Dollar stores are seeing tremendous growth thanks to shoppers’ new addiction to deals. Leslie Eaton’s article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, “Dollar Stores Keep Trucking”, takes a look at the phenomenon that we expect will stick around after this holiday season passes. As we saw not only in our recent report on holiday shopping rituals, which Ms. Eaton refers to in her article, but also in a previous report, “The New Path to Purchase: An Escalation of Channel & Consumption Migration ”, shoppers have cut back on the number of channels they patronize, concentrating on stores known for lower prices, visiting stores less frequently and spending less per trip.
SymphonyIRI suggests to manufacturers and retailers that these learned coping behaviors are here to stay and that managers must continue to embrace strategies that accommodate this significant revision in shopper attitudes and behaviors. CPG leaders are being challenged more than ever to meet the demands around price and value, with now an even smaller margin for error. CPG marketers have an opportunity to step up to the plate and position themselves as a critical haven for shoppers navigating for value and affordability. More than ever, successful CPG marketers will need to keep a close watch on even subtle channel migration trends among shoppers and adjust their product, pricing, assortment and merchandising strategies in near real time to remain competitive.
