Research project

Consumer Insights Tracker December 2023

The Consumer Insights Tracker is an online monthly tracking survey commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Area of research interest: Consumer Interests (aka Wider Consumer Interests)

Project status: Completed

Authors: Food Standards Agency

Date published: 24 January 2024

Consumer Insights Tracker December 2023 (506.37 KB)

The Consumer Insights Tracker is an online monthly tracking survey commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). It monitors the behaviour and attitudes of adult consumers aged 16+ in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in relation to food.

The survey includes topics such as food availability, food affordability, consumer concerns in relation to food, confidence in the food supply chain and in the FSA as a regulator.

The full data set is published on data.food.gov.uk: Consumer Insights Tracker July 2023 - present.

Key findings for December 2023

Overall, measures related to food affordability, food availability and trust and confidence in the FSA are consistent with last month, maintaining the stability seen over recent months. Food prices remain the top concern for consumers, with around 9 in 10 saying they are concerned about this.
Ultra-processed, or the over-processing of food, is the joint-second highest concern alongside food poverty and inequality. These both remain a concern for around three-quarters of respondents, consistent over recent months.
Concern about ultra-processed, or the over-processing of food appears to rise consistently with age and level of education. Compared to all survey respondents, those aged 55+ or with a degree, masters or PhD are significantly more likely to report concern.

Food affordability

One in four (25%) are worried about their household not being able to afford food in the next month.

This is comparable to November and more recent months, but statistically significantly lower than in July.

Proportion who reported worrying about their household not being able to afford food in the next month ^(footnote)

Line graph shows proportion worried about their household not being able to afford food for July (28%), August (25%), September (25%), October (25%), November (26%) and December (25%).

3% report that they, or someone in their household, received a free parcel of food from a food bank or other emergency food provider in the last month

This figure has remained stable from August to December.

Proportion who reported receiving a food parcel from a food bank or emergency food provider ^(footnote)

Line graph shows the proportion who report receiving a food parcel from a food bank or emergency food provider. In December, it is 3%.

73% report at least one of the following statements applies to them or their household

This is comparable with the proportion reporting this in November (74%).

Reported shopping statements ^(footnote)

This chart shows reported shopping statements. 49% reported they chose cheaper alternatives rather than branded products to save money.

Reported cooking and eating statements

56% have used cheaper cooking methods instead of an oven to heat or cook food in the last month and 8% have eaten food cold because they couldn’t afford to cook it.

These figures are comparable with November.

Proportion who did any of the following to reduce energy bills or save money in the last month ^(footnote)

The chart shows the ways people have acted to reduce energy bills and save money in the last month. 56% used cheaper cooking methods.

Food availability

One in five (22%) are worried about there not being enough food available for their household in the next month.

This figure has been broadly stable between July and December.

Proportion who reported worrying about there not being enough food available for their household in the next month ^(footnote)

The chart shows the concern over food availability from July to December 2023 (24% to 22%).

Food concerns

88% are concerned about food prices, 75% are concerned about ultra-processed, or over-processing of food

These figures are comparable with November.

Proportion who reported concern about food by topic ^(footnote)

The chart shows the concern about various food topics, comparing them to November 2023. 88% are concerned about food prices in December 2023.

Statistically significant differences compared to November shown with arrows.

Concern about ultra-processed, or the over-processing of food appears to rise consistently with age and education level, with the following groups significantly more likely than all survey respondents to report concern:

Those aged 55+
Those with a degree, masters or PhD

These differences have been consistent since first asked in August.

Proportion who reported concern over ultra-processed, or over-processing, of food ^(footnote)

This chart shows that those aged 55+ are the most likely to report concern over ultra-processed, or over-processing, of food (81% vs. 67% of 16-34s).

The chart shows the differences in concerns over ultra-processed, or over-processing, of food. Those with a higher education level are more concerned than those with a lower one (81% vs 66%).

Statistically significant differences compared to the total (75%) shown with arrows.

Food supply chain

57% are confident in the food supply chain overall

Following a slight increase in November, confidence has returned to similar levels to October.

Proportion who reported confidence in the food supply chain ^(footnote)

The chart shows confidence in the food supply chain from July to December 2023. After an increase in November (60%) it has returned to rates seen previously (57% in Dec).

Proportion who reported confidence that those involved in the food supply chain ensure that... ^(footnote)

The top left chart shows confidence that food is safe to eat from July to December 2023. In December, it is 73%. The top right chart shows confidence that there is enough food available from July to December 2023. In December, it is 57%. The bottom left chart shows confidence that food is of high quality from July to December 2023. In December, it is 56%. The bottom right chart shows confidence that there are affordable food options from July to December 2023. In December, it is 37%.

The FSA

55% of those with some knowledge of the FSA trust the FSA to do its job

Trust in the FSA has remained broadly stable since September.

Proportion that trust the FSA to do its job ^(footnote)

The chart shows trust in the FSA to do its job in August to December 2023, among those with some knowledge of the FSA. In December it is 55%.

Proportion who reported confidence that the FSA... ^(footnote)

The first chart shows confidence that the FSA protects the public from food related risks, from August (78%) to December (74%) 2023. The second chart shows confidence that the FSA takes appropriate action about identified food related risks, from August (77%) to December (76%) 2023. The third chart shows confidence that the FSA is committed to communicating openly with the public about identified food related risks, from August (68%) to December (63%) 2023. Figures are from those with knowledge of the FSA.

Background and methodological information

Changes in approach

Following a review of the FSA's Consumer Insights Tracker by the FSA’s Advisory Committee for Social Science (ACSS), the project was recommissioned in early 2023.

In July 2023, the Consumer Insights Tracker was transitioned to a new supplier, YouGov. Changing supplier provided the opportunity to make the following methodological changes:

review the questionnaire content and question wording
expand the sample to include adults aged 16+ (previously 16-75)
boost the sample to include a larger number of participants from Northern Ireland
utilise a panel survey approach (previously an omnibus approach was used to collect the data)

Due to these methodological differences, data captured by YouGov (from July 2023 onwards) should not be directly compared to data captured by the previous supplier (April 2020 – June 2023).

Method

this research was conducted online using the YouGov panel which gives access to 400,000 active panellists in the UK.
this report presents findings from December 2023. Where appropriate, comparisons are made to previous waves since July 2023.
2,026 adults across England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the December survey between 1st-6th December 2023.
quotas were set by age, gender, education and region. The data is also weighted to be representative of the population by these demographic variables. All results are based on final weighted data.

Notes for interpretation

figures may not add up to 100% on graphs due to rounding, or in some questions, respondents were able to select multiple answers.
significance testing is applied to the data to compare and determine whether a difference is “real”, or if it has occurred by chance (because not everyone in the population has been surveyed).
any differences between demographic groups and month to month which are reported (with arrows) are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.
if you require further information on the statistical significance testing carried out, please contact the social science team.
where analysis is conducted by IMD, respondents are categorised within the country where they live, before a combined measure is created for the full sample.

For more information

visit our Consumer Insights Tracker webpage
or please contact the FSA Social Science Team