Market Information

Newsletter No. 23 – February 2005 Item 5

Newsletter #17 discussed the increasing power of the supermarkets. Figure 1 demonstrates their dominance in the UK market. Butchers have only 1% share of the total grocery market.

Retail Meat

Figure 1 - United Kingdom Share of Retail Grocery Market 2003 and 2004
[source: Meat and Livestock Commission Monthly report to Jan 2nd 2005]

A survey on customers visiting butchers reported that the customer spends on average 7 minutes and 24 seconds at the butcher purchasing their meat. By comparison customers buying meat in supermarkets at the pre-packed shelves, spend between 24 and 37 seconds.

The top 3 reasons given for purchasing meat at a butcher are:

  • Relationship with butcher 51%
  • Better Quality than supermarkets 46%
  • Ability to get cuts that they want 45%

The top 3 reasons given for purchasing at the service counters of supermarkets are:
- Request portion size to suit 42%
- See products clearly 38%
- Value for money 33%

Decisions for buying loose meat:
Butcher purchases
- Planned - Know exactly what meat before going to the butcher - 71%
- Semi Planned - Have some idea of meat they are to buy - 21%
- Unplanned - Decide what to buy once in butcher - 4%

Supermarket serve-over customers
- Loose Meat purchase planned - 59%

Loose Meat Customer Purchase Survey

Table 1 - Loose Meat Customer Purchase Survey
[source: Meat and Livestock Commission Profile of a Butcher's Customer 2003]

The primary reasons given by butcher customers for purchasing their meat at the butcher are:

- Trust
- The Personal Touch
- Value
- A special experience
- Good Presentation

The full report can be viewed is no longer available on the Internet.

No single market report should be read in isolation - but I am sure all agree that any strong marketing organisation needs to be continually understanding the markets in which we operate as they are very sophisticated markets?

Figure 2 - Movement from open markets to rearing on contract.
[source: USDA Farm Policy 2001]

It is very clear that world volume of ostrich production is so small that it can only be measured in a meaningful manner against the output of single production units of other specie.


Leave a Reply