Suggestive food adverts no longer tempt Brits to stores; value for money does!

Everybody likes a good meal, but as food prices continue to rise, more and more people are looking for value for money instead of fancy pre-made meals. Just because something is cooked from scratch doesn’t mean that it won’t taste or look good, and it seems many of you agree, as new research suggests that suggestive food adverts no longer entice customers as they once did.

Research conducted by a money saving and voucher code website has found that food porn style adverts, like those by M&S and Waitrose aren’t tempting Brits to shop in their stores, with many now choosing value for money over everything else. In fact just 4% of those polled said that they were influenced by these type of adverts. Instead consumers now look for the best quality food at the lowest prices and would be more likely to try new foods or recipes after seeing them on TV cooking shows.

The last couple of years have seen an increase in food retailers using ‘food porn’ style adverts to entice people into their stores, especially during the festive period and during the summer months. However this new survey found that these types of adverts don’t actually tempt people into the store or entice them to try new foods.

The survey, commissioned by My Voucher Codes asked 2,401 people in the UK, “How influenced by ‘food porn’ style adverts like those by M&S are you to try and buy from these retailers?” Surprisingly just 4% of participants said that they were highly influenced by these types of adverts, with the majority of people stating that it didn’t influence them at all.

The results also showed that women were more likely to be swayed by suggestive food adverts than men, and that younger people were also more likely to be tempted to shop in a store after seeing the adverts.

Following up on the results, My Voucher Codes asked participants, “What influences your grocery shopping?” The results found:

• Value for money – 64%

• Quality – 52%

• Availability – 39%

• Selection and choice of food products – 35%

• Customer service – 23%

• Advertisements – 18%

• Welfare standards – 12%

The results show that value for money was the main influence when it came to food shopping, with respondents favouring stores which offer good quality food at the best prices.

To find out what influences people when it comes to cooking and trying new food, My Voucher Codes also asked respondents: “What influences you to try new foods or recipes?” Respondents could choose from a selection of answers, the results are below:

• TV shows focusing on food and cooking – 56%

• Recipe books – 53%

• Restaurants – 50%

• Social media images and videos – 49%

• TV chefs – 45%

• Supermarket recipe cards – 36%

• Websites or blogs – 21%

• Recommendations from family or friends – 15%

Speaking about the results, General Manager of My Voucher Codes, Chris Reilly, said:

“There are a lot of things which can influence where people shop and what they buy, but despite influence from online sources or  expensive adverts created by marketing agencies, it would appear for shoppers it all still comes down to cost, value for money and quality. Our results also show that people are still influenced to try new foods and recipes by TV shows, cookery shows have been popular in the UK for the last few decades and it doesn’t look like the popularity is slowing down anytime soon.

“We have seen in the news recently that people were up in arms with the BBC when they announced that they were cutting the recipes on their website. However only 21% of people use websites and blogs for inspiration, but maybe this is an area which is gaining in popularity as the more tech savvy generations come of age? One thing for sure, it will be a long time, before people are ready to give up their recipe books or get bored with cookery shows.”

Just because suggestive food adverts have lost their influence on consumers it doesn’t mean that there isn’t any bargains to be had. Check out My Voucher Codes latest M&S offers to find some great deals throughout the store.