31 August 2007, 14:28 PM

  • Although it seems consumers are concerned about the impact supermarkets are having on the environment, they still give them an overall vote of approval.

According to an opinion poll carried out by GFK Consumer Products & Retail, conducted for a BBC Today programme on supermarkets, only four percent of people say they hate them.

Eight-in-ten (79%) of the population have a positive opinion of them, while 11% declare, “they are wonderful and I love them – and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

A further three percent of respondents said they loved them, but they wouldn’t admit this to their friends. The findings are reinforced by the fifth of respondents (21%) who when asked specifically what they would like to see improved at the supermarket, they said “nothing; they were satisfied with their supermarket as it is.”

Where concerns were raised about the major multiples, it was usually surrounding issues concerning the environment, packaging and the destruction of local businesses.

When asked which of six named issues was most important about supermarkets, while 39% said it was the fact that they provide people with want they want all year round at affordable prices, 18% said the most important issue to be considered was the profits supermarkets make and their destruction of the high street. Twelve percent selected the issue of over-packaged goods that increase landfill.

The survey also asked consumers ‘what is most important when shopping for food’, and asked them to select an option, if any, from a list of six. Twenty-nine percent of respondents opted for quality and 24% convenience. GSK noted that quality increased in importance among the wealthier.

Surprisingly, despite the hot topic of food miles and the carbon footprint, only five percent of consumers claimed environmental issues were most important when shopping for food, despite 73% claiming they would spend more to get environmentally responsible food.