Consumer Food Shopping Experiences Research
Mobile diary research using Ipsos AppLife followed the journeys of consumers in Northern Ireland as they did their regular grocery shopping. The affordability of food has changed in 2022 as consumers across Northern Ireland have experienced increases to their regular food bill, which is a cause for concern as prices for food, fuel and energy continue to rise more widely. Reduced availability of certain food items has also been identified by consumers, which has a knock-on effect on food costs.
Through digital ethnography research conducted with 22 consumers in Northern Ireland for the Consumer Council to understand the extent to which consumers feel they can access a healthy and affordable diet, Affordability, Availability and Accessibility were identified as key themes, with Affordability permeating all aspects of the consumer experience in 2022.
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The rising cost of living has seen consumers food and energy bills increase in price over the last year. Unprecedented increases in energy and fuel prices, the ongoing financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impacts of EU Exit and wider geo-political instability, mean food price increases are set to continue.
With inflation at its highest level in 40 years, household budgets across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK are under increasing strain. While consumers throughout the UK are feeling the pinch, this may be even more prominent for households across Northern Ireland, as Northern Ireland has the lowest gross weekly income compared to the UK average.
Price increases are concerning for consumers, who are making changes to the way they shop to keep costs down – many are shopping around to find the best value for money, some reducing their spend on ‘luxury’ items or ‘treats’, while many are buying from supermarket own brands and availing of loyalty schemes deals and promotions. As consumers in Northern Ireland are not willing to compromise on quality, particularly when it comes to meat products, the weekly food budget is becoming a fine balancing act – especially as some are seeing their food bill double in cost:
Yes, [the] price of food is mental at the moment. Used to be able to do a shop 1 year ago and could have got away with £40, £50 for a full week’s shop but now it’s at least £80.
Northern Ireland consumer
Food bills are not the only cause for concern among consumers, with the rising cost of other bills such as electricity, gas and fuel prices also being discussed by most participants. Some are making changes to other aspects of their lifestyles such as reducing the number of car journeys they make or visiting supermarkets only when necessary.
You are putting [the money] from one pile to the other. Groceries this week. Next week it will be the gas. Week after will be the fuel for the car. It’s never ending.
Northern Ireland consumer
Generally, consumers across the shopping journeys research all experienced some degree of change in the availability of certain products at the time leading up to their participation in the research (between April and June 2022). Items that were frequently reported to be affected by lower availability included meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, juices, oils and baby formula and baby food. Reduced availability is frustrating for consumers who may need to travel to another store or pay a higher price elsewhere if a product is not available in their regular supermarket. Consumers attribute changes in availability at the beginning of 2022 to the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and changing circumstances around Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Consumers in Northern Ireland feel they can access a wide range of food retailers and well as generally being able to access a ‘healthy diet, however, this is perceived to come at a cost, with some households feeling the strain more than others. Consumers feel they are getting less value for money now for their food basket than they did a year ago and this will continue to be a challenge moving into another winter and households begin to feel the impacts of further increases to their fuel and energy bills.
Fiona Rooney, Managing Director, Ipsos in Northern Ireland, says
These findings show that life is not going to get any easier for even the most savvy of shoppers. The constant balancing act of bills will only make life more stressful for people in Northern Ireland. While shoppers feel that can access a wide range of food retailers they still have to shop around and sometimes make multiple journeys for items they used to get in one shop. Thus, sourcing more expensive alternatives adds to their both their fuel and food bill.
