Major local survey uncovers what grocery shoppers really want.

LNP Media Group surveyed over 1,500 Lancaster County grocery shoppers to find out what shoppers in this area like and dislike about the grocery stores already in our county.

The bad news?

The bad news for Lancaster County grocery stores is that consumers are no longer very loyal to a single store:

  • While this research revealed that about half of shoppers report they are “loyal” to a single store, we also discovered that even “loyal” shoppers regularly visit two, three, even five different stores each month

The good news?

The good news? The same thing:

  • Consumers are looking for value, deals, and the kind of products they need to live their very individualized lifestyles
  • They’re willing to shop at more than one store to find the kind of products they want

What can grocers in our area do to attract these fickle shoppers to their grocery or food store more often?

1. Romance Unusual Offerings

In the LNP Media Group grocery survey, shoppers say the most appealing feature of Wegmans “variety”:

  • Survey respondents believe Wegmans has new products and offerings not readily available in other grocery stores.
  • Grocery stores need to offer hard-to-find items such as lamb, real sugar cane, red lentils, vegan meatballs, or even peach Fresca. By highlighting unusual offerings, grocers start building their own reputation for variety.

2. Win the Coupon War

Coupons plan an important role in a grocery store’s popularity:

  • About 70% of our survey respondents report that it’s important that their grocery story provide coupons flyers.
  • This reinforces what we’ve been telling advertisers for years: grocery shoppers are looking for a strong coupon offering from their stores.
  • In fact, 10% of our research participants said that if their grocer starting offering coupon flyers less often, it would be a reason to switch stores.

3. Be Nice to Customers

When asked which factors inspire store loyalty, customer service and the checkout experience were top factors:

  • No matter how well grocers manage other aspects of their stores, customer service can make or break a customer’s desire to return.
  • Grocers who want more loyal customers will not only provide more staff at checkout, they will also staff the registers with people who are happy to be there, willing to talk to customers and, in general, know how to be truly helpful.
  • It makes good financial sense to reward the best cashiers with more money and preferential treatment. They can literally make or break the grocery business.

4. Talk About The Family

Our Research shows that Lancaster County likes family-owned grocery businesses, and they like knowing that the money they spend stays local:

  • Many respondents noted that family ownership is a primary reason for staying loyal to a grocery store.
  • “Family Owned” is important, but it’s also smart to start talking about the family. Does the family work in the store? Promote it. Add family photos to the photos already posted of deli managers and head bakers. Add the family name to name tags. Tell customers about the family and share the family’s business philosophy with customers. Call out family favorites throughout the store. Make the grocery store personal and human to increase shopper loyalty.

5. Specials and Discounts Still Work

Specials and discounts play an important role in enticing customers to come back:

  • 90% of our respondents report that specials and discount are an important factor when choosing a grocery store.
  • Grocers getting ready to run a big sale, or who have impressive specials running, should let ALL the shoppers in Lancaster County know. Our research shows Lancaster County grocery shoppers are willing to try new stores, so make sure to give them a reason to try your store.

LNP offers more grocery and coupon delivery systems than any other media available in our area. To find out what’s new with LNP grocery marketing, contact us.

LNP Media Group is committed to delivering exceptional experiences to our audiences, our customers, our vendor and our employees throughout Lancaster County and Central Pennsylvania. We provide value to our marketing and advertising partners by building effective and innovative solutions and by delivering exemplary customer experiences.