It is no surprise that Tesco and the other big supermarket retailers are keen to increase their presence in the convenience market when you analyse recent trends in shopping visits.
Our survey, compiled exclusively for The Grocer from research we have undertaken for retailers and manufacturers over the past decade, shows that today's shoppers are making ever-shorter visits to multiple stores.
The average duration of a visit to a multiple has shortened by almost a quarter in just seven years.
This year shoppers are spending 25min 26sec on an average visit to a multiple, down from more than 33min in 1995.
By comparison, average visits to convenience stores have almost doubled from about 2min in 1995 to nearly 4min (3.55min) in 2002.Three-quarters of these convenience shoppers visit at least once a week and one in three visit daily.
Forecourt visits have remained relatively stable over the same period and hover between 2min and 2min 10sec.
However, as reported in The Grocer (August 31, news p10) shopping trips are becoming more frequent.
There has been a 14% increase in the proportion of shoppers visiting multiples weekly since 1998, and between 1999 and 2001 the number of shoppers visiting these stores two to three times a week rose 60%.
Developments in society at large, including changing work patterns and attitudes to food preparation, are believed to be causing these rapidly evolving patterns of consumer demand.
They suggest the need for strategic changes based on customers' actual use of retail stores rather than previous assumptions about different channels.
The ramifications go beyond the obvious areas of store formats and merchandising.
The whole basis of channel and mission segmentation needs to be reassessed to become compatible with emerging needs.
{{INSIGHT }}
Our survey, compiled exclusively for The Grocer from research we have undertaken for retailers and manufacturers over the past decade, shows that today's shoppers are making ever-shorter visits to multiple stores.
The average duration of a visit to a multiple has shortened by almost a quarter in just seven years.
This year shoppers are spending 25min 26sec on an average visit to a multiple, down from more than 33min in 1995.
By comparison, average visits to convenience stores have almost doubled from about 2min in 1995 to nearly 4min (3.55min) in 2002.Three-quarters of these convenience shoppers visit at least once a week and one in three visit daily.
Forecourt visits have remained relatively stable over the same period and hover between 2min and 2min 10sec.
However, as reported in The Grocer (August 31, news p10) shopping trips are becoming more frequent.
There has been a 14% increase in the proportion of shoppers visiting multiples weekly since 1998, and between 1999 and 2001 the number of shoppers visiting these stores two to three times a week rose 60%.
Developments in society at large, including changing work patterns and attitudes to food preparation, are believed to be causing these rapidly evolving patterns of consumer demand.
They suggest the need for strategic changes based on customers' actual use of retail stores rather than previous assumptions about different channels.
The ramifications go beyond the obvious areas of store formats and merchandising.
The whole basis of channel and mission segmentation needs to be reassessed to become compatible with emerging needs.
{{INSIGHT }}
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