Deloitte LLP issued a very important report this fall, based on a survey the company commissioned. “Food and Product Safety and its Effect on Consumer Buying Habits” put hard numbers to what marketers have long known.
Pat Conroy, Deloitte LLP’s vice chairman and consumer products practice leader: “Our research shows that consumers are becoming less tolerant of recalls, with more than 50 percent changing their product choices. As these consumers continue to buy different products, product manufacturers can expect lower sales and run the risk of damage to their brands.”
This is an important, substantiated finding. Many companies seem to think that if they come out quickly to deal with a potential safety issue, they’ve covered their bases with consumers. . .that consumers will forgive and forget. But is this true?
About 58% of surveyed respondents who learned of product safety or quality problems changed their buying patterns. In fact, those consumers surveyed did not purchase the products in question for an average period of nine months, “increasing the likelihood that they would stop buying the product or brand altogether”.
To sign up to view Deloitte’s informative web cast, go here.
The findings in a nutshell:
* 49% of those surveyed said they were “extremely concerned about product safety; the greatest concerns were expressed by 53% of women and 56% of consumers aged 55 and older.
* 54% said they were more concerned about food safety than they were a year ago.
* 65% of respondents were “extremely concerned” about the safety of products made outside the U.S.
* 73% of respondents were “extremely concerned” about the safety of products made in China. Half expressed the same doubts about products made in Southeast Asia and Mexico.
What consumers surveyed want:
* 86% of respondents would like to have food product safety listed on packaging.
* 81% of respondents would like to have food product safety listed on company web sites.
* 81% of respondents would like to have food product safety information provided by the government.
* 67% said that the following factors would weigh in their food purchasing decisions: country of origin on packaging, certification of product testing, and certification of quality.
Note: this survey was commissioned by Deloitte and conducted online by an independent research company on September 3, 2008. The poll was taken with a representative sample of 1004 adult consumers across the country.
Questions:
* How do you feel currently about the measures that the government and individual companies have taken to ensure product safety? Do you think enough has been done or does more have to be done?
* Have you personally experienced any product safety recalls or product safety scares? Has that made you buy an alternative brand that you then continued to purchase?
* Are you more concerned than you were in the past about product safety, especially food safety?
* How have your purchasing habits changed in view of recent product safety issues?
I’d love to hear from you.
Related posts:
- What Does Loss of Customer Trust Actually Cost Companies?
- Food Contamination Issues Move Through Human Food Chain and Still No Protests
- Trust, Transparency, Traceability: On the Agenda in the Food Biz
- Holiday Gift-Buying to Hold Steady Despite Low Spending
- Consumer Product Rebates: Enticements or Scams?
Ted,
Here’s my take on government effectiveness: It’s an oxymoron. And once a product is launched, we can’t rely on company quality control either. What does that leave us? Our own abilities to read and understand labelings; a historical business perspective, giving us insights into companies we can trust; and common sense in product purchasing.
Ted, consumers have long memories and the internet has an even longer memory. All one needs to do these days is a quick search by product name and the good/bad and ugly come up and it’s almost impossible to erase.
Building trust and consistency is paramount. The margin for error is getting extremely thin.
You’re right, Lewis. Consumers cry out for more governance from Federal officials when there are food scares. FDA is woefully understaffed as it is. We’ve also seen plenty of instances when government bureaucracy can be more hindrance than help. This is not a panacea.
While the government should hire more inspectors and manufacturers ought to have more quality control personnel in place–especially in foreign plants, the onus still falls on us, as consumers. Caveat emptor, right? As I stated in Paul Barsch’s post the other day: food safety ought to be a top priority for all consumers. We need to educate ourselves as much as possible, as quickly as possible.
Thanks for weighing in, Lewis.
You bet, Paul. That’s why companies need to take their responsibility to ensure safety and quality very seriously. The erosion of consumer trust and confidence continue to wreak havoc in our economy and once lost, trust is almost impossible to regain.
Thanks for adding your always-cogent thoughts, Paul. I appreciate it.
Excellent post/information Ted. Apologies if you link to this and I missed it–but where is the report located/available to us? Really glad you posted on this issue. Safety as the new differentiator, hmmm?
CK,
I don’t think there’s anything new about “safety as a differentiator”. Remember that Volvo built its brand on that years ago. With recent food and consume product scares, it has become even more imperative for companies to become transparent. Traceability of food products is becoming increasingly important to consumers and I’ve blogged about this before. All of this helps reassure consumers and helps build sorely-needed trust.
The link in my post will bring you to a sign-in page to view the podcast that discusses the findings in the Deloitte report. I believe that the report itself is accessible from the podcast page. Will check on that.
Thanks for asking about the report, CK.
CK & Daily Fix Readers,
This is the link to the actual Deloitte report in PDF form:
http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/Deloitte_2008%20Food%20Survey%20Results_Final.pdf.