The quest for affordability is driving consumers to seek out better deals no matter the cost. However, counterintuitive that statement may seem, it’s spot on. Even as the price of gas continues to soar ever higher, 75 percent of shoppers still visit five or more stores to meet their CPG needs.
Consumers’ cross channel search for the best deals clearly underscores the mindset of today’s CPG shopper—a mindset in which consumers are living with less and making purchases deliberately and cautiously.
Consumers’ attitudes and behaviors today differ rather significantly from days gone by, when many Americans lived “outside their means,” drawing upon credit to keep up with the Joneses. Today’s attitudes and behaviors were shaped by prolonged economic downturn, and by the longest and deepest recession to hit this country since the Great Depression. Today, a full year after the recession has passed, aftershocks are still shaking the nation. Key economic indicators, including unemployment and inflation, remain less than favorable, and, consequently, consumers are firmly entrenched in savings mode.
Today, one in five shoppers is finding it difficult to afford necessary groceries. Consumers need to find an affordable solution to this problem, and that will affect the CPG industry.
During our recent webinar, entitled “Times & Trends: Channel Migration Webinar,” I revealed my thoughts about the ways CPG companies will see this challenge manifest itself, including the following:
- Channel lines are blurring at the department level as competition for share of food and beverage spending intensifies, and as retailers across channels work to protect and grow share of health and beauty spending
- Supercenters have lost share across a number of key departments and consumer segments, but supercenter marketers are shifting gears in an effort to turn the tides while simultaneously entering new formats and markets
- Retailers across a majority of channels are growing share across their heaviest shoppers; drug channel performance is particularly strong—this channel is capturing share of spending from the heaviest shoppers across all competing channels
If you missed yesterday’s webinar, you can download the full “Channel Migration: A Quest for Affordability” report. And, make sure to follow @SymphIRI on twitter for updated webinar schedules and even more insights.
