Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s shopper survey. 

Your feedback helps us understand how well we are meeting your needs and plan improvements to do better. This year we had an impressive 1452 responses, up 9% from the prior year. Approximately 86% of respondents indicated they were member-owners, which was equal to approximately 14% of the total membership.

Overall, respondents reported a relatively high level of satisfaction with most aspects of our co-op as a grocery store and as a mission-driven business. To the question “how well are we meeting your needs?”, on a 5-point Likert scale with 5 equal to “very well”, the Co-op received an average rating of 4.3, 4.3 and 4.4 for “Overall Store”, “Overall Products,” and “Overall Service”, respectively. Consistent with prior years, prices (with an average of 3.1) was the one category by far for which shoppers reported the least satisfaction; clearly there is more work to do to improve prices and promotions. The Co-op received relatively high scores on a variety of mission-based characteristics including supporting the local food economy and having a positive influence on personal health. A healthy 89% of respondents indicated they are likely or very likely to recommend Hunger Mountain Cooperative to a friend or a colleague.

This year’s survey was also a check-in on shopper demographics. Some of the key takeaways:

•   Nearly 44% of respondents reported doing at least half their shopping at the Co-op; this is down somewhat from 2012.

•   Roughly 49% of respondents were between 55 and 74 years old and that group was divided basically equally into above and below 65 years old.

•   There has been little change in proximity over the past 10 years with nearly a third of respondents indicating they travel more than 12 miles to shop at the Co-op.

•   Approximately 79% of respondents reported having a 4-year college degree or graduate/ professional degree as their highest level of education.

•   Approximately 54% of respondents said that parking availability never limits their access to the Co-op while 41% reported it does occasionally.

•   About 61% indicated they don’t have a preference on the timing of the Co-op’s annual meeting and/or do not plan to attend. Finally, chicken was the top pick for new prepared foods options, prompting us to plan to add a rotisserie oven in the coming year.

In closing, I want to once again thank you for the time invested in sharing your feedback. Please know that we do our best to utilize all the results to help make our co-op better able to serve you and our community at large.

By Kari Bradley, General Manager