Study: Top priorities for grocery shoppers post-pandemic will be… 

Shopping and eating behaviors dramatically changed last year, and many shoppers plan to continue at least some of their new habits post-COVID-19.

That’s according to the latest research report from Acosta, which found that  75% of shoppers said they will continue with at least some of their new habits post-pandemic. Post-pandemic, the top priorities for shoppers will be product availability (60%), low prices (52%) and customer safety (42%).

The research also found that while the pandemic concern level is finally on the decline, shoppers acknowledge it will be a long time before things return to normal. Thirty-five percent of shoppers think “normal” is at least a year away. 

“With vaccines rolling out, our latest shopper research shows COVID-19 concern levels may finally be waning, with current concern at 7.5 out of 10 — the lowest level reported since early March 2020,” said Colin Stewart, executive VP, business intelligence at Acosta. “What’s more, many behaviors developed during the pandemic will be here to stay.”

Below are findings from Ascosta as to changes in shopper behavior in 2020:

• Sixty-five percent of shoppers reported cooking more at home.
• Fifty-three percent of shoppers reported spending less time in stores.
• Fifty percent of shoppers reported stocking up on food/cleaning supplies.
• Forty-eight percent of shoppers reported spending more money per shopping trip.
• Forty percent of shoppers reported more online shopping.

Acosta’s research was gathered via online surveys using the company’s proprietary shopper community between December 30, 2020 and January 4, 2021.