The latest study by Maxima Retail Compass concludes that the world’s shopping habits have changed as a result of global events. Recent figures show that almost 80% of the population now adheres to new food and eating habits in the last two years, and only 4% plan to return to their original behavior. Experts have highlighted the most current trends in the habits of the population, emphasizing the remaining “legacy” of the pandemic – the creation of food reserves and the popularity of e-shops, which, in their opinion, will remain relevant this year.
“The ability of a retailer to understand their audience and anticipate the wishes and needs of their customers, which can change regularly with changes in their normal lifestyle, is critical to the success of a retail business today. Along with the decrease in the frequency of shopping, this year there is also a significant migration of shoppers to large format stores – hypermarkets, which offer a wider assortment and allow you to buy everything you need in one place and in larger quantities, so you don’t have to go to the store less often, ”says Jelena Popjonoka, Director of the Business Analytics Department of Maxima Latvija.
Gradual shopping is gradually being revived
Although the format of supermarkets for everyday shopping has remained a leader among the population even in pandemic conditions, the popularity of this format has decreased compared to 2019, ie before the Covid period – from almost 73% to 70%. Almost 42% of respondents prefer hypermarkets, thus overtaking small home stores, where 36% of the population choose to make daily purchases this year (41% in 2019). The biggest changes in the last three years have affected less popular shopping channels – the market and e-shops. While in the spring of this year the smallest share of the population made daily purchases (21%) since the survey was launched in 2017 (28%), e-shops are growing rapidly – this year they were preferred by 9% of the population, which is almost 7 percentage points more than in 2019. in.
On-site stores – less often
Almost one in three (30%) respondents admitted that they have started shopping less often in the last year. By comparison, in 2019, 18% of the population went to the store less often, while in 2021, when the frequency of store visits decreased rapidly due to pandemic restrictions, this indicator increased to 32%.
Shops are less frequently visited for security and cost-saving reasons
In most cases, the decision to reduce the number of store visits is made by the buyer. More than half (59%) of Latvians have started to visit stores less often with the aim of saving, but 45% – due to epidemiological safety reasons. External factors – national restrictions, changes in mobility, etc. – had a much smaller impact on the decrease in the frequency of visits.
The importance of price and assortment in the choice of stores will be strengthened
The main criteria for choosing a place to shop in 2022 are the location of the store as close as possible to home or work (61%), the assortment of goods (45%) and lower prices (44%). With high inflation and global economic developments, the price factor among the population has become one of the most important criteria for choosing a store, changing the current location of the store on the way to or from work / school before the pandemic.
The popularity of food stocks and e-shops – the enduring “legacy” of a pandemic
A survey conducted this spring found habits that have strengthened over the past three years. If in March 2020 16% of respondents admitted that after the spread of the news about the new virus, they had started to build up food stocks, then two years later food reserves make up almost 26%. Shopping in e-shops is also showing a steady growth trend – if in the first wave of the pandemic, 3.5% of the population started buying products more often online, then this year this indicator has grown to almost 20%.
The full overview of the Maxima Retail Compass industry will be available on the Maxima Latvija website in the near future https://www.maxima.lv/kompass.
SIA “Maxima Latvija”
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