2023-04-25 21:03:02
With inflation on the rise, women are more active than men in managing the household budget when it comes to grocery shopping. It’s worth planning purchases, reducing quantity, changing brands as many times as necessary and “beat leg” so you don’t stop consuming. These are some of the findings of a survey carried out by the Sincovaga (São Paulo Food Retail Trade Union) with consumers in the capital, in the last week of March.
After the most acute phase of the pandemic, 34% of the women interviewed said that trips to the supermarket had become more frequent, while 27% of men reported the opposite. With regard to the volume of items purchased per visit, both men (47%) and women (39%) stated that they had decreased, which demonstrates the effects of inflation on income erosion.
When it comes to circumventing high prices, women are the largest share among respondents who have adopted strategies such as: prioritizing promotions (39% compared to 25% of men); search for prices in various establishments (30% compared to 29% of men); cut out superfluous items (22% compared to 16% of men); decrease amounts (20% compared to 11% of men).
“The pandemic has taught consumers to plan their purchases, because more frequent trips to the supermarket provide some control over prices. The survey showed that women, in particular, have been more efficient in circumventing the budget problem, resulting from inflation, which includes researching more, reducing quantities, changing brands and cutting unnecessary items. Everything so as not to stop consuming some items”, says Fábio Pina, economic advisor at Sincovaga and responsible for the survey.
With regard to brands, loyalty is no longer a habit for 70% of women (compared to 55% of men), who stated that they have tried other products in the most recurrent purchase categories. For 70% of them, this has happened more than once since the beginning of the pandemic, previously only 30% of men.
In general, the categories of products in which exchanges occurred more frequently were: hygiene and cleaning (63%); basic items (rice, beans, flour) (61%); meats (38%); dairy products (cheese, milk, yogurt) (33%); frozen (25%); beverages (22%), groceries (18%) and bread and pasta (10%).
For the president of Sincovaga, Alvaro Furtado, some exchanges are expected, such as hygiene and cleaning items, which became very expensive, and basic items, in which the public does not usually notice much difference between brands. However, according to him, one data surprised him. “If 60% stopped consuming meat, such as sirloin steak and sirloin steak, and 13% stopped consuming milk, it means that, unfortunately, the basics have become a luxury for many families”, he concludes.
Online supermarket is here to stay
Circulation restrictions imposed by the pandemic have encouraged many consumers to test e-commerce. The poll showed that 31% of respondents have tried online grocery shopping since then. Around 77% of these consumers who shopped online had a positive experience (81% of men and 74% of women). Practicality and price, with 30% of responses, were the most cited reasons for this approval, followed by convenience (22%) and speed (18%).
To those who said they did not like the experience, 50% mentioned the fact of not being able to choose items, such as fruits and vegetables, 33% reported lack of care with the order and 17% indicated the delay in delivery as a negative point.
Even so, other food retail formats remain strong in consumer preference: 31% opt for neighborhood markets, followed by hypermarkets (29%), supermarkets (24%) and grocery stores (3%).
All these changes in consumption habits also influence consumer expectations regarding the economy in 2023, since for 46% it should improve, while 26% believe it will remain the same. Another 28% are hopeless that the country’s economic situation will improve this year.
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