Economic recovery won’t change shopping habits: IGD

Consumers will hold onto the defensive shopping habits they have adopted during the last few years even if the UK experiences an economic recovery, according to grocery think-tank IGD.

The IGD’s chief economist James Walton told FoodManufacture.co.uk in this exclusive podcast that despite evidence suggesting the economy was looking up shoppers were not becoming more optimistic about spending on groceries.

“They intend to hang to the very defensive shopping behaviours they’ve picked up. That means shopping for deals, looking around at the prices before they actually go onto the high street, using their leftovers better … planning their meals more effectively,” he added.

‘Not impossible’

However, to find out why Walton said it was still “not impossible” to convince shoppers to splash out on more food and drink products, listen to our podcast.

Walton also estimated what impact fuel prices would have on the food and drink manufacturing industry and shared his vision for omni-channel and the challenges it would create for businesses.

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, told press this week that the economic recovery had finally taken hold and that the glass was now half full.

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