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Supermarket grazing (Aug 2009)
TNS Omnibus survey to a representative sample of 1050 GB adults aged 16-64, conducted online 24th-28th August 2009. Click here for the full data tables.
Key findings:
• One in five shoppers (21%) admit to sneakily eating something in a shop that was not a tester or on free trial to aid purchase decision. This rises to one in three (33%) of 16-24’s - the youngest age group.
• Just under half (47%) of those who admit to a sneaky free taster consider trying a food product before buying it as theft!
• 81% don’t want fresh unwrapped food such as bread manhandled by other shoppers.
• However, handling fresh fruit and vegetables prior to buying is deemed more acceptable – 78% agree this is OK.
• Views about the acceptability of scoffing our way around the supermarket before buying are fairly divided; 52% think it’s acceptable to present e.g. an empty wrapper at checkout, 48% think not (generally the degree of unacceptability rises with age, with surprisingly, the 25-34’s being the strongest proponents of grazing whilst shopping - one would tend to assume always the younger 16-34’s have the more ‘laissez-faire’ attitude to life!)
• Almost two-thirds (63%) consider ‘unapproved’ trying before buying as theft
The results of this survey featured in an article in The Grocer on grocery shoppers' tendencies to nibble foods before they pay for them. Click here to see the article.