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Consumers are “trading down” to save money, and vending operators should be benefiting since they offer an economic alternative to going out for meals. Unfortunately, customer response has been mixed and vending operators are finding they need to economize in their own operations to protect profit margins.

The fifth annual Automatic Merchandiser purchase intents survey, an online operator survey fielded in August, found that most operators have not witnessed more consumers eating at work in the last six months despite news reports of increased brown bagging.

Automatic Merchandiser sent an email survey to 3,800 operators in August, asking for specific purchase plans. Close to 300 completed questionnaires were returned within a week.

This year’s survey included questions about customer behavior due to widely reported changes in consumer needs caused by food and fuel inflation. The survey attempted to determine what impact new consumer behavior is having on vending sales.

Consumer studies have found that people are eating out less and when they do, they tend to spend more on lower priced items.

A study by Information Resources Inc. found a reversing of decades-long trends, shunning convenience and healthier foods in search of bargains. The study found 53 percent of consumers reported cooking from scratch more than they were six months earlier, about 59 percent were buying fewer single-serving products, and 55 percent said they were buying fewer prepared meals.

Within the commercial foodservice industry, fast food chains have been a beneficiary of people’s reluctance to part with their cash since they offer food at lower prices than most casual dining and family dining restaurants. Many fast-food chains also routinely offer special deals with even lower prices.