Where to now in the supermarket war?

Click and collect, new entrants from overseas and price wars prompted by increasingly price conscious consumers. The supermarket category has been shaken up in recent years, and Edentify wanted to find out what today's grocery shopper thinks.

By tapping into the views of our Caféstudy community through our community website and social media, within 24 hours we heard from over 100 community members and their responses paint a picture of rapidly fragmenting shopper behaviour.

Consumers are disillusioned with the big supermarkets, and therefore loyalty to one is no longer standard. Woolworths and Coles can no longer take their duopoly for granted, with shoppers heading to Aldi or other stores to get what they want.

"I used to shop at only Woolies and Coles, but now I go to wherever the best specials are. If it means going to different shops, I do. Everything is getting so expensive now."

There is more choice available than ever before. An increase in the number of supermarkets and the fact that they are often clustered in the same area has made it easier for consumers to split their shopping across multiple stores.

"I have Coles, Woolworths, Foodland, Aldi and IGA all within a short distance, and I am happy to shop around as needed."

Consumers are becoming more demanding, prioritising quality and price over convenience and loyalty. With the increase in choice available, and the resulting ability to cherry pick from multiple stores, comes an increase in expectations of higher standards from consumers.

"I chase quality, then price. I am not loyal to any one supermarket, but I will go out of my way for specific products."

The implications for Australia's supermarkets are clear – it is becoming harder to satisfy grocery buyers today. Shoppers have choice and choice gives them power. It's now up to the supermarkets to listen and provide the quality and prices they want.

For more information on how you could use our community to develop insights, contact Edentify