Interestingly older age groups do not differ significantly from younger sections of the population, who you would expect to be doing more frequent small scale shopping trips, in this respect.

So convenience shopping is catching and spreading out from the young to the wider market.

What are the reasons for this?

43% of those we interviewed claimed their changing behaviour was due to a desire to make better use of their time whilst a further 31% said it was down to the pressures of work.

This is in-line with ONS time use survey results, which suggest that people are spending less time shopping and more time involved in leisure pursuits or work.

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The Quest for Fresh

Interestingly 15% said it was to ensure they had fresher products, since less frequent larger scale shopping result in things going off in the fridge.

The Implication for grocery retailers

You need to be increasingly mindful of the importance of small scale shopping trips to your bottom line. These trips are likely to be far more diverse in terms of the shoppers circumstances when they are undertaken and as a result the needs and wants of shoppers in your stores is only set to become ever more complex.

To be successful you must recognise this diversity of shopper needs and take steps to ensure that your store offer is geared to cater to them.