Belgians ‘put price before quality’

22 September 2004

BRUSSELS – Low prices still influence Belgian consumers far more than the quality of the products they buy, it emerged on Wednesday.

A survey by the consumer research and information centre Crioc reported that in 73 percent of cases, price counts most for shoppers when it comes to picking a product.

Some 13 percent said freshness was the most important factor for chosing an item.

Only eight percent cited quality and five percent taste.

Concerns over safety and the content of food were only the biggest worry to a tiny minority (less than one percent).

Men found price even more important than women (80 percent), while women rated freshness more highly than male shoppers (23 percent).

Crioc’s figures were collected in April by interviewing 795 people around Belgium and allowing for a margin of error of 3.1 percent.

Price also shapes consumers’ choice of shop.

Seventy four percent of people questions put price above freshness (13), parking availability (10) and the quality of the shop (8).

And even going non-food shopping, consumer priorities are the same, with 78 percent putting price before all other considerations.

However, Crioc added that consumer concerns about ethical considerations ,such as the treatment of animals and workers producing goods, have been increasing over the last two years.

Crioc said while people from Flanders are concerned about the quality of information on packaging and its practical aspects, French-speaking Belgians were more interested in the label and in ethical concerns.

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Belgian news