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9 specialityfoodmagazine.com The UK’s lockdown has caused a significant shift in how different age groups shop, presenting specialist food shops with a unique opportunity to expand their customer base, according to new research from IGD. Specialist butchers, fishmongers and grocers have grown in popularity with younger shoppers, while older age groups have relied more on online services. IGD’s Shoppers of Our Time series found that nearly a quarter of 18 to 24 year olds said they had visited stores such as butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers in 2020, up from 20% in 2019. Meanwhile, shoppers over 55, who were the most frequent users of specialist stores before the lockdown, have decreased their usage from over a third (32%) to a quarter (25%), likely driven by social distancing concerns. Dan Gillet, shopper insight manager at IGD, says: “Shopper behaviour has changed to an extent rarely ever seen. Some of these changes will present a unique opportunity for retailers across the board to retain shoppers they traditionally wouldn’t have – such as specialist stores to keep younger shoppers visiting, and general or online retailers to retain the older shopper base they have attracted during this time.” Online services were vital for older shoppers during lockdown, with more than half (55%) of those who shopped online saying that without the service they could not have got enough food and groceries during lockdown. Nearly two thirds of over- 65s said the same. The changing shopping landscape presents specialist shops with an opportunity to expand their customer base, as IGD’s findings suggest these changes are here to stay. The research found 78% of all age groups visiting specialist stories more frequently said they would continue to do so in the future. For delis and farm shops looking to understand what an uncertain future holds, these changes in shopping habits are the first piece of the puzzle. Specialist food shops attracting younger demographic “Small gains can go a longway” A s we all know, enforced social distancing has drastically changed everything about our old shopping habits and behaviours. All retailers are working out how to keep their staff safe, rearrange their floor space, how they serve customers and how to take payment. The key element is how to remain as profitable with less people coming through the door. This dilemma and the flexibility required to come up with innovative solutions reminds me of an old story about Pizza Express. When life gives you lemons, what do you do? The old adage says you should make lemonade, but at Pizza Express waiters don’t make lemonade they just serve it. They do have to slice them thinly for their client’s gin or vodka, though. Well they used to. Company policy dictated that as the waiters had to make drinks, they also had to cut up the lemons. Drink preparation is for waiters, food preparation is for chefs. Even then it was still hard to fill a restaurant, so efficiency and cost control are seen as essential to success. The guys at Pizza Express were keen to analyse their operations and look for key financial savings wherever they could. But what’s that got to do with lemons? The problem with splitting drink and food preparation between types of staff led to incredible inefficiency. Knife- wielding pizza chefs are chopping things all the time and are dressed and trained accordingly. Waiters aren’t. If you’re laying tables, smoothing out napkins and polishing glasses, the lemon cutting interrupts your routine. If you think about it, it must take at least 10 minutes, maybe more. For a chef with his workspace prepared and his knife at the ready? Probably less than 30 seconds. By spotting this and simply having their chefs chop lemons instead, the restaurant chain made “significant financial savings.” That was according to Pizza Express chief executive Richard Hodgson in an interview with the BBC back in 2015. The pizza chain’s idea is one that should speak to all business owners, particularly in this time of crisis – the concept of increasing staff efficiency wherever possible will help retailers desperate to improve the bottom line. Remember this lemon story and while designing the new shopping environment forget how we used to do things and constantly question your processes and staff roles. How are retailers in other sectors redesigning their operations? Is there anything you could learn from them? Everybody, most especially those who are operational or client facing, should be encouraged to make suggestions for improvements or to try something new. Small gains in productivity or getting customers efficiently through the retail space can go a long way to help retailers survive in the new world of social distancing. Sue Nelson presents The FoodTalk Show with Holly Shackleton foodtalk.co.uk SUE NELSON 35% OF CONSUMERS ARE NOW BUYING LOCAL FOOD MORE OFTEN, IN PARTICULAR FROM FARM SHOPS AND LOCAL VEG BOX SCHEMES 35% OF RESPONDENTS ARE THROWING AWAY FOOD LESS OFTEN 26% ARE EATING MORE HEALTHILY NOW THAN PRE- LOCKDOWN 44% OF FAMILIES ARE NOW EATING TOGETHER MORE REGULARLY SOURCE: FINDINGS FROM THE FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY’S ONGOING COVID-19 CONSUMER TRACKER, CONDUCTED BY ISOS MORI, INTO CONSUMER ATTITUDES, EXPERIENCE AND BEHAVIOUR IN RELATION TO FOOD AND DRINK IN ENGLAND, WALES AND NORTHERN ISLAND.