Some 74 per cent of consumers in Ontario, Canada, are dining in more often in an effort to reduce household expenses, according to the findings of a Food-Life Balance survey commissioned by Canadian retail giant Metro.
“Everyone is feeling the pinch in this economy,” Serge Boulanger, vice-president of marketing at Metro, said in a company statement. “Even in this economic downturn, Metro is committed to ensuring that consumers are getting value for their money.”
The Food-Life Balance Survey, which comprises data was collected by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Metro from 23 January to 29 January, also revealed that 64 per cent of grocery shoppers in Ontario are favouring less expensive meal ideas, such as spaghetti over steak.
In addition, grocery store private label brands, such as the Irresistibles and Selection lines at Metro conventional stores, continue to be attractive to the majority (62 per cent) of value conscious consumers.
“A heightened sense of economic uncertainty is leading consumers to be much more value conscious than in recent memory,” said Sean Simpson, research manager of Ipsos Reid Public Affairs, who supervised the survey. “The need to stretch dollars for essential, everyday purchases like food is the new economic reality.”
Metro is taking action to help consumers put their home budgets back in the black with the introduction of the company’s Red Flag Value program.
The program, which is now rolling out across all Metro conventional stores in Ontario, highlights weekly in-store savings on thousands of products and offers customers three ways to save.
