Rarely a day goes by without us getting sent research of variable reliability purporting to shed some light on what’s going on in consumers’ heads.
Today’s comes from the always-entertaining folk at myvouchercodes.co.uk, who claim that almost half of shoppers think UK supermarkets are part of a sinister conspiracy to make them get fat and die young.
Forty-eight percent in a poll by the website said they think the major multiples “actively encourage” unhealthy eating – with a majority of those people pinpointing devious tactics like putting chocolate bars (rather than delicious, tempting lettuce) next to the checkouts.
“Over half of respondents felt that supermarkets in the UK had a responsibility to encourage healthy eating in-store,” said Mark Pearson, chairman of the website that run the poll.
“While responsibility lies with the customer to ensure that they are buying the right foods, it is important food retailers do their best to spread discounts and promotions across all kinds of products, healthy and less healthy alike.”
“That way, it really is up to the customer to decide what they purchase and blame cannot really be shifted. Demand is there for both types of produce and in-store offers should reflect that.”
Clearly it’s too much to expect people to just use some common sense when doing their weekly shop. So perhaps we should go down the Danish route. The papers today were up in arms after the Danes supposedly banned Marmite due to its Vitamin B content.
“People in Denmark are not allowed to eat what they want to eat, even if it is perfectly legal to do so under EU law,” howled the shop owner who’s got some handy publicity from the Marmite maelstrom.
It’s always easier to blame others for our own over-indulgence. But whether you love the supermarkets or hate them, at least we get the choice.
No comments yet