Profiles Of The U.S. Food Shopper By Mona Doyle, Founder and Director, The Consumer Network Panel and Ellen Neuborne & The Editors of EPM Communications Americans and food. There are few relationships that cause as much agita for consumers—and for the retailers and marketers trying to reach them. From the obesity epidemic to the epidemic of choice, from the demands for healthier items to the time constraints that are keeping Americans from preparing their own meals, the oftentimes contradictory relationship between Americans and food is rapidly reshaping the way we shop for our most basic needs.

"Profiles Of The U.S. Food Shopper" combines the best qualitative and quantitative research to give you a detailed understanding of U.S. food shopping trends, behavior and attitudes.

Part I of "Profiles Of The U.S. Food Shopper" is generously peppered with hundreds of verbatim anecdotes grabbed from the mouths of Mona Doyle's long-running Consumer Network Panel. They're talking openly about the supermarkets, fast food and fast casual restaurants, take-out, supercenters and other venues where they buy food.

You'll learn what they love (and hate) about the food-shopping experience, and you'll also discover just how fast manufacturers, retailers and restaurateurs are likely to suffer if they don't heed their shoppers' words.

Part II of "Profiles Of The U.S. Food Shopper" aggregates research statistics from 47 organizations to paint a dramatic picture quantifying food shopping trends, attitudes and behaviors.

The direct quotations from the Consumer Network Panel are at the core of this wide-ranging analysis of food shopping trends. The bites below are just a three-point sampling of 17 key trends transforming the food business, all of which are covered in depth in "Profiles Of The U.S. Food Shopper":

Dining out. Consumer Network Panelists have myriad ways to justify why they eat out—or bring takeout in. They also have clear reasons for why they choose certain restaurants; they want consistency, service and ability to cater to all tastes within a family/group, including those with allergies or other tolerance problems. The popularity of eating takeout at home makes deciding where to pick up a given night's dinner as difficult a choice as going to a restaurant.

Convenience. One Consumer Network Panelist quote stands out: "This is great, but is it easy?" "Ease" speaks to the declining amount of time a shopper is willing to devote to a quick-prep home-cooked dinner (witness the magazines and recipe books touting 15-minute recipes). This is what's driving sales of items such as pre-cut vegetables and pre-washed greens.

Freshness. Consumer Network Panelists agree that resealable bags are great. But consumers expect products to stay fresh until the "Sell by" or "Best if used by" date—regardless of whether or not they've opened the package. If they purchase a package with a June 14 date on June 10 and open it for dinner the day they purchase it, they expect the remainder to stay fresh until June 14. When it doesn't they feel that something is wrong with them, or the packaging, or the quality of the produce, or the way the store has handled it.

Part II of "Profiles Of The U.S. Food Shopper" brings you a wealth of data from 47 different sources quantifying these and other behaviors, attitudes and trends. Here, have a taste:

• Americans spend more than $815 billion annually on groceries, about 60% of it at supermarkets.
• Black households spend 15% less on groceries than the national average.
• The typical American ate 80 meals in restaurants in 2005, down from 93 in 1985. However, the number of meals purchased at restaurants and eaten in cars increased to 32 from 19 over the same period.
• More than half of all consumers (55%) eat ready-to-eat / easy-to-prepare / easy-to-transport "convenience" foods at lunch, 40% at breakfast, 38% for mid-afternoon snacks and 37% for dinner.
• The No. 1 irritant for supermarket shoppers is a store that "doesn't respond quickly to long or stalled checkout lines."
• Americans consumed 828 eight-ounce servings of soft drinks per capita in 2005, down from 849 in 2000.
• 48% of adults age 21 or older consumer alcohol away from home; 44% drink beer in a given month.

You'll be astounded at just how thoughtful and articulate the Consumer Network Panelists quoted in Part I are, how well Mona Doyle analyzes the trends underlying their observations, and how strongly their insights, attitudes and opinions are reflected in the broader statistics sampled in Part II.

You can download your copy of the complete 135-page "Profiles Of The U.S. Food Shopper" immediately. Cost is $795 ($695 for subscribers to EPM print newsletters). A multi-user edition of the report is also available.

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