Monday, November 29, 2010 by Lee Mannering
Survey examines “green” consumers
According to FMI’s 2010 U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report, environmental and sustainability efforts have not been greatly impacted by the recessionary pressures and the number of shoppers participating in various green practices is growing. For example:
- Reusable shopping bags are gaining popularity as 80 percent of shoppers say they have noticed that their primary store offers them. Half of all shoppers say they try to bring their own bags when grocery shopping, which is up from 40 percent last year. (One of my local stores offers customers a rebate if you bring your own plastic bags to pack your groceries.)
- More than half (53 percent) of shoppers say their store offers locally-grown or produced products such as fresh meat or produce, or processed local favorites such as salsas, marinades and jams. Their reasons for purchasing local products: freshness (77 percent), wanting to support the local economy (73 percent) and they like knowing the source of the product (46 percent).
It’s interesting that among the reasons why consumers buy local, FMI’s results are similar to ours – with freshness being the number one reason. However, consumers told us that after freshness, the reason they buy local produce is because it “tastes better” (65 percent) and they have “more confidence in food safety” (59 percent). Support for the local farmer/economy ranked lower in our report.
To get your free copy of PMA’s new 2010 study Identifying Consumer Trends in the Produce Category, log in to the PMA website. Note: You must be a PMA member in order to access this report.
Also, if you’ll be attending FMI’s sustainability summit next week in Arlington, Virginia, you can learn more about industry (and PMA’s) sustainability efforts when PMA Vice President of Government Relations & Public Affairs Kathy Means moderates a session focused on the development and upcoming implementation of the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops.
Tags: Sustainability