The average Australian household has enough essential food supplies to last the next few months, according to analysis of shopping habits by Nielsen.
Each has enough rice for 65 days, pasta to last 63 days and enough noodles for 55 days.
Volume sales for long-life meals, bread mix, rice, flour and pasta more than doubled in the four weeks to March 22 compared to the same period last year.
“Our recent analysis highlights some clear themes in consumer behaviour we can expect to see over the next few months," says Bernie Hughes, managing director, Nielsen Connect – Pacific.
"More time at home will give rise to more cooking and baking from scratch as consumers find creative ways to use up their pantry staples.
"But an increase in sales for convenient meal options also cater to smaller person households or those that are juggling the various demands of working from home and home schooling.”
Hughes says Australians may benefit from products and services that may help counteract a rise in calorie intake that may happen while movement is restricted.
“Brands that focus on health and fitness in the future are likely to see strong demand from consumers who see a renewed sense of importance in staying healthy,” says Hughes.
In China, Nielsen research found that consumer attitudes toward increased health and wellness remained heightened even as restrictions have started to relax.
Some 80% of Chinese consumers say they will pay attention to eating healthy even after the epidemic is over and 75% will spend more on sports/fitness in the future.
Australian households, with more time on their hands and lots of carbs and other pantry staples to use up, are likely to make an effort to cook from scratch and attempt to make meals outside of their usual repertoire.
Nielsen Digital Content Ratings data showed that on the last weekend of March, Australians spent 71% more time online with food and cooking content when compared to the last weekend of February.
Australians are also being adventurous with cooking ingredients, with Asian cooking items up 126% and Indian 187% higher in terms of volume sales.
Baking is also high on the homestay agenda with significant volume increases in key ingredients such as flour (+156%) and sugar (+64%).
In the past four weeks, Australians have stockpiled enough flour to last 65 days, while bread mix volume sales have more than doubled (+170%).
“We anticipate that shoppers will begin to think more creatively about how they cook over the next few weeks," says Hughes.
"With popular cooking shows already adapting to feature recipes and tips for making the most of old cupboard staples; shoppers will begin to use up some of the canned goods they’ve accumulated alongside the pastas, rice and grains they’ve stocked up on - hopefully alleviating the demand for some of these things in supermarkets.”
Shoppers have also stocked up on quick-and-easy meal solutions, including prepared meals, canned vegetables, canned soup, pasta and sauce.
Soup is traditionally a more winter meal but nearly one-quarter of annual volume had already been sold by the end of March.
Other categories have been negatively affected including single-serve yoghurts and energy drinks as consumers adapt to working and schooling from home.
Toilet paper and hand sanitiser are still very hard to come by in-store and online.
However, Australian shoppers are also stockpiling other household products, including general cleaners, disinfectants and dishwashing detergent. Disinfectant sales are up 102%.
“Consumer habits tend to change over time, but the COVID-19 outbreak is forcing Australian consumers to reconfigure their lives, their habits and their spending patterns at a speed and scale we have never seen," he says.
"With households now in lockdown and experiencing what it means to have restricted movement, limited access to physical stores and an expanded reliance on digital connectivity, it is important to continue to monitor these trends as we adjust to a new normal."
Here's what Australias are buying:
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