Half of Brits switched main grocery store in lockdown, study reveals

By Liz Wells in Industry News 17th September 2020

British consumers have become less concerned about staying ‘loyal’ to one store since the onset of Covid-19, with distance to homes, pricing, and how well the store implements social distancing rules topping the list of why shoppers have begun shopping elsewhere, new research reveals.

The study, of 2,300 Britons aged 18 and over, shows 52% of consumers have changed the supermarket where they do most of their grocery shopping since lockdown began back in March.

The reasons for changing were: distance to home (26%), prices and offers/discounts on offer (21%), how well the supermarkets implemented social distancing rules (17%), range of products on offer (11%), and need to make cuts due to job loss/pay cuts (5%).

The supermarkets most likely to have been deserted following lockdown were revealed as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons; while Asda, Aldi and Waitrose emerged as the stores those polled in the research were most likely to have switched their ‘big shop’ to.

In addition, 64% of respondents said they had reduced the cost of the shopping since lockdown. They had done this by planning meals and writing a strict list ahead of shopping (46%) and looking at the best prices on offer at supermarkets (32%).

Meanwhile, 14% of respondents said they are happy to splurge more on the weekly shop, on more luxury and better-quality items, due to the money that’s been saved from lockdown and working from home.

Andy Barr, co-founder of www.alertr.co.uk, said: “How the global pandemic has completely turned our lives around is totally unprecedented, and the way in which families up and down the UK now carry out their grocery shopping is just one small example of the ‘new normal’. Whilst before one may have chosen to shop at a specific supermarket due to its credibility or reputation as a more ‘high-end’ brand; lockdown has forced everyone to reevaluate their reasoning behind staying loyal to one store, when the shop down the road can deliver just as good an offering, and often at a cheaper price.”