Central England Co-op lockdown survey reveals how shopping habits have changed during Coronavirus pandemic

Posted by james brindle | Published: 05/06/2020

A new survey carried out by a national retailer has revealed changes in shopping habits and behaviours during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

The ‘Lockdown Survey’ was carried out by Central England Co-op with over 300 of its Members, customers and colleagues to capture how they were feeling about the lockdown and to assess any changes in behaviour and shopping habits during these uncertain times.

Today, the retailer can reveal what the survey shows about how the way we shop has changed as a result of the lockdown.

The survey shows that customers preference during the lockdown was to visit local convenience stores (77% said they used these stores) ahead of supermarkets (69%) and online (30%).

Reasons given for this preference for local convenience stores included that people found them to have shorter queues and they were within walking distance, which was important as people looked to use cars less due to Government guidance.

Basic essentials such as bread, milk, fruit and vegetables were products that respondents said they purchased more often during the lockdown shopping trips, as well as alcohol, potentially as a result of pubs being closed.

Items being bought less often included ready meals, meat, crisps and sweet treats such as cakes, chocolate and sweets.

63% of those surveyed said they shopped in store less frequently in response to the lockdown, with the majority (33%) shopping once a week. However, 48% said they had been spending more during their grocery trips.

Unsurprisingly where cleanliness and hygiene have been priorities during the outbreak, the survey showed that customers were buying more cleaning products.

Those surveyed also highlighted whether a product was anti-bacterial as the most important aspect of their cleaning product purchase, followed by value for money and whether it was eco-friendly trailing in third.

Sita Chauhan, Customer Experience and Insights Manager at Central England Co-op, said: “We were keen to talk to our Members, customers and colleagues to see what we could learn about their changes in shopping behaviours during this unprecedented period to help us understand their changing needs and requirements as we all adapt the ‘new normal’.

“The survey has highlighted some really interesting trends and changes to the way we have been shopping and what we have been buying in these uncertain times and offers us some really useful insights which can help in our understanding as we look at our offer in store moving forwards.”

People can keep up to date with what is happening in their local community in response to Coronavirus by visiting a dedicated online hub at www.centralengland.coop/updates

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral, travel and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish. 

Our 7,900 colleagues serving our Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop