NEW YORK—Consumers are paying more attention to calorie counts and using more mobile phone “apps” while shopping compared to two years ago, according to Shopping for Health 2010 study by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Prevention magazine.
Nearly 43% of consumers are paying more attention to calorie counts, and 25% of shoppers are buying more low- or zero-calorie products than last year. However, the report noted more attention to calories does not mean more precision as the majority of shoppers just loosely try to watch how many calories they consume (9% actively count how many calories they consume; 50% said they just watch their calories; and 41% don’t watch at all). Many shoppers greatly underestimate what they consume by meal type, and the majority of them believe they consume the daily-recommended amount of calories.
The survey also found one-third of shoppers find it appealing to use smartphone “apps” to create grocery lists. More than 25 percent of shoppers also opt to get updates from retailers on sales and specials via an “app;” one-quarter of shoppers like the idea of using “apps” to choose healthy items.
