BOSTON — The keynote speaker at the New England Produce Council expo had no trouble getting audience participation during his presentation Sept. 13.
Brian Numainville, principal of Retail Feedback Group, asked questions to the shoppers on stage – all women, mostly middle-aged — and let those in the crowd do the same.
The responses from the panel confirmed some of what has been said before: that people choose where to shop based on the quality of the produce.
Additionally, all five said they were willing to pay a little more for quality, describing value rather than price as the deciding factor on where to shop.
Most on the panel said they had bought groceries online, but some expressed reluctance about shopping for produce that way, saying they like to pick items themselves.
It seemed, however, that hurdle could be overcome if one trusted the supermarket she frequented.
One woman said she had ordered produce online before and was not worried about quality or freshness because, while shopping in-store on other occasions, she had seen employees doing a good job when picking out items for online orders.
Among the complaints the panel had about the traditional grocery experience were congestion in the store, long lines and a lack of customer service.
One remark about the online shopping experience was that the full scope of products available in-store was not available to order.
In-store interests
Panelists also weighed in on the topics of local and organic produce.
Several said they liked to buy local, describing the produce from farmers markets as great quality but expensive. Some said they buy local product in their grocery stores.
As for organic, there was head-shaking across the board, all for the same reason — “way overpriced.”
Members of the panel indicated they do value health claims on labels, saying they would probably buy one item rather than another if told it had more nutritional value.
Some said it was important to them to know where their food comes from, but others said they would have no interest in learning more while in a store — such as from scanning a quick response code — because they are always trying to get their shopping done as quickly as possible.
As for what gets their attention in stores, panelists mentioned big displays, but for a new product, they need to know exactly how they would use it, so recipes are helpful.