New Survey Reveals Shopping Habits.
WOMEN take command of the grocery trolley in 2011, a new shopping survey has revealed. According to Carat Ireland, 65% of women surveyed make grocery shopping decisions, compared to 33% of men.
A Carat spokesperson told Retail News that we still live in an age of gender-orientated marketing. “You only have to look at the content of most advertising on television, on print, and even in radio ads: using the typical housewife as part of advertising hasn’t gone away,” said Peter McPartlin, Strategic Director. “It’s part and parcel of the way in which creative agencies tend to direct grocery brand advertising. Without saying it directly, but through visual shorthand, this is aimed at you: the gatekeeper within the household.” Carat’s summer survey revealed a number of trends regarding in-store advertising. 68% of shoppers said that promotional end-of-aisle displays, on-shelf ads and free samples, were among the most noticeable formats of in-store advertising. Trolley ads, floor stickers, and entrance posters are less effective, they remarked. McPartlin believes these methods should not be discounted, as they work subliminally. “People never acknowledge they are influenced by advertising. A lot of people, when asked, say they saw advertisements for a product on television. Yet the ad may never have been on TV. This particular media [floor stickers, trolley ads, etc.] certainly has a role. The survey is more of an indication as to where people rank their influences...” Shoppers described instant and hasslefree promotions as the most effective sales techniques. ‘Buy one; get one free’ is the most influential of all, motivating 97% of shopping purchases. Money-off coupons are particularly effective amongst female shoppers and ‘instant price discounts’ are likely to motivate 95% of purchases.
The survey revealed that private label products are still popular. 86% of the 21% of shoppers who switched to private label brands in recent years continue to buy these products.
Tea and alcohol brands have the highest consumer loyalty: tea brands merit 52% loyalty; alcohol commands 43%. “When you think of something like Barry’s Tea or Lyons Tea, they’ve been around for a long time,” said McPartlin. “There have been a few pretender brands trying to take share, especially in the tea category, and have been beaten out of it. The traditional choice for people, for generations, has been Lyons and Barry’s, and it’s very difficult to shake that, no matter how much advertising you throw at it. The same applies to alcoholic drinks: whether Bulmers, Guinness or Carlsberg, it’s very hard for a new beer brand to break into those particular categories, because of the heritage and stock of brand equity.” On the other hand, Carat’s survey found that dairy products have the lowest customer loyalty. For further information or a presentation on this research, please contact Dael Wood at Carat Ireland on 01 2712100.
