Poll Reveals Ontarians Dining in More Often As Economic Slowdown and High Gas Prices Squeeze Pocketbooks

Toronto, ON - According to an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Metro Grocers, nearly three quarters (72%) of Ontarians who regularly buy groceries for their household `agree' that they are dining in more often in order to reduce their expenses, with younger grocery shoppers (78%) and parents (82%) being even more likely to say that this is the case. Moreover, with the recent economic slowdown and increase in gas prices, 60% of grocery shoppers indicate they've had to scale back the amount of times they go out for dinner.

With more Ontarians focused on preparing meals at home, the issue of how to prepare tasty and healthy meals at home comes to the forefront. The problem becomes a function of time, with a majority (55%) indicating that they simply `don't always have enough time to prepare healthy, nutritious meals for themselves and their families every night of the week.' As such, six in ten (59%) wish that they had more time to prepare healthy, nutritious meals for themselves and their families every night of the week.

With more Ontarians staying in to dine, grocery baskets will likely be fuller than before. Thinking about what is important to Ontarians when choosing a grocer, `value for their money' is the top priority for nearly one half (46%) of grocery shoppers, while one in five (20%) say that the quality of the food mainly drives this choices. Having identified a prime culprit interfering with their cost-saving strategies, seven in ten (70%) `agree' that when they do not take a shopping list out with them when buying food, they tend to purchase more items and their grocery bill is bigger.

What Ontarians Want From Their Grocers...

• One half (50%) wish their supermarket had healthy, nutritious meals for them to purchase every night of the week. An equal proportion (50%) like to purchase ready-made meal supplements to pair with their home cooking as a way to save time.
• Four in ten (40%) shoppers find ready-made meals to be more convenient and cost-effective than purchasing all of the ingredients individually and preparing and cooking them at home.
• Freshly baked artisan breads are a popular offering, as over half (55%) of grocery shoppers say that, if given the option, they would purchase these breads every time they went to the grocery store.
• Shoppers also like to see a variety of ready-made meals, as eight in ten (80%) agree that they look for more than typical ready-made meals, such as chicken and pizza.

These are just some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Metro Grocers from August 22nd - 26th, 2008. This online survey 1,081 of primary grocery shoppers in Ontario was conducted via the Ipsos I-Say Online Panel, Ipsos Reid's national online panel. The results are based on a sample where quota sampling and weighting are employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data. Quota samples with weighting from the Ipsos online panel provide results that are intended to approximate a probability sample. An unweighted probability sample of this size, with a 100% response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

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