The percentage of people who buy organic products has stayed virtually the same for the past few years, according to a new survey out Wednesday from TABS Group.
The consumer products consultancy found that 38.6 percent of consumers bought organic products in 2010, about the same percentage as in the previous two years.
However, the TABS survey found that there has been a shift in where people are getting their organic products. In 2010, more people said they were buying organic products at traditional grocery stores and Target, while a lower percentage said they were getting organics from Wal-Mart, Trader Joe’s and natural food stores, including Whole Foods.
The most popular organic item was fresh fruits, followed by fresh vegetables, eggs and milk.
The results were based on a survey of 1,000 representative adult consumers completed earlier this month.
Kurt Jetta, president of TABS Group, said in an e-mail that his research also hasn’t shown evidence that people who buy organic are buying significantly more products.
But a separate study from the Organic Trade Association found that overall sales of organic products grew by 5.3 percent in 2009, to $26.6 billion.
There is no data on how many people are buying organic food from vending machines, but that is a growing trend also, according to a story on msnbc.com.