Quality of food becoming more important as shoppers adjust to lockdown

• As shoppers adjust to more home cooking, they are more likely to select a retailer based on the perceived quality of their range

• Despite the growing demand for quality, price remains the most important shopper need

• Purchases of chilled, fresh and frozen products have increased in supermarkets

Shoppers are placing increasing importance on the quality of products throughout the coronavirus crisis - though price remains the top priority, according to the latest consumer analysis survey by Him and MCA Insight.

Channel Pulse, Him and MCA Insight’s measure of weekly shopper and consumer behaviour across all UK food and drink channels, revealed quality increased as a key shopper need across breakfast, lunch and dinner in the w/c 13 April. It is now the third most important shopper need.

However, despite this growing demand for quality, price remained the most important shopper need - rating in the top two across all parts of the day.

Price-savvy shoppers who seek out promotions are also feeling the pinch, the research showed. In the w/c 23 March, 28% of shoppers had noticed price increases and 22% had noticed a reduction in promotions.

The research showed as shoppers adjusted to more home cooking, they were more likely to select a retailer based on the perceived quality of their range.

“Quality is becoming increasingly important to shoppers,” said Him & MCA head of insight Blonnie Walsh. “However, shoppers don’t want to compromise on price.

“With lockdown measures extended, consumers are settling into new routines and cooking more meals at home. As they adapt to this, we start to see old behaviours creep back, such as a need for quality produce.”

She added: “An increase in promotions is a great way of satisfying the balance between quality and price, as well as help attract footfall from competitors.”

Other headlines from week four of the survey include:

• Visit frequency and shopper loyalty remained stable week on week

• Newsagent is the second most common mission within convenience stores, accounting for 19% of all trips - up from 14% the week before

• The proportion of baskets containing news and magazines within convenience has nearly doubled week on week - 15%, up from 8% the previous week

• Purchases of chilled and fresh products have increased in supermarkets, so too have frozen products as shoppers prepare for three more weeks of lockdown