Preparing for the next generation of shoppers

Source: Gillian Swaine, London Office, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

New research by Symphony EYC involving 1,000 shoppers highlights some of the key areas that the shoppers of tomorrow will expect retailers to offer. The research shows that personalised offers, speed and ease of shopping are most important, with 50% of the sample saying that personalised promotions make their life easier, 37% rating speed as the main benefit of shopping online and 55% of mobile shoppers admitting that they shop on their phones to make life less stressful. In addition, a growing number of shoppers are looking for smaller meal portions, re-sealable packs to help reduce food waste, and also a change towards a more sustainable approach to packaging.”

 

A similar report by Webloyalty found that Social networks are also increasingly being used by consumers to gather ideas and learn about new products and brands from their social connections. Over a third of consumers are now basing their purchasing decisions on customer reviews. The research suggests that by 2020, mobile shopping will play a part in a quarter of all purchases, either through price checking or direct purchases.

With a focus on convenience the slow uptake of ‘click and collect’ in the UK [20%] shows shoppers aren’t seeing a clear benefit from this option. Compare this to France, where the ‘Drive’ concept has taken off and 35% rate this as important, vs. 36% traditional shopping and it is clear there’s an opportunity to attract the time-hungry shopper. The survey also highlighted the importance of price, with 54% of shoppers keen to use mobile devices to compare prices in-store. This trend was particularly pronounced with younger shoppers, with 75% of 18-24s rating this as important, compared to 37% of over 65s.

More than ever before suppliers need to consider their multi channel strategy to make sure that it’s aligned with the retailers and its customers.

Supermarket facts: Facebook sales effect

 

Nestle attributes 11% of its KitKat sales to Facebook ads following a recent cross-media channel campaign. Facebook adverts delivered the highest return on investment, generating £1.34 for every £1 invested

General Mills claim c.27% of sales could be attributed to Facebook during their recent cross-channel campaign for Old El Paso. They said it was the "most effective channel for driving sales."

 

Source: Him! 22nd March 2013

Convenience facts

1-in-2 UK adults would visit their convenience store more often if the store offered collection points for online purchases

57% of shoppers want their convenience store to stock more local products

 

Source: Him! 22nd March 2013

Convenience facts: Communicating with technologically enabled shoppers

1-in-2 UK adults visit Facebook every day... BUT... 35% of UK adults would NEVER like/follow a retailer or manufacturer via social media

Money comparison sites are the most influential types of websites. 1-in-2 say they have influenced a purchasing decision

27% of shoppers said "if a retailer knew I was near one of their stores through the GPS on my phone, and sent me a special promotion I would go into the store and use it"

 

Source: Him! 15 March 2013 

Relevance of social media to the UK Food and Grocery shopper

28% of UK adults use Facebook or Twitter to follow a retailer

34% use them to follow a manufacturer

 

 

How can food & grocery retailers and FMCG suppliers can communicate with the 'technology-enabled' customer? 

 

What drives shoppers to engage with a retailer or manufacturer online and how can it drive shopper's purchasing behaviour and attitudes towards retailers and brands? 

 

 

How are UK adults using social media, websites, smartphone apps and QR codes to interact with retailers and FMCG suppliers? 

 

 

Him! study reveals opportunities to:

 

 

Drive visits and purchases

Drive brand loyalty

Attract new shoppers

 

With regular smart phone users spending an average of 22 hours a week on the internet, social & digital media presents a huge opportunity to connect. Especially with the under 35s.

 

How are we connecting with our technology-enabled shoppers?

 

Source: Him!

Convenience facts: shopping missions

the top 3 reasons shoppers are driven to convenience stores accounts for 2/3rds of spend

Understanding the reasons why shoppers are driven to store "missions" is valuable insight to understanding shoppers needs and importances, and then how to communicate and range accordingly.

 

Weetabix relaunches its Weetabix chocolate to clean up image of kid's chocolate variant

Weetabix has invested in a re-launch of its Weetabix chocolate variant in a bid to better communicate its positive health credentials, its brand manager says. The cereal firm has re-named its product ‘Weetabix with Chocolate’ (previously Chocolate Weetabix) and pumped £1.8m ($26.8m) into a cross-channel marketing campaign across the UK for the re-launch.

"We want to communicate that Weetabix with Chocolate is Weetabix fuel with the added taste of chocolate, making it an ideal option for mums looking for a chocolate cereal," Ben Cooper, group brand manager at Weetabix said.

"This new re-launch aligns the product with the brand’s ‘Fuel for Big Days’ campaign to confirm the product is Weetabix first and foremost," Cooper added.

The original ‘Chocolate Weetabix’ was launched in the UK in July 2010, positioned as a solution for parents struggling to get children to eat healthy breakfasts.


Weetabix – the healthy chocolate option?

A spokesperson for Weetabix told BakeryandSnacks.com that its chocolate variety offers families a chocolate whole grain cereal that is a "healthier option than many other chocolate cereal choices".

Citing figures calculated in November 2012, she said that Weetabix with Chocolate contained the lowest average value of sugar compared to other chocolate cereals on the market.

She said with 17.9g of sugar per 100g compared to an average of 31.01g the Weetabix product had around 40% less sugar than the average chocolate flavored cereal.
 "It’s also important to remember that Weetabix Chocolate comes with built-in portion control," she said, referencing the biscuit form of the cereal.  Taste twist Along with the re-name, the chocolate variant has also been reformulated to include a vanilla taste.  "Consumer research indicated our customers wanted a slightly different taste. We’re constantly developing our products and talking to customers about ways we can improve… After testing out a variety of recipes we found that the winning flavor combination was chocolate with the added taste sensation of vanilla flavors," the spokesperson said.  Source: Kacey Culliney, 12-March-2013
www.bakeryandsnacks.com

Jacob's Oddities voted 'Savoury Snack Product of the Year 2013'

United Biscuits brand Jacob’s Oddities has been voted the Savory Snack Product of the Year 2013 from a 10,000-strong consumer survey.Its savory biscuit product Jacob’s Oddities was launched in the UK one year ago and is now worth £9.1m ($13.7m), according to United Biscuits.

"We’re really pleased to have received this recognition for Jacob’s Oddities, especially as it’s coming directly from our consumers. We’ve worked hard to ensure the product resonates with the growing needs of consumers and as a result we’ve successfully recruited younger consumers into the savory biscuit aisle and achieved the Savory Snack Product of the Year Award for 2013,"said Gerry Roads, marketing director of Savory Biscuits at United Biscuits UK.

United Biscuits recently extended the range to include additional flavors in multipacks, sharing bags and ‘handy packs’ in some varieties

Source: www.bakeryandsnacks.com
08.03.2013

UK Consumers think that private labels and national brands are the same

British consumers continue to believe that private label products are the same as those from national brands –but in different packaging, according to new research from Canadean.  

The market researcher said that despite pledges from many food and drink manufacturers not to produce private label versions of their products, 44% of UK consumers still thought that private label and national brand foods were made in the same factory. In addition, it found that 59% of consumers thought that advertising costs were the only reason national brands were more expensive.

 

 

"This will be a significant blow for branded manufacturers who look to differentiate from store-own products by promoting attributes such as brand authenticity, heritage and expertise in manufacturing," said Canadean research manager Emma Herbert. 

 

 

Canadean conducted the research among 2,000 UK consumers in February this year. It found that the perception of equal quality was particular strong for tinned foods, for which 70% of shoppers thought private label versions were just as good or better than their branded equivalents.

 

 

"Although perceptions of the quality of private label products have been improving for decades, these findings show that shoppers now believe they can actually get their preferred brands for a cheaper price because it is presented in supermarket style branded packaging," Herbert said.

However, consumers did prefer to buy branded products in some categories, the researcher found, including alcoholic beverages and personal care products. For private label beer, for example, more than half of respondents (52%) said they thought private label products were inferior to national brands.

Herbert said that perception of quality was linked to perception of the level of expertise required to produce particular items.

"Therefore brand loyalty will be higher in these categories meaning that shoppers will be less inclined to switch to cheaper alternatives,"she said.

 

 

 

Source: www.foodnavigator.com

By: Caroline Scott-Thomas, 05.03.2013

Supermarkets capitalising on the 'treat' mission

Never one to miss out on the opportunity for 'event-based' selling / merchandising, Wholefoods USA bring their 'Red Carpet Entertaining' display front of store in the days leading up to last week's Oscars. Only one of the products was on promotion, this display was about 'creating' a reason, or occasion, for shoppers to purchase premium products with clever merchandising and in-store theatre.

 

 

 

Source: Him! 08.03.2013