Nearly half of food and beverage category shoppers and almost 60 percent of health/beauty and household goods category shoppers purchase their preferred brand even when a less-expensive alternative is available, with many shoppers using coupons and price promotions simply to justify purchasing preferred brands. This is according to the initial findings of a shopper marketing study released today by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Booz & Company and SheSpeaks. Titled Shopper Marketing 3.0: Unleashing the Next Wave of Value, the study is based on survey data collected from 3,600 shoppers across the food and beverage, household products, and health and beauty categories and across multiple retail formats.
“This research shows us that even in a recession, more often than not, shoppers are making purchase decisions based on factors other than price,” said Brian Lynch, director of sales and sales promotion for GMA. “This key finding reinforces the notion that there is significant opportunity to influence shopper behavior by having the right messages in place along the entire path to purchase.”
The study also revealed significant differences across product categories that make specific shopper marketing tactics more effective. For example, shelf signage and end-cap displays are nearly twice as effective in driving impulse purchases in the food and beverage category. This is reflected in a much higher incidence of impulse purchases for food and beverage shoppers (73 percent of shoppers making at least one impulse purchase per trip) as compared to the household products and health and beauty categories (41 percent and 39 percent, respectively).
“This new study captures real consumer insight and behavior, giving GMA and its members a much deeper understanding of the shopping experience and what influences purchases both in and out of the store,” said Aliza Freud, founder and CEO of SheSpeaks. “By enlisting an online community of consumers as part of this study, we uncovered significant opportunities to influence purchases throughout the buying process. For instance, we learned that more than three-quarters of shoppers conduct research, often for an hour or more, before they shop and that 41 percent of items purchased were brands that the shopper had a strong preference for before entering the store.”
“Most CPG manufacturers have not yet aligned shopper marketing initiatives with other marketing capabilities that influence shoppers along the entire path to purchase such as trade promotions, relationship marketing and brand advertising,” said Matthew Egol, partner in Booz’s Consumer, Media & Digital practice. “The lack of alignment leads to disconnected marketing messages, wasted spending, and missed opportunities to drive purchase. For shopper marketing to fulfill its potential, CPG companies must manage it as a strategic capability that is integrated throughout the marketing value chain.”
The report also cites the need to identify shopper marketing effectiveness measures that will help companies focus resources on the most successful shopper marketing tactics. While there is no silver bullet for addressing the measurement gap, models are emerging, with leading companies studying the incremental profit impact from shopper marketing programs and building dashboard metrics that gauge shopper marketing’s sustained impact on brand equity.
An executive summary of Shopper Marketing 3.0: Unleashing the Next Wave of Value is available online at www.gmaonline.org/publications. The complete report will be available in December 2009.
About GMA
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) represents the world’s leading food, beverage and consumer products companies. The Association promotes sound public policy, champions initiatives that increase productivity and growth and helps ensure the safety and security of consumer packaged goods through scientific excellence. The GMA board of directors is comprised of chief executive officers from the Association’s member companies. The $2.1 trillion food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry employs 14 million workers, and contributes over $1 trillion in added value to the nation’s economy. For more information, visit the GMA Web site at www.gmaonline.org.
About Booz & Company
Booz & Company is a leading global management consulting firm, helping the world’s top businesses and organizations. Its founder, Edwin Booz, defined the profession when he established the first management consulting firm in 1914. Today, with more than 3,300 people in more than 60 offices around the world, Booz & Company brings foresight and knowledge, deep functional expertise, and a practical approach to building capabilities and delivering real impact. Booz & Company works closely with its clients to create and deliver essential advantage. Booz & Company works across the senior management agenda on issues such as growth strategy, product and service innovation, marketing and sales effectiveness, operations strategy, organization and change, mergers and restructuring and technology strategy. The firm’s Consumer, Media & Digital practice serves clients across the marketing and media ecosystem, ranging from consumer packaged goods to retailers to e-commerce to television networks to print media to online pure plays. For Booz & Company’s management magazine strategy+business, visit www.strategy-business.com. Visit www.booz.com to learn more about Booz & Company.
About SheSpeaks
SheSpeaks, the leading insights and word of mouth marketing network, is an online community of consumers that desire an opportunity to voice their opinions and influence the brands, products and services they use. At Shespeaks.com, members gain access to products and services, and a forum to offer their honest feedback directly to the companies that create them. For participating brands, including Garnier, Heinz, Food Network, Philips, AOL and more, SheSpeaks offers a tremendous opportunity to spark consumer’s interest, obtain candid feedback, grow word-of-mouth awareness and build long-term brand advocates. Clients also work with SheSpeaks to facilitate branded experiences, such as SheSpeaks home parties. For more information, visit www.shespeaks.com/clients.
