Supermarket Perimeter - February 2020 - 19

consumers are interested in related to transparency.
When asked to deﬁne transparency, 65% said it included
a complete list of ingredients. Fifty-nine per cent took
it a step further and said transparency requires a "plain
English description of ingredients," and 46% said it was
in-depth nutrition information.
From a demographic perspective, there were some
differences in the responses. Baby boomers and Gen
X, for example, focus on ingredients and nutrition.
Millennials, too, focus on ingredients and nutrition, but
are more likely to consider if allergen information, certiﬁcations and other claims are provided.

Online grocery shoppers
expect more product
information (76%) when
shopping online than if they
were in a physical store; and
72% believe getting product
information is even more
important when shopping
online. Additionally, 81% said
they are willing to switch to a
brand that provides more indepth product information,
compared to 75% of general
shoppers.

The study also found the presence of children in the
home increased the desire for transparency. Shoppers
with children are more likely to place greater importance
on ingredient information, nutrition and health beneﬁts.
They were also likely to ﬁnd value in accessing detailed
product information in-store on their smartphone.
The demand for transparency also increases when
consumers are shopping online, according to the report.
Online grocery shoppers expect more product information (76%) when shopping online than if they were in a
physical store; and 72% believe getting product information is even more important when shopping online.
Additionally, 81% said they are willing to switch to a
brand that provides more in-depth product information,
compared to 75% of general shoppers.
"We titled this report The Transparency Imperative
because as we executed the research to bring the key
ﬁndings of our 2016 studies current, we see clearly that
transparency is only becoming more important to consumers," says Patrick Moorhead, chief marketing officer
for Label Insight. "Their attitudes and preferences, particularly with the growth of e-commerce, make it clear that
transparency is critical to growth and our industry must
take action."

More and more consumers
are checking products'
transparency records
at point-of-sale.

Source: FMI and Label Insight

To search for and review product information, consumers are using smartphones to access brand websites
and grocery apps. Seventy-three per cent of consumers
surveyed said they know where to look for more detailed
product information about the products they buy. This
may be important, because 50% of consumers said they
found product labels too hard to read and too confusing.
At a more granular level, the report identiﬁed a
sub-segment of consumers they deﬁned as "health-conscious shoppers" and said they are a key driver in the
demand for transparency. For example, 47% of American
households have someone on a diet or following a
health-related program and would fall into this category.
These shoppers are more likely to place a premium on
transparency, with 61% saying they are willing to pay
more for products that offer in-depth product information, versus 54% of general shoppers. When the information on a label is not sufficient health-conscious shoppers are very likely to seek out information elsewhere.
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Supermarket Perimeter - February 2020

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