The barriers and motivators for shopping for food downtown.

Introduction.

Caffeinated, Inc., an advertising and branding firm based on Nantucket recently conducted a survey of 466 individuals regarding the habits and attitudes around grocery shopping on the island. This report represents a broad executive summary of the data and findings. More detailed data is available upon request.

The situation.

Choice has never been a watchword for grocery shoppers on Nantucket. The standards at the current Stop & Shop are low compared to offerings off island, and the quality and selection at the former Grand Union had been universally viewed as worse than the Stop & Shop. There are some high quality offerings on island in Annye’s and Bartlett Farm, but neither of these stores provides a complete “supermarket” offering, so they are viewed largely as specialty grocery retailers.

About our respondents.

466 unique individuals took the survey online over a three week period in late November and early december. Measures were taken to ensure that individuals could not take the survey more than once. Over one quarter of the respondents were seasonal residents or visitors. Half of the respondents live close to town, largely in the mid-island area, close to the existing Stop & Shop. 43% of those who responded have an income in excess of $75,000, with 29% over $100,000 annually.

About the survey.

The survey itself can be viewed here: http://caffeinated.wufoo.com/forms/nantucket-grocery-shopping-survey/. This survey came in the wake of an overwhelming public sentiment that a CVS was not right for the downtown Nantucket. Once the community had explained what it did not want, it was time to understand what it did want and would support. This survey provides some insight into those questions.

Some key findings include:

Quality trumps price for year-round shoppers.

While the majority of year-rounders strike a balance between quality and price, well over one third put quality first. This represents a potential opportunity for a higher-end grocery downtown.

(Year round residents)

There is room for higher quality and price in the marketplace.

Roughly a third of respondents would pay a 10% premium for better quality over Stop & Shop (which is already estimated to cost 15% more than the mainland. And one quarter would pay over 15%.

In fact, over 70% of those surveyed said they would be likely to shop downtown in the Summer if the grocer there had better quality than Stop & Shop. 85% were likely or highly likely to shop downtown in the face of better quality in the winter, which represents a large portion of Stop & Shop’s core business.  Only 8.8% of respondents said they would continue to shop in the mid-island under such circumstances.

Fresh produce, meats would be a welcome addition for year-round shoppers.

Among 86% of year-round residents, superior produce is seen as a major motivator to shop downtown, with superior quality meats begin second at 80.6%

(Year round residents only)

The parking situation is complicated.

80% of respondents said that ample free parking would get them to drive into the downtown area to shop there, but very few of them felt that way about ample paid parking (25%). When asked how much they would be willing to pay for parking over half said they would not be willing at all.

Year-round residents were against a parking garage on the site by a ratio of two to one, with 20% of respondents neutral on the subject. Seasonal residents were even more adamantly opposed:

(Seasonal residents)

Additional information and comparative data is available from this survey. Please contact Grant Sanders of Caffeinated, Inc (grant@caffeinated.com) for information.

© Copyright 2012 Caffeinated, Inc. All rights reserved.