Countdown has launched its inaugural Trolley Report, a detailed analysis of New Zealand food and grocery trends based on the 2.7 million people who shop at Countdown each week.
In the grocery aisles, it’s all about our daily bread… and milk. White toast bread is top of the list and standard 2L milk is our preferred tipple. Seasonally there are some understandable changes, but it seems we’re eating much the same range of fruit and vegetables throughout the year. Bananas, broccoli, tomatoes and avocados are the most frequently purchased items from the produce section at Countdown.
With 172 supermarkets located in the heart of New Zealand communities, Countdown has a strong connection with household shoppers and shares insights into the country’s buying behaviour. Countdown Managing Director, Dave Chambers, says there has been a major shift in New Zealand’s grocery shopping habits and the Countdown Trolley Report will monitor this change.
“It’s 35 years since I started in the grocery business as a student packing groceries at Foodtown Glenfield, and in that time we’ve seen quantum change in this country. Today every New Zealander is looking for food at the best price, or even better, a bargain, regardless of their income. During the Global Financial crisis we saw the start of what is continued purchasing behaviour; consumers wanting more choice at more competitive prices.”
This first Countdown Trolley Report tracks the price of a trolley of the 100 most popular grocery items. In the last 12 months, results show a decrease in the price of this Countdown trolley of just over 2%. The report also reveals:
• The days of the big weekly shop are over
• Busiest shopping day has changed from Thursday to Saturday
• Consumers are supermarket shopping two or more times a week
• Top selling produce item of the past three months is bananas
• Top selling grocery item for the past three months is white toast bread
• The most popular cuts of meat are mince, followed by chicken pieces – with the bone
• The most popular ice cream flavours in the past three months are vanilla, followed by hokey pokey and chocolate
• The latest food trend – coconut, responsible for stellar growth the last quarter.
“Our customers’ evolving expectations truly reflect the changing nature of our nation’s shopping habits. Where once Thursday was the main supermarket shopping day, perhaps to tie in with a weekly pay packet, the main supermarket shopping day is now Saturday – a reflection of more two-income weekday working households and less time during the week to shop,” says Chambers.
Did you know?
Countdown is one of New Zealand’s largest employers with more than 18,000 team members across 172 supermarkets, distribution centres, processing plants and support offices. We serve 2.7 million customers every week, and work with 4000 suppliers and farmers throughout New Zealand. The Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal has raised more than $6.9 million in the past seven years for children’s hospital wards around the country and Countdown Food Rescue donates more than $3.4 million of food each year to The Salvation Army and other food bank charity partners.
