A Sustainable Supermarket - Case Study

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A recent CHOICE survey of Australian shoppers determined that most Australians prefer to shop at their local supermarkets. MGA TMA members, including Foodland stores in SA, Drakes Supermarkets in SA and Qld and family-owned NSW fresh produce retailer Harris Farms, have performed outstandingly well in comparison with the two large chains.

The survey results indicated that Australian consumers are very proud of their locally owned brands and businesses that produce high quality fresh and gourmet foods of every description.

The compelling insight for members to take note of is that Australian consumers want to see a wide range of new and local foods in the independent grocery stores and supermarkets to choose from.

This is a huge opportunity for MGA members, small to large, to engage with their local fresh and gourmet food producers. To invest in floor and shelf space in displaying and selling these local food products. The Foodland and Drakes stores performed well in the range of their products and local food availability, with shoppers eager to support their local producers.

We are the hubs of the communities in which we trade, and we should never let the two big chains or the German discounters take that position away from us! MGA members, please note that Choice Australia has the most discreet shoppers in Australia with over 3000 members, providing comprehensive feedback on their supermarket experience in-store or online against 39 criteria.

The challenge for all of us is to lift our retailing standards in every respect and provide our customers with the locally produced fresh and gourmet foods they desire.

Harris Farm Markets (78%)

Aldi (75%)

Costco (75%)

Woolworths (71%)

Coles (69%)

Although online grocery shopping is on the rise, most people still prefer to shop in the bricks-and-mortar branches of supermarkets – mainly because they like to check the quality of fresh produce (like fruit, vegetables, meat and fish) before they buy. Moreover, it’s easier to browse and compare different products instore, according to our survey respondents.

Between them, Coles and Woolworths have almost 70% of Australia’s grocery market.

This duopoly certainly dominates in terms of the number of stores and geographical distribution, but does the sheer presence (and the convenience this offers) translate to satisfied in-store customers?

Until recently, just four percent of grocery shoppers bought their groceries online in an average month, according to market research group Roy Morgan.

This number was always forecast to increase, but the COVID-19 pandemic helped rapidly move a whole swathe of customers from shopping in-store to online.

Supermarkets, particularly independents, play a significant role in the lives of Australians, one that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted.

Over the past 12 months or so, supermarkets and grocery stores have frequently made the news headlines, with stories about the panic buying of toilet paper, grocery stockpiling, product

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purchase limits and dedicated opening hours for essential workers, to name just a few.

Two years on from the previous CHOICE survey, the concept of supermarket satisfaction now has a pandemicrelated criterion. A supermarket may have helpful staff, efficient checkouts, good-quality produce and easy parking – but how happy are customers with its approach to cleaning and other COVIDsafe measures?

People are also doing more and more of their grocery shopping online, a trend that’s likely to continue. Are the supermarkets that offer this service delivering a good experience?

When CHOICE asked people to nominate the benefits of supermarket shopping online (as opposed to in-store), the most frequently selected responses were ‘I can shop any time I want’ (78%) and ‘I can avoid the crowd/contact with people’ (74%).

The next highest-ranking benefits – less likely to have been influenced by the pandemic – were ‘I don’t have to carry/ transport my groceries’ (68%) and ‘I don’t have to commute/find parking’ (63%). Of the 3000-plus people CHOICE surveyed, 32% have bought their groceries online, and 14% grocery shop online at least once a month, most of them at the two major chains.

The number of responses for other supermarkets and groups that offer online shopping was too small to include.

A major change in supermarkets in the past 12 months was the putting in place of COVID-safe measures to help keep staff and customers safe during the pandemic.

These measures included more regular cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, the installation of hygiene stations (hand-sanitising liquid/sprays) and guidance around social distancing. MGA members around Australia indeed implemented COVID-19 safe workplaces as well as shopping environments.

Supermarkets were rated on five different COVID-safe measures, as well as place them overall for COVID-19 safety.

Overall, Foodland stores rated higher than most other supermarkets with a score of 76%, closely followed by Drakes supermarkets with a score of 72%. At 54%, Friendly Grocer’s score was significantly lower than those for all other supermarkets, apart from FoodWorks (62%).

Foodland outranked all other supermarkets in four of the criteria: • Sanitisation supplies (the availability of disinfecting wipes and hand sanitisers for use instore, for example) • Social distancing (including managing the number of shoppers, markers on the floor and staff enforcing social distancing in checkout queues) • Cleaning (staff regularly wiping down frequently touched surfaces, for example) • Tracking (the presence of QR codes to scan).

Congratulations to Foodland Supermarkets SA and to the Drakes Group of Supermarkets for their outstanding ratings and survey results.

We congratulate all MGA members for the considerable effort you have made in coping with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and being resilient in very uncertain times.

Thanks for being the HUBS of the communities in which you trade!