Times are changing, and nowhere is that shift more visible than in how and where we shop.
Whether it’s online or in store, the way we buy groceries, clothes and everything else in between has drastically changed in recent years — and it’s set to continue to evolve.
Not long ago, the weekly supermarket shop was a ritual, one full trolley loaded up to last the entire week.
But according to consumer expert Gary Mortimer, that behaviour has largely disappeared.
Think about it. How often do you head out to Coles, Woolworths or Aldi?
If you’re still sticking to one big weekly shop, you’re now in the minority.
These days, Mortimer said, many Australians are making multiple trips.
“If you think back to the ’70s and ’80s, we would normally do a full grocery shop, and you would shop for the whole week,” Mortimer told Yahoo News Australia.
How many times per week do you do a grocery shop? Source: Yahoo News Australia
What’s driving the change?
But now, he said, we’re shopping more frequently.
A growing number of Australian shoppers are visiting their local grocery stores several times per week, as appetite grows for freshness and supermarket availability expands wider than ever before.
That’s in large part because there’s a greater demand for freshness.
People are no longer willing to buy fresh food on Monday and still be consuming it on the weekend.
Supermarkets are now more accessible than ever. Source: Yahoo News Australia
At the same time, supermarkets are more accessible than ever, with stores now located in more neighbourhoods across the country.
In many areas, they’re smaller than the large-format supermarkets of the past, but far more widespread and convenient.
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“We’ve also now got more extended trading hours,” Mortimer said.
“Back in the 80s, most supermarkets and businesses would close at five o’clock and wouldn’t trade on Sundays and on public holidays.”
Consumer expert with Queensland’s University of Technology, Gary Mortimer. Source: QUT
That picture is very different now.
‘”And then, of course, we’ve got this influx of medium and high-density living,” Mortimer said.
People living in studios and one-bedroom apartments don’t have the storage space for a week’s load of groceries in their vehicles or in their pantries anymore.
All these factors influence how we shop, and the trend will continue over time.
A key change in recent shopping habits is the trend towards online shopping. Last year Aldi joined Woolworths and Coles in offering an online service as more people choose that method of shopping.
Supermarket checkout evolution on the horizon
Last week, Mortimer explained that it’s not just when we shop that’s changing, but how we do it.
“What I’ve observed is a great influx of self-service registers. A good example would be my local Coles store — it had about 10, and now it’s grown to maybe 14,” he said.
“The other thing we’re seeing is conveyor belt self-service registers designed for people with bigger shops.
Are we experiencing the end of the weekly grocery shop?. Source: Yahoo News Australia
“Now consumers have three choices: they can go through a staffed register, a conveyor belt self-service register, or the smaller self-service technologies.”
And that increase is just the start.
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