Fruit and veg is 'vital to shopper loyalty'

Fruit and vegetables play a crucial role in building customer loyalty in supermarkets, new research has indicated.

A survey conducted by IGD on behalf of supply chain management firm iTradeNetwork collected responses from customers across supermarkets, convenience and discount stores in Europe, and explored shopper attitudes and opinions with regards to shopping for fresh produce.

It found that one-third of shoppers would potentially consider switching stores if they hadn’t been able to find the fruit and vegetables they were looking for and that shoppers consider the likelihood of a product being stocked or available prior to deciding where to shop.

Key findings in the survey included that customers are shopping more often than ever at 26 times per month, and one of the top reasons for this – at 35 per cent – is to get the freshest proudcts.

Shoppers consider the likelihood of a product being stocked or available prior to deciding where to shop and often have a ‘hierarchy’ in terms of where they think they are most likely to be successful, the survey found.

Customers purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables were more likely to impulse buy fresh fruit (16 per cent) than alcohol (11 per cent), and some 36 per cent would consider potentially shopping elsewhere in the future if they couldn’t get the fresh fruit and vegetables for which they were shopping.

Julie Cumberland, head of marketing, EMEA, at iTradeNetwork, said: “These findings confirm that retailers should focus on their fresh produce offering in order to build and retain customer loyalty and add value to their baskets.

“Customers expect the very freshest of produce to be available at all times and are willing to shop more often to make sure they get this. We know that promotions around ‘fresh’ and stores that encourage more engagement with the shopper, with information on how to use certain fresh produce and ‘fresh’ meal deals, encourage shopper loyalty. The research highlights that for long-term shopper loyalty, these promotions need to work alongside constant stock availability, quality and freshness.”

Rhian Thomas, shopper insight manager at IGD, added: “Over half of the fresh produce shoppers that we surveyed agreed that it is sometimes worth paying a little extra to get higher quality. An increased focus on quality in-store could therefore help to delight shoppers and drive increased engagement in these categories.”