There has been a reduction in the proportion of adults who claim to purchase from a deli counter at least once a week for either hot or cold food of some description, dropping from 39% in 2016 to 35% in 2018.
These are some of the findings from recent research amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,016 adults aged 18+, conducted on behalf of Retail Intelligence by Empathy Research. The purpose of the research was to understand the purchasing behaviour of consumers at the deli-counter and to identify what is driving this behaviour.
Interestingly, there has been a significant shift in purchase levels over this two-year period across gender, with now just 29% of males claiming to purchase from a deli counter once a week or more often and just over 4 in 10 (41%) females purchasing with this frequency. Those aged 25-34 (46%) are most likely to purchase from deli-counters at least weekly, with those aged 18-24 (31%) least likely to purchase from deli counters.
In 2016, we had seen evidence of a reduction in the future usage and purchase from deli counters, with 38% of all adults claiming they are using the deli counter less frequently than they were six months ago. This trend has continued into 2018, with just over a third of adults claiming they are purchasing less frequently than they were this time six months ago.
The desire to eat healthier is a key driver in the drop-off in purchase from deli counters with almost half who have reduced their past six-month purchase claiming they are trying to eat healthier nowadays (45%), with 22% feeling the food in deli counters is over-processed and not good for you. Just over half (53%) of those who have reduced their purchase levels are preparing more of their food at home, thus eliminating the need to purchase as much food “on-the-go”.
For further information and more in-depth analysis on the usage and attitudes of shoppers towards deli counters, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research.
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