More households in the UK are switching to online shopping, but red meat continues to under-trade and is not ‘reaching its full potential’, research shows.
Shoppers are hesitant to buy red meat online due to the inability to physically handle the product, according to the AHDB.
Its new research, published on Friday (21 October), shows that 60 percent of shoppers claim they find it harder to judge the quality of red meat online.
To remedy this, retailers have been recommended to include mock-up pages for their websites, featuring messages to promote the taste and reputational factors of red meat – helping to boost online sales.
AHDB has published new graphics, which include a selection of animation and embedded videos, to convey important messages around health, animal welfare and sustainability.
The levy organisation said the mock-ups, generated in partnership with the meat industry, would help to 'reassure' shoppers of their online purchases and increase red meat sales.
AHDB retail insight manager and co-author, Grace Randall said it was 'imperative' that web pages contained the right images and product information to reassure shoppers.
"Messaging on search results pages around meal inspiration, sustainability and vitamin and mineral content produced an uplift in purchase intent as well as improved perceptions of the meat industry.
“Communication is also key when it comes to attracting shoppers to red meat pages," Ms Randall explained.
"This should be done with messaging that is beneficial to the shopper personally, such as health through leanness, freshness and award-winning quality.”
AHDB's research focuses on the homepage, search results page and product pages.
It highlights the need to optimise search terms, the correct positioning of products, the right image, clear product descriptions and use of customer reviews.
Other recommendations include ensuring the product page informs and inspires by using the most detailed information on recipes, production methods and product credentials.
The new research follows on from AHDB’s ‘Reinventing the red meat aisle’ report, which looked at ways supermarkets could revitalise their meat aisles to be more creative.
Some retailers have already adopted some of the recommendations, with Asda making changes to its webpages and Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose looking to optimise their in-store meat aisles.
