‘Sale Price’ is Top Purchase Driver

A ‘sale price’ is the top motivator for the purchase of a new food product (77%), and for the choice of a national brand over a store brand (77%).

A ‘sale price’ is the top motivator for the purchase of a new food product (77%), and for the choice of a national brand over a store brand (77%).

This is where the recession has brought shoppers – to the point where immediate savings trump product quality, in-store sampling and delayed rewards, according to national findings of a SupermarketGuru.com Quick Poll.

When it comes to buying a new food product, 70% of respondents also say a store coupon would prompt purchase, and 62% say in-store sampling would land an item in their cart.

Regarding the selection of a name brand vs. private label, two out of three consumers also (66%) peg quality as the reason to buy.

With such emphasis on sale prices, the poll asked consumers which vehicle they prefer to learn about such savings: Store circular was #1 (71%), followed by e-mail notice (68%), newspaper advertising (51%) and mail (36%).

People prefer to learn about new products in a different sequence, however. E-mail came in first (71%), followed by store circular (51%, newspaper advertising (43%) and television advertising (41%), the poll showed.

Examining the purchase of frozen and refrigerated dairy items, survey respondents said:

• The supermarket is their top source (94%), followed by mass merchants (38%), warehouse clubs (32%) and specialty food stores (22%).
• They most frequently become aware of new items within these categories through online reviews (58%), in-store sampling (54%), television advertising (51%) and magazine advertising (46%).

When asked about the physical appeals of frozen and refrigerated departments in a supermarket, three out of four consumers (74%) said clean cases draw them in. A majority also said price signs (53%) and nice displays (52%) attracted them.

Once in the frozen and refrigerated aisles, the health and nutrition benefits they seek most often are:  no trans fats (59%), low fat (57%), no preservatives (55%), whole grains (54%), low sodium (54%) and all natural (51%).