Shoppers Care More About Local Food Than Organic

When it comes to food labels, "local" is a much more important consideration than "organic," according to A.T. Kearney's "Buying into the Local Food Movement" study. The study results show that consumers embrace local-food options because they believe it helps local economies (66 percent), delivers a broader and better assortment of products (60 percent) and provides healthier alternatives (45 percent). Almost 30 percent of grocery shoppers say they would consider purchasing food elsewhere if their preferred store does not carry local foods. Trust is a major issue with consumers when purchasing local food. When asked about the trustworthiness of different formats to deliver local food, farmers markets and farm stores rank first, followed by natural food markets, local food markets, national supermarkets and big box retailers. Online retailers were ranked last. To overcome the trust gap, national supermarkets and big-box retailers need to excel in assortment and presentation.