New study by Bring: No savings are made on food

Consumers are currently paying even more attention to quality and seasonality than to the cost of products when shopping for food. Regionality and animal welfare are also more important to them than price this year - throughout the DACH region. Quality is the undisputed number one issue in Switzerland. Surprisingly, price plays a slightly lesser role: it is still important for three quarters of Swiss consumers, compared to 79% in the neighboring German-speaking countries.

This was the result of a user survey conducted by Bring! Labs AG, operator of the shopping list app Bring! and the brochure app Profital. In collaboration with the market research institute Statista, the Swiss company conducted a survey on shopping behavior in the DACH region. Almost 2,800 Swiss users of the Bring! and Profital apps were surveyed, as well as around 23,000 German and around 3,000 Austrian users of the Bring! app.

Quality most important

Just like in the other DACH countries, quality is the most important topic for food shopping in Switzerland in 2024 with 96%. Although price still concerns 75% of consumers, its importance has decreased compared to other topics, meaning that it is currently in sixth place. Seasonality, on the other hand, is the trend of the year: while it played a role for just 58% in the previous year, it is currently an important topic for nine out of ten Swiss (90 %) when buying food. Regionality (89 %), animal welfare (82 %) and sustainability (77 %) also ranked higher than purchase price. The Nutri-Score, on the other hand, received little attention: for just 33% of respondents, it plays an important role when shopping.

Saving in other areas

Even though fewer consumers are thinking about price first when buying food than in previous years, this does not mean that the Swiss do not want to save money. However, they are less likely to tighten their belts when it comes to food than in other areas - above all clothing and shoes (50 %) or furniture and furnishings (41 %). Only just under one in eight (13 %) plan to reduce their spending on food in 2024. When the Swiss save on food, it is primarily on meat and fish (38 %), unlike in neighboring German-speaking countries.

This is also in line with the food trends for 2024. When asked which diets will influence them in the current year, a third said organic (33 %), followed by sugar-free (31 %) and vegetarian (22 %). The Swiss therefore want to eat more consciously and healthily in 2024.

A small majority (52 %) of Swiss consumers are convinced that a high income is a prerequisite for a healthy diet. There is a corresponding need for retailers and manufacturers to provide information to show that a healthy diet does not necessarily have to be associated with high costs.

Other results:

• 52 percent of respondents are more likely to go to the supermarket than the discount store for their weekly shopping compared to the previous year
• 60 percent plan their purchases more carefully than last year
• For 54 percent, offers and promotions are important when buying food
• 62 percent buy goods in stock when they are on offer

The entire report is available here.