More consumers are turning directly to consumer packaged goods companies to find deals and discounts.
Some 33% of respondents subscribe to receive e-mails, recipes and coupons directly from these food manufacturers, a 6% increase from last year, according to Deloitte's 2010 Consumer Food Safety Survey.
In search of product information, 23% of respondents visited a food company’s Web site. About one quarter made a food purchase based on what they discovered. The percentage of people visiting a food company’s Web site to find recipes remained about flat at 36%, compared to 35% in 2008.
Mobile devices are increasingly playing a role in food shopping, with 7% of respondents using their mobile/smart phones in stores to compare prices (53%), get or redeem coupons or discounts (44%) and obtain nutritional information (28%). Men, however, are the better mobile bargain hunters. Women, on the other hand, are more interested in using their hand helds to learn about nutritional information.
In this economy, store brands have become the product of choice for 75% of respondents who said price was the deciding factor. Some 55% said the quality was comparable to national brands, an increase of 14% since 2008.
"If this recession has taught us anything, it's that we don't necessarily have to sacrifice quality for value—and consumers have figured that out by uncovering the wealth of product promotions and other marketing messages available on the Internet," Pat Conroy, Deloitte's vice chairman and U.S. consumer products practice leader, said in a release.
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