Monthly Butcher telephone survey
| Project start date: | 01 July 2015 |
| Project end date: | 11 August 2016 |
| Publication date: | 11 August 2016 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Sheep, Goat, Lamb, Grassfed cattle, Grainfed cattle |
Summary
This project, a monthly telephone survey of retail butchers, is a continuation of a body of work spanning over 10 years, for the period of 2015-2016 (one year).
The telephone survey was conducted monthly, with 100 interviews being conducted through random dialling. Quotas were set and achieved on location, and membership of the Australian Butchers' Guild.
Objectives
The main purpose of the survey was threefold:
- to collect pricing information (in terms of average/kg) for various cuts of beef, lamb and competitor proteins, tracked since July 2006
- to also collect pricing information for MSA versions of major beef cuts, with the purpose of allowing the Eating Quality (MSA) team to prove that MSA beef attracts a premium price by comparing to non-MSA versions
- to collect feedback from butchers on the usage and effectiveness of MLA's various promotional activities in butcher shops, including consumer titles such as Entice and Australian Butchers' Choice, copmpetitions/promotions, and specific campaign-related Poi9nt of Sale (POS) assets.
Some other questions were asked, including usage of MSA-graded lamb, and some questions around business and sales performance.
Key findings
The major outputs of the project therefore, in nreference to the above key objectives were:
- consistent tracking of butcher retail prices over the set period. In broad terms, the butcher prices observed mirrored the trends in pricing seen in general retail over that period
- consistent tracking of the premium attracted by MSA-graded beef. There are variations by cut, but in all cases MSA grading delivered a premium, ranging from 1.0% for Blade to 7.8% for rib eye/cube roll
- Over the period, usage of MLA-generated POS assets averaged 83% (amongst ABG members), with the highest compliance being for Entice magazine's Winter 2016 edition.
Feedback on sales effectiveness was consistently good, with over 1/2 of respondents on average giving a positive response (when Don't Know responses are removed), and 19% rating them Very Good or Excellent. The highest performers were the AUstralia Day Lamb camnpaign materials, and the You're Better on Beef materials from autumn 2016.
