In recent years, food market has been shaken, especially following the social protests that took place in summer 2011. Behavioral patterns we were "used to" (especially the top and bottom deciles) have changed. The Consumer Council publishes a research, whose aims are, among others, to identify new consumption patterns and habits as well as, as far as possible, types of consumers in the country.
The study was commissioned by the Consumer Council and conducted by Dr. Ofer Zellermayer – doctor in marketing and decision-making. The study is based on a series of qualitative and quantitative tests: the purpose of the qualitative study was to obtain insights regarding consumers purchasing decisions.
The findings:
• 25% of the parents frequently help their adult children purchasing food products.
• 75% of the consumers shop at least once a week. The average purchase price is about 650 NIS.
• About 65% of consumers use to split their shopping - respondents claimed that they do so because of differences in pricing and promotions.
• About 45% of consumers affirm that they have thrown food away in the past week.
Regarding the question: Do you often get some help from your parents to buy food for your household, the interesting finding that may be found in the report is that adult children having their own independent household, tend to rely on their parents, although there is a gap between the way children perceive their parents' help and how the parents perceive it. About 10% of children admit frequently or regularly getting parental help, but on the other hand, over 30% percent of parents pretend often helping their children and a similar percentage even argues helping their children now more than in previous years.
75% of consumers shop at least once a week. The average purchase price is around 650 NIS.
About 65% of consumers use to split their shopping and the main reasons for this split are differences in prices and promotions in the retail chains. The larger the household is, and the more free time is available (like with retirees), the more shopping frequency increases.
Approximately 38% of consumers tend to compare prices between different retailers before going shopping.
About 76% of the consumers use to go shopping with a shopping list.
Data about food discard:
The question was: in the last week, have you thrown away food from the refrigerator or the pantry? If you have, what products have you thrown away? In a telephone survey, 61% of consumers claimed that they have not thrown away any food during the last week, and 51% said the same thing in an Internet survey.
Discarded food is mainly dairy products, vegetables, fruits and cooked food.
In other words, if people had split their shopping, buying on a higher frequency smaller quantities of fruits, vegetables and dairy products – much less food would have been thrown away and consumers would have saved money.
Israel Consumer Council CEO, lawyer Mr. Ehud Peleg: "Cost of living is burdensome and takes us back to a situation of tribal society. If the state is not capable of taking care of its young citizens, they regretfully turn to their parents for help. If we remember that these young people have just contributed to the country a few years of their lives, it is a badge of shame for the country. This serious situation urgently requires raising the issue of consumer welfare to economic priority and taking practical measures in order to lower the cost of living that will provide results in the short range".
