NEW YORK -- While grocery stores, convenience stores and warehouse clubs have long been snack purveyors, they are not the only outlets that woo consumers' taste buds with treats. Drug stores, discount stores and specialty stores are increasingly stocking their shelves with impulse-tempting snack options.
Since 58% of global respondents in a recent Nielsen global snacking survey say that most of their snack purchases are unplanned, it makes good business sense to have snacks at the ready and within arm's reach. In a global marketplace, where retail channel options and shopping habits can vary greatly, how do our go-to snack destinations differ around the world?
In Asia-Pacific, the online respondents in the survey are most likely to shop evenly across three different retail outlets, and regionally, their favorite snacks include chocolate, fresh fruit, vegetables and cookies/biscuits. The top three go-to snack retailers among respondents in Asia-Pacific are mass merchandisers/hypermarkets (47%), grocery stores (44%) and convenience stores (36%), said Nielsen. Almost one-fourth of respondents (24%) shop most often for snacks in small neighborhood stores and 18% shop in specialty stores.
In Europe, snacking favorites include refrigerated items, such as fresh fruit, cheese, yogurt and vegetables, so it's no surprise that more than half of respondents (53%) shop most often for snacks in grocery stores, followed by mass merchandiser/hypermarkets (41%). About one-fifth (22%) buy snacks most often in convenience stores, 15% in small neighborhood stores and 14% in discount dollar stores.
In the Middle East/Africa, grocery stores are the main source for snacks among the largest number of online respondents in Nielsen's survey (48%), followed by 37% who shop in mass merchandiser/hypermarkets. Top snacking picks include fresh fruit, chocolate, bread/sandwich and potato chips/tortilla chips/crisps. Three in 10 online respondents shop in small neighborhood stores and 26% opt most often for both convenience and specialty stores.
In Latin America, refrigerated items, such as yogurt, cheese and ice cream, are top regional snack preferences, making grocery stores a resounding favorite retail store for snacks, with 67% of online respondents making this outlet their destination of choice, the survey said. Mass merchandiser/hypermarkets (44%), convenience stores (32%), small neighborhood stores (30%) and warehouse club stores (27%) are shopped most often by fewer respondents.
In North America, it's common for shoppers to stock up on grocery purchases during a weekly shopping trip, which Nielsen said may account for why respondents say they shop grocery stores most often for snacks by the widest margin of any region--64%, compared with 30% who shop at mass merchandiser/hypermarkets. The wide variety of snacks typically found in grocery stores also syncs up with the top regional choices, which include potato chips/tortilla chips/crisps, chocolate, cheese and cookies/biscuits.
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