All articles and blogs

One month after lockdown our health tracking recorded that more than four in ten shoppers (41% in April 2020) stated that they almost/mostly eat healthy food and drink and that 89% are actively trying to improve their diet in some way.  But how has this been impacted by COVID-19, when how we buy, prepare, eat and even value food changed for us all? Shopper’s aspire to be healthy, but it doe...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of uncertainties regarding students returning to school in the UK. Parents are equipping their children with new school essentials such as face masks, hand sanitisers and disinfectant wipes to ensure they are safe. With many changes in the way school will be conducted such as no school meals, retailers in the UK are providing inspiration and solutions to he...

Over the bank holiday weekend we asked 2,000 shoppers about their plans for the break, to see whether this bank holiday – being the first of 2020 not under total lockdown – would be treated differently to a normal bank holiday, perhaps with a bigger celebration or a specific event. What we found was a tale of two groups – younger shoppers, who had bigger plans for the weekend than normal and ol...

Like many others in the 18-24 age bracket, lockdown brought on a different way of life for me. When at first, I expected my older relatives to find lockdown the hardest, it has turned out to be my friends who have struggled the most. Living in London, most of us live in small flats and house shares – because we spent most of our lives ‘out and about’. Our homes suddenly transformed from bein...

A lot has changed since we spoke to our Shoppers of Our Time community in May and June, with lockdown restrictions and social distancing rules changing, shops and schools reopening, and a slow return to workplaces. We caught up with the thirty members of our community in early July through video calls, and followed this up with a survey of 2,000 people. In-home may remain the new out-of-h...

As Poundland resume their plan to roll out its new chilled and frozen range to a further 19 stores following a successful trial at the end of last year we explore shopper’s thoughts. The roll-out, which was planned in March, was put on hold due to the pandemic whilst Poundland focussed on keeping as many stores open during the crises. The next 19 stores to get an aisle of fridges and fr...

COVID-19 has caused a monumental shift in consumers’ food and drink habits. Our new Eating In Vs Dining Out report, produced in collaboration with foodservice consultant Peter Backman, explores the impact of COVID-19 on the UK food and drink market and outlines four scenarios for the future. During the pandemic, the boundaries between eating at home and out-of-home, already blurred, have b...

21 st  June was Father’s Day. For many of us this would have typically been a day of inviting family around for lunch at home, planning a family picnic, going out to eat or buying a ‘gift/experience’ with food often being the center-piece of the celebration. As we have all adjusted to life under lockdown, this will be another seasonal event not celebrated in the typical way by shoppers in a COV...

In this blog accompanying the life under lockdown part two report, Dan looks at more findings from the first community around eating, cooking and baking during lockdown and how this has changed for our community. Food has undergone huge change during lockdown Whether you’re in full time education and used to getting lunch at school, normally out for dinner several times a week, or a worke...

Part of IGD’s Shoppers of Our Time Life changed for everyone under lockdown Whether you are working from home, furloughed, or unemployed. Home-schooling, busier than usual or less busy. Postponing weddings, holidays or building plans. Life changed for everyone when lockdown was introduced on the 23rd March 2020, and the primary focus of our first two-week online community with our Shopper...