Two out of three shoppers believe Brexit will “negatively impact” the British economy in the short term with only 16% thinking it will have a positive impact, according to the latest analysis by the market information and consumer insights business, Nielsen.
The company also says that 67% of shoppers think Brexit will lead to a rise in grocery prices, with only 2% thinking they’ll go down.
A big positive for home-based producers, however, is that 31% of shoppers say they will buy more British groceries in the future with only 4% planning to buy less domestic produce.
“Short term volatility is to be expected,” said Nielsen’s senior UK shopper research manager. Sophie Jones. “We know shoppers, since the recession, have held onto conservative spending habits and this is likely to be reinforced more heavily in the short term.”
In that context, the company found that 37% of shoppers are planning to change the supermarket where they currently buy most of their groceries
“Price-led retailers are those most likely to benefit from shoppers changing retailer or brands to save money, which includes the discounters, Aldi and Lidl,” said Ms Jones (pictured above). “They currently hold 11.4% market share and we expect them to push even harder and, thus, we anticipate more competition between retail channels for shoppers’ spend.
“To limit any potential impact, retailers need to ensure they have the right price and promotional strategies in place to avoid people switching as well as reviewing their product ranges to ensure categories are protected in the short term.”
Ms Jones also said, however, that underlying demand in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector will change slowly, with the triggers to any change in spending maybe not occurring until 2017.
“The current supermarket price war is also expected to continue,” she added, “which will mitigate any immediate upward pressure on prices this year.”