This is the shopping cart of the Spaniards: we spend more and better, we try new brands and the ‘cocooning’ spurs on us

Spanish families have spent about 89,000 million euros in the shopping cart in 2019, which represents an increase of 2.4% over the previous year. But In what products? What do we give more importance? How are we changing our consumption profile?

In general, we are disloyal to brands and we like to try new things, better quilted toilet paper than normal even if it is worth something else, we prefer the proximity trade since we do not have space at home for a pantry and as we spend more time in the home (the so-called 'cocooning') we have chosen because the whims come on home, as evidenced by Nielsen's 'Consumer Trends 2020' report.

* We spend more money on frescoes but buy less volume. In 2019, the price of our shopping cart rose 2.7% and the frescoes that already represent one in three euros of spending in our basket had to do with this. Specifically, there has been much noticeable increase in the cost of vegetables (which rose 12.7%), while fruit, fish / seafood and meat rose by around 3%. On the other hand, the eggs cost 15% more and the bread 2.2%.

* In packaging … we buy more and better. It seems that we prefer a good seed bread before the typical bread and a padded toilet paper instead of the normal. We bought 0.8% more of these products in a context in which the Spanish population grows again (we already exceed 47 million people) and we buy better, because the price we pay for these items was 1.8% higher Over the previous year. And considering that inflation barely explains 0.2% of this increase, the remaining 1.6% is due to the incorporation of products with greater added value.

“Before, consumers were more focused on price (the lower the better), however now we are willing to pay a little more, not much, for different things “, highlighted the general director of Nielsen Iberia, Patricia Daimiel.

* Spaniards increasingly practice 'cocooning'. And what is that? Well, it is the new term that refers to this tendency to go out less and make our house our strength. But not by staying at home we will deprive ourselves of our whims. We may not go out but we do not feel like cooking or simply that we prefer to order food from a restaurant. 10% of the meals we make at home per month do not leave our kitchen but from the restaurant at home and from the 'ready to eat' supermarket (with initiatives such as Mercadona Y Lidl). Consumption of prepared dishes grows, especially refrigerated and frozen foods, in addition to canned food. In this way, the consumer is embracing any option that allows him to solve the ballot at home, but at the same time generate an emotional 'click'.

* We like proximity and we have no pantry. Precisely because in Spain households are getting smaller and smaller, families prefer proximity shopping. We tend to a smaller basket (we reduce the ticket by 0.4% per act of purchase), but we go 2.2% more times to the establishment. We buy what we consume. We prefer physical proximity because 55% of consumers complain that they have less time now than before and that is why they prefer to shop quickly, without the need to carry a car or load a thousand bags.

* We pass the promotions. The percentage of expense associated with offers and promotions does not reach 20% of the total. In fact, only one in three makes money, while the rest does not contribute growth. This data of the Spanish market contrasts with the European one, where half do achieve an economic return.

* We like to try new brands. We have changed the way we consume and we are increasingly disloyal. Half of the Spaniards are willing to try new brands while only 8% are unable to see beyond their usual brand or store and are 100% faithful.

* We love the authentic and the more transparency the better. More than half of consumers say that transparency in labeling is very influential and they look for information on products on the Internet, mainly in social networks. In addition, 80% say they buy based on other values ​​beyond the usual quality or price.

* Pets are already part of the family. In Spain, four out of every ten households live with a dog or a cat and the trend seems to continue to increase as it grew by 2.5% in 2019. That is why the feeding of our 'best friends' now amounts to some 1,218 million euros and specialist pet food stores that increased sales last year by more than 11%.

Spaniards increasingly sophisticated the shopping cart with premium, eco and bio products