Consumers Trust the Internet more than Doctors. Wait, What?!
March 6th, 2010Uncategorized No Comments
The National Grocers Association has just released its 2010 Consumer Survey Report, which was completed in association with ConAgra Foods and SupermarketGuru. It is a good report identifying what is most important to American food shoppers.
There are a few interesting finds in the report surrounding social media and the internet generally. First, shoppers do not care much about online buying. Only 14% stated that an online buying service available from their grocery store was important. It does not factor into their choice of a food store. Only 38% said that self-checkout was important to them.
99% stated that a clean, neat store is important. 96% said low prices are important. 97% said accurate shelf tags are important. No surprises here, but it is a good reminder that the basics are important, and that shoppers are unforgiving when it comes to neatness and accuracy of information.
82% of shoppers said they use social networking to gather or exchange information about foods including new products, nutrition and recipes. This applies to older as well as younger shoppers. This is another reminder of the importance of retailers being present in the social media sites.
The most common source of nutritional information is the internet, with 75% of consumers using it for information. What surprised me was where the internet ranked in terms of trustworthiness. While no source of information enjoyed a high level of trust, the internet ranked the highest. 30% of consumers considered the internet to be the most truthful. This figure is twice as high as the next most trusted source of nutritional information – doctors!
What does all this mean for wine retailers? Well, these food shoppers are also wine shoppers. The survey results remind us that the basics – clean stores, accurate information are critical, but are table stakes. Wine retailers who provide accurate information online and who are active in social media will get the attention (and the dollars) from today’s consumers.
Author: Louis Lamoureux – CEO, BuyersVine. louis@buyersvine.com