Suggestive ‘food porn’ adverts don’t tempt shoppers, value for money does!

In the restaurant, we pride ourselves on making all of our food look as good as it tastes, but new research has found that when it comes to grocery shopping people just aren’t that fussed about fancy food adverts, wanting value for money instead.

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Suggestive ‘food porn’ style adverts (no, not Porn Sex literally, but very glamourized and sexualized showcases of food as if it were a porno) like those made by M&S no longer tempt brits to shop in their stores; in fact just 4% of people polled said that they were influenced by these types of adverts. Instead, consumers were looking for value for money and quality above all else when shopping.

The survey, looking into the shopping and eating habits of Brits was commissioned by money saving website My Voucher Codes and asked participants, “How influenced by ‘food porn’ style adverts like those by M&S are you to try and buy from these retailers?”

Surveying 2,401 people in the UK aged over 18, the results showed that just 4% said that they were highly influenced by ‘food porn’ adverts, while 45% admitted that they were not influenced at all. Women and those aged between 18 and 24 were the most likely to be swayed by these types of adverts, the study found.

In a bid to learn more about shopping habits, My Voucher Codes asked also asked participants, “What influences your grocery shopping” They found:

  • Cost looking at value for money – 64%
  • Quality – 52%
  • Availability – 39%
  • Selection and choice of products – 35%
  • Customer service – 23%
  • Advertisements – 18%
  • Welfare standards – 12%

The results showed that the majority of people valued quality and value for money as their biggest influences, as well as shopping in stores that offered a wide selection and choice of products.

To find out what influences people when it comes to trying new things, the money saving website also asked respondents: “What influences you to try new foods or recipes?” Participants were asked to choose from a selection of answers, the results are below:

  • TV shows focusing on food – 56%
  • Recipe books – 53%
  • Restaurants – 50%
  • Social media images or videos – 49%
  • TV chefs – 45%
  • Supermarket recipe cards – 36%
  • Websites or blogs – 21%
  • Recommendations from family or friends – 15%

Speaking about the results, General Manager of My Voucher Codes, Chris Reilly, said:

“There are a lot of things which can influence where people shop and what they buy, but despite influence from online sources or expensive adverts created by marketing agencies, it would appear for shoppers it all still comes down to cost, value for money and quality. Our results also show that people are still influenced to try new foods and recipes by TV shows, cookery shows have been popular in the UK for the last few decades. With Sky Arts and similar broadcasting and satellite channels showing these TV shows, the popularity does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

“We have seen in the news recently that people were up in arms with the BBC when they announced that they were cutting the recipes on their website. However only 21% of people use websites and blogs for inspiration, but maybe this is an area which is gaining in popularity as the more tech savvy generations come of age? One thing for sure, it will be a long time, before people are ready to give up their recipe books or get bored with cookery shows.”

My Voucher Codes specialises in special offers and vouchers for a range of top brands including M&S, GAP, John Lewis and ASOS.

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