthly shop’ (so 30% DON’T!)
• Use 4 different retailers for their grocery shop in a typical month
• 19% (net) say they’re using a HIGHER no of grocery retailers on a weekly basis YoY.  The omni-channel shopper…. is now just ‘a shopper’!

Not only are him! continuing to see shoppers do smaller, more frequent shops… those smaller shops are now being spread thinner across a wider no of retailers.
  
him! found that shoppers use different channels for different reasons. Food discounters have grown their credibility in core shopping missions.  They’ve seen phenomenal growth in attracting the valuable ‘main shop’, driven by broadening ranges and improving fresh. And impressive growth in growth in ‘meal for tonight’ and ‘BWS’.