2022 Halal Shopper Study — Have Two Years of Pandemic Changed Behaviours in this Demographic?

We are excited to announce the results are in from our latest Halal Shopper Study, our first since before the pandemic. With over 1,000 participants across Canada, we conduct the study to better understand the Canadian halal Grocery Shopper - Muslim individuals and families that regularly purchase halal food.

The 2022 edition included a focus on tracking shifts in consumer behaviour due to COVID within the Canadian Muslim community.

Digital channels grew in importance for halal shoppers

"The immediate flag for us when reviewing results from this year’s Study was the opportunity highlighted for online grocery shopping,” says Salima Jivraj, head of Nourish Multicultural and Account Director at Nourish Food Marketing. “With such growth in the platforms and interest from this shopper group, it’s important that halal brands are represented on retailers' e-commerce platforms.”

Seventy-two per cent of respondents said they do their shopping online compared to only about 53% of the general population when asked the same question. This difference in shopper behaviour shows a gap retailers can take advantage of to better service the halal shopper.

With limited retail shelf space, both grocery stores and manufacturers can reap the benefits of direct-to-consumer and online shopping channels to get their halal products to these eager consumers faster.

“Due to the rise of COVID-19 in the past two years, it is clear that social channels have become a primary source for consumers to find out about new halal products,” adds Jo-Ann McArthur, President of Nourish Food Marketing. If you want to reach this large, expanding, and engaged demographic, social media should be a key part of your marketing mix.

Some retailers are finally getting the halal message

Fifty per cent of respondents rated companies as “good” or “very good” when asked if major food companies meet their needs for halal products. That’s up from 32% in 2019 and is the highest reported since our inaugural Study in 2014. Although this is a significant step in the right direction, the implication is there is still room for improvement, and not all shoppers feel their needs are being met.

Another interesting area of change is with retailers themselves. When asked where halal shoppers make most of their purchases, big box stores selling large formats have moved into the top three, with a notable increase from our last shopper study pre-Covid. With larger household sizes, halal shoppers during the pandemic are likely stocking and freezing as much as possible.

The Halal Shopper Study has been used as a tool for many of Nourish Food Marketing’s food and beverage clients. The study offers key insights into specific segments such as regional grocery store preferences, halal brand preference, and which certifying body consumers look to for verifying their halal products.

To access this year's Nourish Halal Study, please reach out directly to Salima Jivraj: salima.jivraj@nourish.marketing


Cover Mock Up min 3

Download Our FREE 2024 Trend Report

Download

We’d love to hear from you

Think we can help? Give us a little background and we’ll have the right person get back to you quickly.