Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/375622
23% of specialty food consumers use Pinterest 66% of Pinterest users use it to connect with restaurants and retailers, the more likely Specialty food consumers are than average to use social media to talk and learn about food, and that gap has expanded since 2012 highest across all social media channels Digital Trends: Online Shopping, Mobile Usage, and Social Media S pecialty food consumers are split when it comes to buying online: 51 percent say they didn't buy any specialty foods online in the past year; shipping costs and lack of sensory interaction with the products seem the most likely deterrents. However, the other 49 percent who do engage in online shopping seem interested—albeit in low numbers—in a variety of foods, with chocolate, coffee, and tea the top three. Fair trade options may be driving those particular categories. Despite the divide over online shopping, specialty food consumers do use their mobile phones frequently to interact with food retailers and restaurants. The top three uses are for checking recipes or looking up restaurants, finding or using store coupons or restaurant discounts, and finding or using manufacturer coupons. Specialty food consumers also are engaged with social media as a means of connecting to retailers and restaurants. More than half (51 percent) report using social media to talk and/or learn about food. Pinterest is the top social media site specialty food consumers use to connect with retailers and restaurants. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube all showed significant increases too. DIGITAL TRENDS 87 % % 29 87% of adults spend at least 2 hours online daily for reasons other than work of specialty food consumers use their phone to find store coupons or restaurant discounts Online food shopping? use their phone to scan products in-store to learn about nutrition or allergens of specialty food consumers buy chocolate online of specialty food consumers use Facebook to talk/learn about food; 57% use it to connect with retailers or restaurants specifically 51% NO 49% YES 14 % 12% 76 % BACON ! TODAY'S SPECIALTY FOOD CONSUMER 2014 C7