Are healthy shoppers also astute shoppers? American research group NMI thinks so. Their consumer survey shows that if we’re careful with our bodies we’re also careful with our budgets. Categorising shoppers into five distinct types, the healthiest ‘Well Being’ shoppers make few impulse buys, while the ‘Eat, Drink and Be Merrys’ are more concerned with pizza than exercise. But surprisingly this unhealthy group of shoppers doesn’t spend any more on alcohol than the rest of us.
It seems we fall into distinct shopping types based on our health: there’s the organic eating ‘Well Beings’, the penny-wise ‘Food Actives’ who won’t buy food or wine just because it’s got a fancy label and the vitamin taking ‘Magic Bullets’ group.
You may also find yourself identifying with the ‘Fence Sitters’ who follow the latest eco-friendly trends or the youngest and poorest group of shoppers the ‘Eat, Drink and Be Merrys’.
Their need for beer may be greater than the other four healthier groups but when it comes to the yearly booze spend it’s the same as everyone else.
It seems all groups can find money to spend on alcohol but it’s the health-aware shoppers – the ‘Well Beings’ and ‘Magic Bullets’ – who spend a greater proportion on wine.
Why is this? Perhaps they recognise that drinking wine in moderation, particularly red wine, has many health benefits: reducing heart disease and cholesterol levels, stopping certain cancers, improving memory and even preventing your teeth from falling out.
But it also seems shoppers who are in fine fettle are the most supermarket savvy – enjoying the whole shopping experience and really knowing the layout of their supermarkets. They don’t waste time going up and down the aisles aimlessly browsing but instead head straight for the best buys.
Anyone for a wine bargain?
PG Wine Reviews
SPAR Exclusive Costieres de Nimes 2016
£6.50 SPAR
Spicy plum and coffee cake. A complex wine.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Portuguese Lisboa 2016
£7 Sainsbury’s
This blend of three Portuguese varieties with a dash of Syrah is a nice medium-tasting red that’s not too feeble for smoky barbecued food, or too overpowering and alcoholic that it burns your throat on the way down. Expect flavours of blackcurrant, cocoa and blackpepper.
Running with bulls Tempranillo 2014, Australia
£7.99 Co-op
Sophisticated flavours of cherry and choocolate cake. Not sweet and obvious.
Co-op Irresistible French Marsanne 2016
£7.99 Co-op
A nice wine with subtle flavours of pears and honey.
Acacia Road South African Chenin Blanc 2017
£7.99 Majestic
Pretty yellow flowers dominate the bottle label of this wine while the inside contains creamy peach and pear flavours. A nice medium table wine.
Hey Malbec! 2016, Argentina
£12.99 Majestic
Bold wine as well as a bold label with flavours of chocolate, cherry and blackcurrant with a bit of Bovril. A touch of violets too.
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© Paula Goddard 2018 www.paulagoddard.com
