Shopper Culture

A Marketing Guidepost in 2018

Ringing in the New Year offers a fresh opportunity to pause and reflect each year. As campaigns vie for the attention of consumers everywhere who are looking to get fit, read more, and practice better self-care, the question begs to be asked: what can we, as marketers, do better? Surely there are plenty of existential answers to be explored, but quite simply, are we reaching our shoppers where they are, emotionally as well as physically?

A quick review of 2017 reveals many shifts in the way consumers experience content. Instagram allows for multi-photo compilations, Twitter loosened its character limit constraints, and photo filters continue to evolve across platforms. Social media users afraid of missing out on limited-time content had to face that ephemeral “stories” are no longer ownable by Snapchat alone, but compete for views on Instagram and Facebook as well. If that wasn’t enough, brand content is evolving to a greater degree of personalization within stories too.

Diving deeper into the trends, though, there seem to be greater undercurrents of change at play than simply shortened attention spans. In an era of cultural awareness and individual empowerment, the self-expression of consumers transcends the language that we have been using to target them. They are not simply “Millennials” or “Moms” – their identity includes an intersectionality that overlaps race, gender, sexuality, and class. With this search for self-expression, there is a growing hunger for brands that relate to their life experience in an authentic way.

Social On The Race To Prove Effectiveness

Ads are always designed to sell something but tracking whether or not they actually led to a sale can be tricky sometimes, especially when they are social media platforms. 

And now Facebook, of all platforms, is about to change all that. 

Now Facebook ads can include interactive maps of store locations to help shoppers find the physical store. In addition, advertisers will be able to track views to physical visits. 

Snapchat, too is getting in the mix and added several executives earlier this May to manage their ad tracking partnership developments with Oracle and Google. 

The Unconscious Shopper: Part 1

If you’ve spent any time around market research, you know how often people say one thing, but do another. There are many quirks of the brain that influence this behavior – biases and heuristics and the limits of memory. In this new series of posts, we will showcase examples of how human psychology and behavior affect the way we shop.

Topic #1: Framing

The Framing effect states that people will react differently to a particular choice depending on how it’s “framed up”: what it’s compared to and how it’s compared. Here’s an example most of us are familiar with: gasoline sales.

Scenario 1: Imagine you go to the gas station to fill up your car and see on the big sign that the price of a gallon of regular is $1.50. You pull in and slide your credit card, and then you notice the price per gallon on the pump display reads $1.60 per gallon. Confused, you look back at the station pricing sign and see the fine print: prices are for cash only. If you are like most people, you’re annoyed and feel deceived.

Amazon Dash: Push-Button Ordering From Your Laundry Room

Three years ago, Red Tomato Pizza made an ingenious little fridge magnet that let you order pizza with the click of a button, via a bluetooth connection to your smartphone.

Now Amazon is getting into the game. Their new Dash Buttons let you order common household products (this time through your home Wi-Fi) with a single click.

Our Group Director of Mobile, Ben Kennedy, weighs in on this service over at Digiday. "Will Dash transform the future of shopping?" Find out what he says in the article.

Social Shoppers are Happy Shoppers

One of the many links uncovered by Integer's  trip type research, presented today at the Path to Purchase Institute Shopper Marketing Institute,  was between a shopper's approach to a trip and how they felt about their purchases. E.g., when shoppers thought to bring a friend along they typically felt excited or happy about overspending (figure 1). However, when shoppers go it alone they're more likely to feel guilty or annoyed by the same behavior of buying more than they planned (figure 2).

Trip Types From A Shopper's Perspective

Most trip type analysis is done based on what's purchased. Through proprietary qualitative and quantitative research, Integer looked at trip types from a shopper perspective. What motivated the trip in the first place? What was the mood or mindset? How did they plan and prepare? 

 

At the upcoming Path to Purchase Institute Shopper Marketing Summit (March 16-18), Integer's Sara Manke will be sharing findings and implications from the study.  Attendees will learn:

The Color of #thedress: Shopping Just Got Weirdly Public

When Tumblr user swiked posted the photo of #thedress, she caught an innocent snapshot of a classic shopping dilemma: did I buy the right thing? 

Cecilia Bleasdale was asking for advice on what to wear to her daughter's wedding. She had no idea that the poor quality of the photo would set off a global debate about what color the dress really is (here's a good quality product shot). The original Tumblr post got 73 million views. At its peak it got 140,000 views per minute.

In China, The Precision Planner Spends More Money on Fewer Items

The Precision Planner epitomizes the informed Chinese shopper.  He tends to spend more money on fewer items, because he has done the research and focuses on premium brands, product quality, source, and the integrity of ingredients.  

Impulse buys are a foreign concept to him, and he is 233% more likely tan other segments to stray from a purchase simply because he could not find the exact product and brand that he had planned on buying. Sales promoters, bundle-packs, and even free samples aren’t likely to convince him to buy.  He knows what he wants, and will not have it any other way.  To learn better about how to influence his decision making, download the study, Checkout China, here.

Contributed by: Integer Shanghai 

In China, The Experience Lover Spends 10% More per Trip

The Experience Lover is the only segment of Chinese shoppers that spends more than the overall average. The Experience Lover is the most valuable Chinese shopper segment at RMB 12.5 Billion a year.  She spends more time and more money per trip than any other segment, and that’s because shopping is her hobby – and she loves it. It’s both a way of relieving stress and getting her fill of fun for the day. 

She loves promotions, and she’s 14% more likely to stray from her original purchase to another brand that offers a promotion than the other archetypes.

Sensorial effects that combine everything, sight, smell, sound, taste, and feel, provide the key to gaining her patronage, as just under 50% of her purchases are impulse buys. To get to know the Experience Lover, download the study, Checkout China, here.

Contributed by: Integer Shanghai 

In China, Experiential Customers Become the Majority Over Rational Customers

The two experiential shopper archetypes now collectively constitute 54% of China’s Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) category.  A vital reason for the failure of many brands to engage shoppers comes from this disrupting new shift from rational to experiential.  

Traditionally, Chinese shoppers have exhibited rational thought processes and behavior when it comes to spending their money.  However, with increasing disposable income, shoppers require more than just the excitement and functionality of the products they buy. They also want their shopping experience to be entertaining and fulfilling.

This rise in the experiential Chinese shopper is driven by growth of the Experience Lover (27%) and Precision Planner (27%) archetypes and the decline of the Time Saver (25%) and Strategic Spender (21%) archetypes.  Discover the insights about these four Chinese shopper archetypes by downloading the study, Checkout China, here. 

Contributed by: Integer Shanghai 

Could the #Icebucketchallenge Change How Brands Think of Cause Marketing?

The #icebucketchallenge has gone viral, reaching our family, friends, neighbors and celebrities a like. Even some companies are getting in on the action, including Integer. 

Supporting causes not only resonates with us as people but also as shoppers. It can help shoppers choose between brands at shelf and increase brand affinity. 

For decades, brands have been using causes in shopper marketing to sway shopper decisions. But could this recent #icebucketchallenge change the way brands view cause marketing? Instead of donating money or product for every shopper purchase, could brands invite shoppers to participate in their donation efforts? And in turn would that affect shoppers' decisions?    

Read more about the affects of cause marketing on shopper behavior in the Cause issue of The Checkout.

Radical Retail Ideas

Stephen Colbert's funny Cyber Monday response to Amazon's drone delivery idea, what he wants to call "Spending Habit Opportunity Places". Do you think he might just be on to something?

The Colbert Report
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Why Gluten Free?

Over the past several years gluten free eating has increased dramatically. One in three adults in the US say they want to reduce or eliminate the amount of gluten in their diet. However there’s a lot of shopper confusion around ‘Why should I go gluten free?’, ‘Is it really healthier?’ and ‘Will it help my headaches, stomach pains,______ (fill in the blank)?  What’s driving this phenomenon and who should be jumping on the bandwagon?   

Going gluten free changes the way people shop. It’s imperative to check every label for “hidden gluten” disguised behind ingredient lists containing natural flavors or maltodextrin. What was once convenience food (pizza, fast food, etc.) is now off limits. Eating gluten free requires an increased amount of planning to ensure availability and choice. The perimeter of the store is the most shopped by those eating gluten free since it provides the safest, easiest, and quickest options.  Shoppers also employ a “hierarchy of label reading” when it comes to finding gluten free products in-store. First, they look for shelf labels, then front of pack labeling, back of pack labeling, ingredient list call-outs and then finally they resort to reading the entire ingredient list. It is obvious how shopping for gluten-free items can take twice as long!

Retailers are responding to shopper demand by implementing different store formats, either going with a “store within a store” concept or integrating gluten free products throughout the store with shelf labeling. 75% of retailers support gluten free in some way, by offering gluten free bakery goods or carrying gluten free packaged food.   

How have you seen the gluten free trend influence your brand or retail space?

Sources: Celiac.com, 2013; Supermarket News Poll, 2013

The Checkout: Beauty Edition

The Checkout: Beauty Edition explores how female shoppers interact with the beauty category and dives into the nuances of specific product types. The report analyzes which products women deem essential, their brand loyalty versus exploratory behaviors, and how they research the category. For instance, women claim to go straight to the store when they need to make a purchase, but they do in fact research the category online (i.e., beauty blogs)—just in a more ongoing and recreational mind-set. As marketers, how can we make it easier for them to jump from consumer to shopper mode while they engage with the beauty category in the Pre-Tail^® phase?

To read more about how women shop the beauty category, click here for the latest edition of The Checkout. Or here to explore pasts issues of The Checkout.

Myth or Truth? Don’t Grocery Shop on an Empty Stomach

With the proliferate amount of weight loss advice circulating in the media today it can be confusing for shoppers to know what to believe. “Don’t skip meals!”, “Hunger may actually be thirst!”, “Don’t grocery shop on an empty stomach!” — we often hear these age-old pieces of advice, but are any of them actually true?

Two researchers at Cornell University decided to put the old adage “don’t grocery shop on an empty stomach” to the test. They wanted to know, is it actually detrimental to those looking to cut calories and loose weight?

They conducted a study with two different shopper groups, one group had not eaten for five hours and the other group ate a snack right before grocery shopping. They found that both groups bought a comparable quantity of groceries, however those who shopped while hungry did indeed pick more high-calorie foods. This helps explain the compulsion we often have around the checkout section of the store. At the end of our shopping trip we are at our weakest (tired and hungry) and have one more chance to reach for a calorie dense, pick-me-up snack such as candy or soda. Even if you have a shopping list to help keep your trip on task, chances are you will deviate from it to satisfy your rumbling stomach. 

Article Source: New York Times 

Photo Source: ABC News