s+b Trend Watch: Grocery Shoppers Plan to Stay Frugal

According to a recent Booz & Company/Food Marketing Institute survey, many of the frugal habits that grocery shoppers adopted during the recession are here to stay. More than half, and in some cases two-thirds, of consumers reported that they would not revert to their previous behaviors in better times. And they will be shopping in a new kind of marketplace — one in which digital technologies enable easier price comparisons, competition from online retailers is on the rise, and stores use new merchandising and marketing techniques to vie for shoppers’ attention. To drive growth, traditional grocers need to build the capabilities that will change the fundamental shopping experience for these permanently value-sensitive consumers.