New research conducted into the attitudes of consumers towards free-range food has revealed that although over half, 54%, of consumers admit to purchasing free-range produce; one in three, 33%, of Britons explain that they only do so ‘when they can afford to.’

Conducted by http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, the UK’s leading discount website; the study aimed to discover more about the attitudes and buying habits of consumers when it comes to free-range food produce, with 1,356 men and women aged 18 and over taking part.

Respondents to the study were initially asked, “Do you ever buy free-range food produce?” with just over half, 54%, answering “yes.” These consumers were then asked to stipulate from multiple answers what free-range produce they are most likely to purchase, with the top five results as follows:

1)      Eggs – 76%

2)      Chicken – 57%

3)      Beef – 46%

4)      Pork- 37%

5)      Turkey- 31%

The 54% of respondents who claimed to buy free-range produce were further asked to state how regularly they do so. Whilst the majority, 46%, admitted to buy free-range produce ‘every time they shop;’ one in three, 33%, admitted to only doing so ‘when they can afford to financially.’

Of the respondents who only purchased free-range produce “when they can afford to;” the majority, 65%, explained that, on average, they could only afford to ‘once a month or less.’ 91% of these respondents also explained that they would buy free-range produce every time they shopped, if cost was not an issue.

Respondents to the study were also asked, “How do you feel about buying non-free-range food produce, if free-range options are available?” Just under half of respondents, 46%, admitted that they feel “guilty;” whilst one in three, 34%, explained that they ‘did not mind.”

Mark Pearson, Chairman of http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings:

“There has been a lot of press surrounding the welfare of non-free-range animals over recent years; and given that we regularly feature grocery discounts on our website, we wanted to look into how consumers feel towards free-range food. The majority of people we polled seemed very much in favour of purchasing free-range produce when possible; and it appears that cost, rather than personal choice, was the only thing preventing this for many.”

He continued:

“Free-range produce is, inevitably, more expensive; but this is part and parcel of the cost of producing such items. Although little can be done to reduce such cost without impacting on the welfare of the animals at hand; perhaps supermarkets could do more to ease the purchasing of free-range produce financially by levying some of the cost in terms of deals and special offers. So long as this doesn’t impact too negatively on the finances of the supermarkets themselves; this would be a great way of ensuring both farmers and consumers benefit.”

ENDS

LINK: http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk

For more information please contact Emma Kent of 10 Yetis Public Relations on 01452348211 or emmak@10yetis.co.uk

Editor’s Notes

Mark Pearson, Chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year

Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.

MyVoucherCodes is the UK’s most popular discount site.

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