Bananas top supermarket buys, Nielsen research shows

KAREN COLLIER
JULY 19, 2014
SUNDAY HERALD SUN
One in three ­grocery trips include multiple retailers on the same day.
A KEY shopping study has unveiled the nation’s top 50 grocery buys — and some of the results may surprise.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, milk and bread, mince and sandwich fillers are the staples that dominate our baskets and trolleys.
Nielsen research tracked the most frequent purchases for 10,000 households across all supermarkets in the past year.
Shoppers go bananas for bananas, with the tropical fruit topping the list.
Grocery giants Woolworths and Coles sell a whopping 230 ­million kilograms combined annually. And while health experts warn about our expanding waistlines, junk foods were slim pickings among the most commonly bought items on the list. Potato chips, chocolate bars and blocks, ­flavoured snacks and biscuits managed to break in.
Nielsen’s Homescan shopper panel product leader Mick McCabe said many shoppers visited multiple stores to ­secure specials, favourites that were out of stock at their usual store, or exclusive brands.
Almost two in three ventured into more than one of the four major chains in the same week. One in three ­grocery trips included multiple retailers on the same day.
The results heartened ­accredited practising dietitian Melanie McGrice.
“It’s great to see so many fruits and vegetables on the list,” she said.
But she warned there was a long way to go before our eating habits were up to scratch.
“Only 6 per cent of Australian adults meet the recommended daily intake of five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit,” Ms McGrice.
“Daily intake for children is also woefully inadequate.”
Ms McGrice hoped reduced fat milk and wholegrain and wholemeal bread would eventually outsell full cream milk and white loaves.
Food retailing researcher Dr Gary Mortimer, of the Queensland University of Technology, said supermarkets were refurbishing fresh food departments with design and lighting changes to give more of a farmers’ market feel.
“We are seeing bakery and meat departments that are more exposed, vegetables on ice, whole seafood and open displays of pre-cut cheese,” Dr Mortimer said.
karen.collier@news.com.au
SHOPPING LIST
Bananas
Brassica vegetables/celery
Pre-packed potatoes
Carrots
Loose tomatoes
Mince
Whole milk (1.5L-2L)
White bread
Reduced fat milk (1.5L-2L)
Sliced deli meats
Apples
Cucumbers
Sliced ham
Multigrain/wholemeal bread
Whole milk (More than 2L)
Potato chips
Capsicums
Onions
Long life milk
Sausages
Salad leaf
Lettuce
White grapes
Strawberries
Leaf vegetables
Breakfast cereal
Crackers
Mushrooms
Pasta
Confectionary bars
Block of chocolate
Chicken breast fillets
Caged eggs
Pasta sauce
Steak
Falvoured snacks
Plain sweet biscuits
Chocolate biscuits
Reduced fat milk (More than 2L)
Avocados
Peas/beans
White rolls
Pre-packed tomatoes
Toothpaste
Pre-prepared chicken
Mandarins
Seeds and grains bread
Pears
Pumpkin