Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 11, 1993                   TAG: 9305110067
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Medium

GROCERY SHOPPERS LOOKING FOR MUCH MORE THAN PRICE

Store brands or private-label goods helped both consumers and the industry, Tim Hammonds, the new president of the Food Marketing Institute, said Monday in a speech at the supermarket industry's annual convention.

FMI's annual consumer trends survey, he said, shows the beginnings of some major shifts in attitudes.

Although price is somewhat or very important to 96 percent of consumers surveyed, "the importance of price has stopped climbing," Hammonds said. And while they care very much about nutrition, they are confused about how to eat healthfully, he said.

The survey, conducted earlier this year, found that 40 percent of shoppers in 1992 looked in newspapers for specials, down 5 percent from 1991. And 36 percent said they used coupons on every shopping trip in 1992; 41 said so in 1991.

To keep within their food budgets, Hammonds said, consumers are relying more on private brands. He noted that just 11 percent of people surveyed said they bought private brands less often in 1992 than in 1991.

"Retailers are improving their packaging, developing new and innovative products and demanding higher quality in their private label," said Brian Sharoff, president of the Private Label Manufacturers Association.

Store brand sales were up 2.3 percent in 1992, to $26.4 billion, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago research company. In more than 40 percent of the categories the company tracks, store brands were among the top three sellers.

This growth, Sharoff said, is not just a "fad of the recession."

After slow expansion and a recession, "these products are starting to impact on the marketplace in a major way," said Lynn Dornblaser, publisher of New Product News.

Supermarkets faced an increase of 0.7 percent in the price of food eaten at home last year, compared with 7.3 percent in 1990, as well as a sluggish economy and competition from discount stores and club stores.

Other survey findings:

While 82 percent of people surveyed said they were completely or mostly confident in the safety of the food supply in 1991, just 72 percent said so in 1992 and 73 percent in January 1993.

The average sale at supermarkets was steady from 1991 to 1992, at $17.90. But the second half of 1992 was better than the first half, Hammonds said.

Almost everyone - 99 percent - said they care about the quality of produce and cleanliness when picking a store, followed by variety (97 percent) and low prices (96 percent).

Seventy-five percent said nutrition was very important when selecting food, down 2 percentage points.

The survey was conducted by Opinion Research Inc., which questioned 2,006 shoppers in January and February. It has a margin of sampling error of 2.2 percentage points.

Meanwhile, organizers say the supermarket industry is concentrating on technology and efficiency, meaning consumers are likely to see fewer new products this year than usual. One reason is that manufacturers are coping with new labels required by federal law on most food products starting this year.

"People are putting time and money in substance instead of sizzle," said Phil Lempert, who tracks the industry in his Lempert Report newsletter.

The industry is adjusting to smarter consumers who are getting savvy to marketing tricks that portray foods as healthier than they are; and to technological changes that will allow greater efficiency in ordering, warehousing and pricing, he said.