Packaged Facts: Profiling Affluent Food Shoppers

Besides spending a lot more money every year buying food to eat at home, the way affluent food shoppers spend money at the grocery store is also radically different, according to new research in a recent Packaged Facts report

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Packaged Facts

Jul 01, 2019, 10:39 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With their laser-like focus on healthy eating, sophisticated tastes, and ample financial resources, the 42 million food shoppers with a household income of $150,000 or more exercise an outsize influence on the food industry, according to Packaged Facts in the report Affluent Food Shoppers. The sheer volume of spending on food at home by affluent households—which is in excess of $100 billion—makes them an essential consumer segment for food manufacturers, marketers, distributors, and grocers.

But it's not money alone that sets affluent food shoppers apart. Besides spending a lot more money every year buying food to eat at home, the way affluent food shoppers spend money at the grocery store is also radically different.

Packaged Facts' research reveals that affluent food shoppers are far more prone than other food shoppers to shy away from conventional shelf-stable packaged foods in the center of the store. They are much more likely to spend time in the perimeter of the store buying products such as bulk foods, organic fresh fruits and vegetables, hot rotisserie chicken, further prepared fresh seafood, or cheese from a specialty/imported cheese department.

When affluent food shoppers do buy shelf-stable foods and beverages, they show a marked tendency to stay on the path of healthy eating. For example, they are much more prone to buy organic versions of items such as breakfast cereal and pasta, to choose better-for-you snacks—trail mix wins out over pork rinds!—or to select low-calorie soft drinks like unflavored sparkling water rather than higher-calorie regular cola.

However, while food marketers and retailers need to recognize the differences between affluent food shoppers and their less affluent counterparts, they also need to understand that the affluent food shoppers are far from monolithic. For example, Asians have a significant impact on the affluent food shopper segment. They make up just 5% of the population of non-affluent food shoppers but 12% of affluent food shoppers. Thus, the food preferences of Asian affluent food shoppers—who include Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, Koreans, and a wide range of other national groups are a significant factor in the food purchases of affluent food shoppers.

There also is a noticeable more urban/less urban segmentation within the population of affluent food shoppers as well. As might be expected, affluent food shoppers generally reflect the contrasting political and social environments of their surroundings.

Furthermore, there is evidence of a more urban/less urban split in the food choices of affluent food shoppers as well. For example, compared to their counterparts in other parts of the country, affluent food shoppers living in the largest DMAs are more likely to buy organic fresh fruits and vegetables and are less likely to purchase canned or jarred vegetables and fruits. Affluent food shoppers living outside the 25 largest DMAs are less likely to drink unflavored sparkling waters and are more likely to drink regular cola.

Expenditures by affluent food shoppers are a key driver of grocery store profitability because they display a higher tendency to gravitate toward high-margin, value-added products and services in the perimeter of the store. Yet, when merchandising to this critically important demographic, grocers need to remember that one size does not necessarily fit all and that, in the end, money isn't always everything.

About the Report (now on sale)

Affluent Food Shoppers focuses on the food shopping and buying patterns of affluent food shoppers, who are defined as those with a household income of $150,000 or more. Affluent food shoppers are further segmented into mass affluent food shoppers, with a household income of $150,000-$249,999, and highly affluent food shoppers, with an income of $250,000 or more. The report includes an overview of topline opportunities in the affluent food shopper segment, an in-depth assessment of the food purchasing patterns of affluent food shoppers, profiles of their demographic characteristics and attitudes toward food, and an analysis of the channel choices, in-store behavior, and brand preferences of affluent food shoppers.

View additional information about Affluent Food Shoppers, including purchase options, the abstract, table of contents, and related reports at Packaged Facts' website: https://www.packagedfacts.com/updates/Affluent-Food-Shoppers.

About Packaged Facts

Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at our company website and are also available through MarketResearch.com.

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SOURCE Packaged Facts