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HIGH energy costs, the credit crunch, a weak housing market and the recessionary climate are changing how and where consumers shop and dine, with more meals consumed at home and an increasing concern over the cost of meat, according to a report titled "The Power of Meat -- An In-Depth Look at Meat Through the Shoppers' Eyes."
The third annual report, which details the findings of a national online poll of 1,147 consumers conducted in November 2007, was released at the 2008 Annual Meat Conference in Nashville, Tenn. The American Meat Institute and the Food Marketing Institute published this consumer research.
The research showed that supermarkets remain the top outlet for meat, with 90.5% of supermarket shoppers buying their meat there as well. The number of shoppers buying meat at supercenters dropped from 24.9 to 20.0%, while the number buying meat at club stores rose from 2.7 to 5.7%.
The study revealed that nearly 79% of shoppers have access to a full-service meat counter at their store, with 70% reporting that all of their meat purchases were selected from the self-service area.
The study found that 30% of shoppers would increase meat case purchases even more if the packaging were leak-proof.
Jerry Kelly, national retail account manager for Sealed Air's Cryovac Food Packaging Division, noted that the 2007 National Meat Case study shed light on case-ready packaging trends.
"The case-ready product share increased in 2007 to 64% of fresh meat packages. The formats that lead the increase were vacuum and MAP packaging, increasing three and four percentage points respectively," according to Kelly.
The study also found that meat continues to be a staple at American dinner tables. According to the study, the average family has five dinners at home per week, with an average of 4.2 of these meals including a meat item. Chicken and beef are the top meat choices, with more than 80% eating chicken and beef at least once a week and more than 34% eating chicken and beef at least three times a week.
Looking for best value
Consumers ranked price per pound as the most important factor when selecting meat, averaging 4.6 on a scale from one to six. This was up from 2006 and 2007 and may be linked to rising food prices.
The vast majority of shoppers compare meat prices before selection and purchase. Once in the store, more than half of consumers seek the best value among different cuts and types of meat every time they shop.
The report noted that energy costs are having an increasing impact on shoppers' disposable income.
"Large numbers of shoppers already have made changes, ranging from eating out less, purchasing less expensive products while in the store and even switching primary stores," the report noted.
 A report examining consumer meat buying trends shows that the concern over meat prices is increasing and that more meals are being consumed at home.
Meat sales promotions using in-store signage followed by meat advertisements in direct mail sales flyers or newspapers had the most influence on the type and quantity of meat purchased.
Other features important to consumers when selecting meat included product appearance (4.3), package size/total package price (3.8), nutritional content (3.4), knowledge of how to prepare (3.0) and preparation time required (2.8).
Shoppers also indicated that they are looking for reasonable pricing of natural and organic meat, with more than 80% saying organic meat and poultry are more expensive either by a lot (32.8%) or a little (50.8%). Of those surveyed, 73% of occasional organic shoppers would purchase more if prices were lower, up from 63% in 2007.
Despite price concerns, consumers continued to show strong demand for natural and organic meat, with one-fifth purchasing these products.
The top reasons given for buying natural/organic meat included perceived positive long-term personal health effects, better nutritional value and better treatment of the animal from which the meat came.
The most frequently purchased natural/organic meats were chicken (73%) and beef (49%).
The share for natural meat packages grew by 7% in 2007, while the share of organic packages remains small.
Nutrition concerns
When it comes to food, healthy choices generally run a distant second to the demands of time. No less than 87.9% of shoppers rated the nutritional content of the foods they eat somewhat or very important. Of all three years of the research, fewer respondents rated nutrition as not important at all.
While concern is present across all demographics, some groups indicated that they pay closer attention than others. For example, 51.1% of shoppers 65 years or older found nutrition to be very important, compared with only 30.2% of shoppers ages 18 to 24.
Concern among the younger group, however, was up from 17.5% in 2006 and 25.8% in 2007, confirming the growing interest across demographics.
Education plays a large part in nutrition interest as well. Shoppers with at least some college education were found to have more interest in nutrition than those with a high school education or less. Importance also seemed to go up as household income increased.
Better meat department
According to respondents, better quality and more variety would prompt them to increase meat purchases. Many people suggested that retailers offer more information on where the meat is produced and the nutritional content of fresh meat and help them learn more about the taste of the cuts and types of meat.
Other suggestions for improvement included reduced portion sizes, cleaner service counters and having a professional, trained staff. | 
