Product availability and a convenient location are the two most important influences on UK shoppers’ decisions on where to buy their groceries from, according to new research from Nielsen.

Nielsen’s Global Retail-Growth Strategies Survey found that ‘lowest prices overall’ ranks just sixth (39%) in terms of the most “highly influential” factor in grocery shopping decisions.

Instead, 55% of British shoppers cited the products they want regularly being in stock as ‘highly influential’, followed by a convenient location (52%) and value for money (47%).

High quality fresh produce ranked fifth, with 45% of UK respondents saying it was the most highly influential factor in deciding their choice of grocery retailer.

“These findings are good news for supermarkets as it demonstrates the opportunities to take a broader, more strategic view about their offer and not to be so focused on price, which can often be a short-term reaction to competitive pressure,” said Nielsen’s UK head of retailer and business insight, Mike Watkins.

“For instance, four in 10 British consumers agree grocery shopping is a chore that they try to spend as little time on as possible, thus, supermarkets need to pay more attention to the convenient and speedy experience that shoppers crave.

“Consumers are more likely to choose a grocery store by how short or fast the checkout lines are (31%) rather than whether they can use a loyalty card there (26%).”

Among services not currently available in-store, postal services would be the most successful addition (31%), followed by pharmacy services (23%), health clinic services (22%) and banking services (20%).

“Supermarkets should consider the opportunity to provide extra services that help shoppers make the shopping trip compelling and convenient, such as financial services, dry cleaning, links to the local community and click-and-collect for online shopping,” added Watkins.