Due to successive heat waves starting in late May in France, the habits of the French have been particularly disrupted, especially when it comes to shopping. They vary their shopping times and don’t go back to the same products. Explanations.
Heat waves have continued throughout France since the end of May. In this context, many consumers have purchased a fan or air conditioner or other solutions to cool their homes, such as anti-heat films or white Meudon. But those aren’t the only shopping activities disrupted by the heat.
Daily grocery shopping in supermarkets has also undergone profound changes for French households. Observation discovered during research on the 10% cashback app and reported by TF1 Info. It was conducted during the worst heat wave from June 17 to 28, analyzing more than 30,000 user receipts by comparing heat days with the previous two weeks.
Fewer walks and fuller baskets
The first development related to the heat wave concerns work schedules. Consumers have delayed the times they usually shop to avoid being too affected by the heat, especially in the early morning.
Thus, according to the study, 32.7% of checkouts occurred between 7 and 11 a.m., compared to 28.9% in previous days. And vice versa, in the afternoon, between 14:00. and 5 p.m., the hottest time of the day, fell from 35.6% to 32.2%.
The schedules are staggered and races are grouped together for less frequent trips. In fact, the number of tickets per household fell by 6% (from 3.41 to 3.20) and the median basket increased by 4.6% (from €41.3 to €43.2). In other words, the French made fewer round trips with full carts.
Ice cream, water bottles…
And of course, the heat also affected the contents of consumer baskets. In general, the share of cold dishes increased from 38.7% to 55.7%, while the share of hot dishes decreased by 17 points. One of the flagship products is ice cream. During the first heat wave at the end of May, sales rose 104% at Picard and 100% at Carrefour.
A trend that was confirmed in the period from June 17 to June 28. Ice cream was included in a third of shoppers’ carts (36%) who also bought more: 3.04 units compared to 2.72 in normal times, according to the app’s 10% study. To the point that some references were not even available.
It’s the same story with water. At the end of May, sales of still and sparkling water bottles at Carrefour increased by 70%. And in June, still water also progressed (+6.8 points), followed by syrups (+3.8 points) and sparkling water (+3.4 points).
According to Circana, sales of other food products also tended to increase during heat peaks, such as watermelon (+80% in late May), gazpacho (+46%), soft drinks and non-alcoholic beer (+30%), canned spreads (+29%), salads (+29%) and even canned corn (+28%).
Significant discounts on some products.
Conversely, sales of many products fell due to the heat. This is everything related to cooking or drinking hot food. Consumers are no longer turning on ovens and stovetops in favor of fresh produce.
So sales of chocolate bars fell 20%, as did sugar, according to NielsenIQ data reported by consumer products specialist Olivier Douwers on LinkedIn. Next come soups (-16%), tea and sausages (-12%), fresh pizza, coffee and spreads (-11%) and minced meat (-10%).
“Rarely has the “failure of 10” (the 10 categories with the largest drop in volumes) been so sharp. Firstly, in the intensity of the decline (at least -10%), then in the nature of the categories: heavyweights of mass consumption (for example, sugar, chocolate bars or coffee). It was easy to imagine that hot drinks and soups would decline. A little less fried food,” the specialist deciphers.
Brand motto: Anticipate
This change in purchasing behavior tends to be more pronounced in the south of France. The heat wave from June 17 to 28 completely erased the gap in consumption between North and South, and consumer baskets were almost identical across the country.
A trend that stores will have to take into account in the future. “There needs to be timely management of the products that are needed in these heatwaves. Forecast supplies, arrange for good times, perhaps open a little earlier on certain days,” advises Clémence Luc, co-founder of the 10% app.