What’s the Frequency?

Grocery shoppers continue to take their shopping carts elsewhere, according to Channel Blurring, a new study released in May by New York City-based ACNielsen.

The average number of trips made to grocery stores per U.S. household fell to 75 in 2001, down from 85 in 1998, according to the study, which was generated out of an analysis of ACNielsen’s HomeScan consumer panel data system.

Much of the lost traffic was diverted into supercenters, which saw average trip numbers climb from 14 in 1998 to 18 last year. More importantly, 63 percent of U.S. households now use the channel, up from 47 percent in ‘98.

The changes have, of course, been directed by leading retailers Wal-Mart (now the nation’s No. 1 grocer) and Target Corp., whose grocery businesses have been thriving. Even bankrupt Kmart Corp. has posted solid grocery-product sales through its SuperK stores.

For instance, 72 percent of the sales growth posted by Wal-Mart’s supercenters last year pulled money out of other retail channels. One-third of the total came out of grocery stores, according to the study.

“Grocery retailers have to create a unique reason for shoppers to choose them,” says Todd Hale, ACNielsen’s senior vp-consumer insights. “Retailers could be doing much more with their frequent-shopper databases to segment their customers and develop strategies around each segment to grow their overall business,” he suggests.