CHICAGO, July 26, 2007 – Facing slow industry growth and intensifying competition as alternative outlets stake a bigger claim on consumer spending, CPG retailers are on a quest for the next big thing. A new global study from Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) addresses this quest by presenting a compelling new approach to merchandising fueled by a deeper level of consumer insight that few retailers are leveraging today. The Times & Trends report, “Marketing to the Multi-Tasking Consumer,” illustrates the power of understanding consumer behavior and preferences across each of the three consumer roles – end-user, shopper and buyer – and how to parlay that insight into targeted merchandising strategies that drive trip frequency and basket growth.
“This research uncovers an interesting paradigm – essentially the flip side of being all things to all people – being more meaningful to the most meaningful shoppers,” said IRI Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Salzman. “It takes a deep understanding of the ‘multiple personalities’ of consumers in order for retail marketers to get an edge. These findings will empower marketers to develop strategies targeting the specific shopping trips that offer the greatest potential for their stores. With the right store layouts, assortment and promotions, retailers can own discrete consumer trips, delivering a whole new growth platform.”
As highlighted throughout this report, consumer roles are universal across markets and categories, but behavior within these roles will vary depending upon market conditions (eg. retail structure and economic trends) and category dynamics (eg. brand concentration and brand-building investment). For instance, within beverages, while a majority of many non-alcoholic beverage category sales are derived from pantry stocking trips, a high proportion of beer, wine, spirits sales occur on quick trips. As a consumer’s mindset, their path through the store, and product mix within the basket vary substantially across these trip types, so will optimal merchandising strategies.
Through case studies and examples, the report illustrates how a deep understanding of consumer shopper behavior will result in the right promotions to maximize lift. In the frozen dinner category, for example, pantry-stocking trips deliver significantly greater sales than other shopping trip types. Since consumers purchase multiple units and varieties when pantry stocking, discounts on multi-unit purchases offered on multiple varieties are the way to go.
By partnering with manufacturers to understand shopper behavior across major categories and brands, both retailers and manufacturers stand to gain big.
Report highlights include:
- Consumers fill three critical roles — end-user, shopper and buyer — all of which are interrelated and must be addressed in marketing and merchandising plans; while the roles are universal, behavior within them varies across global markets and categories
- Multiple end-users in a household influence purchase decisions, but the primary shopper makes the final call; as shoppers are more price-sensitive when buying for others versus themselves, optimal price, promotion and premium product opportunity will vary accordingly
- Consumers’ trip missions, including pantry stocking, fill-in, special purpose and quick trips, heavily influence store choice
- A category’s unique trip mix will dictate distinct product adjacency, promotion, and advertising requirements to grow category sales and attract and build target trip types
- Differences in trip mission mix across countries illustrate the impact of retail industry structure on existing shopping patterns and the potential for new formats to shake things up
- Brand predetermination, or the extent to which brand decisions are made before shopping versus in front of the shelf, varies widely by category and country, significantly impacting in-store promotion opportunity
About the Report
The report is available from IRI, the leading global provider of consumer, shopper, and retail market intelligence and insights for the consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail and healthcare industries. The findings of this report were compiled based on IRI Shopper Insights™ and IRI Primary Shopper Research services. For more information about the report, visit http://us.infores.com/page/content_access?t=2&i=34.
About Information Resources, Inc.
IRI is the world’s leading provider of consumer, shopper, and retail market intelligence and insights supporting 95 percent of the FORTUNE Global 500 consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail and healthcare companies. Only IRI offers the unique combination of integrated market information, automated and predictive analytics, innovative enabling technologies, and domain expertise. With IRI, leading retailers and manufacturers are able to quickly discover breakthrough insights driving smarter decisions and actions across the enterprise for breakthrough results. Companies around the world depend on IRI for improved productivity, stronger brands, and dramatic revenue growth. For more information, visit http://us.infores.com.
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IRI CONTACTS:
John McIndoe
E-mail: john.mcindoe@infores.com
Phone: (312) 474-3862
Fax: (312) 474-2512
Shelley Hughes
E-mail: shelley.hughes@infores.com
Phone: (312) 474-3675
Fax: (312) 474-2512