Still, the study revealed that cost saving activities were on the rise. Consumers are taking a variety of actions to stretch their food dollars including using more grocery coupons (81%), stocking up more on sale items (73%), and cooking more meals at home (61%). One in two are being more selective when buying organics (50%) and buying store brand/private label organic products (49%).
Consistent with 2008, consumers identified taste (93%), health/nutrition benefits (89%) and ingredients (87%) as important factors in brand purchasing decisions. However, price factors ranked higher for 2009 across three categories: sale price (82% rating important vs. 76% in 2008), coupon for brand (70% vs. 65%) and advertisement or promotion for brand (44% vs. 24%).
Similarly, in deciding where to shop, consumers ranked price (71% vs. 60% rating very important) and in-store specials (52% vs. 44%) higher in importance in 2009. While consumers will continue to shop for natural and organic groceries at multiple outlets, they planned to shop more at farmer's markets (31%) and less at gourmet markets (24%).
Asked what actions natural product companies and retailers can take to assist with organic purchasing, nine in ten respondents called for more organics coupons (91%) and lower prices (88%). About one in two looked for a wider selection of organic products (54%) and organic money saving tips (51%).
"As an organic food producer we need to stay cognizant of consumer priorities in order to maintain relevancy and help consumers make healthy buying choices," said Tripp Hughes, director of Category Management for Organic Valley, America's largest cooperative of organic farmers and one of the nation's leading organic brands. "The insights gained through the survey dialog with Mambo Sprouts advisors are critical to assisting Organic Valley in maintaining a timely understanding of consumers' priorities." Hughes and his team provided manufacturer perspective in formulating the 2009 Mambo Sprouts Consumer Outlook survey.
