January 29/Chicago/PRNewswire -- At the height of the economic downturn, many consumers flocked to supermarkets, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs and other retailers, looking for a deal on prepared foods. However, now that the economy is recovering from the recession, some consumers are purchasing retailer meal solutions (RMS) less often than they did just two years ago; in fact, 38% of today's consumers say that they purchase RMS from traditional supermarkets each week, compared to 42% who said the same in 2010.
"These consumers may be reversing the patterns they set a couple of years ago by heading back to restaurants," says Darren Tristano, vice president of Technomic. "For retailers to gain or maintain their share of foodservice dollars, they'll need to clearly stand out from restaurants--especially since our data shows that consumers' expectations are rising for the taste, quality, freshness and appearance of retailer prepared foods."