ORLANDO, Fla. — Only 40% of young millennials and 34% of older millennials name a supermarket as their primary produce store, compared to 55% of Gen X shoppers and 64% of boomers, according to the newest Power of Produce report from the Food and Marketing Institute.
FMI debuted its report, which combines data from Nielsen and IRI with consumer survey results, at an education session March 8 at the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure.
In the report, FMI noted that retailers need to understand more about millennial purchasing trends to capture some of the grocery dollars that are currently going to other channels.
“This younger generation shows a greater propensity for supercenters and alternative channels, including online, dollar stores, convenience stores and farmers markets,” FMI wrote in the report. “No less than 52% of millennials with kids identified a supercenter as their primary grocery store.
“Compared with just four years ago, the polar ends of the retail spectrum (with value-based limited assortment stores on one end and premium specialty/organic stores on the other) are outperforming middle-of-the-road supermarkets peers and rapidly gaining produce share,” FMI wrote. “Supercenters too have gained significantly.”
One way for retailers to connect with millennials is to take into consideration how they plan — or don’t plan — and execute their trips.
Among promotional vehicles, while the print circular still resonates, especially with older age groups, and in-store signage remains essential across the board.
Digital, however, is where the big growth is.
FMI found that outreach methods growing in influence include the digital version of the circular, store or other grocery apps, email or website specials and social media specials.
Thirty-five percent of survey respondents reported using the digital version of the circular, up from 22% in 2017. Thirty-three percent said they use email or website specials, up from 18% in 2017. Thirty percent said they used store or other grocery apps, up from 15% in 2017.
Millennial influence is driving the increasing engagement in these promotional vehicles.
“Digital/mobile and social are significantly more important to millennials, pointing to a likely acceleration in shopper usage in future years, particularly as retailer outreach is becoming more frequent and sophisticated,” FMI wrote. “Only text message promotions remain in the single digits. This is seen in deli-prepared, meat and other categories as well.
“Expanded engagement in digital, mobile and social offers significant advantages in targeted content and consumer education, ideation, recipes, meal solutions and cross-merchandising,” FMI wrote.
For more from the report, check out the following articles, and get the full report — which has many additional insights — from FMI at www.fmi.org/store/