Shopper Culture

The Clipping Point

Promomagaine.com just came out with an interesting article about coupon cutters. It discusses a study that was recently conducted that found people still prefer getting coupons from the Sunday paper rather than printing them from the Internet. However, significant growth has occurred in terms of using the Internet to find coupons. Now, 11 percent of households get coupons from the Internet, up by 83 percent since 2005. However, the Sunday paper is still the more popular source; 53 percent of people get coupons from it, up by 8 percent. Culturally speaking, as we enter a recession and the wealth disparity grows, an increase overall in coupon clipping makes sense.

However, while the Sunday newspaper remains the most popular source (perhaps due to habit and tradition), there has been a growth in marrying coupons with technology available through services such as Shortcuts and Cellfire. These services enable consumers to find and choose relevant deals offered by a specific retailer. Once chosen, they are sent to the consumer’s loyalty card and appear at check out. Shortcuts is web-based, while Cellfire informs consumers about deals via cell phones. These services add convenience and save paper, all while tailoring coupons to consumers.

The article also notes that coupon cutters spend more money on groceries, 114 dollars per week, while the general population spends about 110 dollars per week. Coupon cutters also buy a wider variety of products. From a cultural standpoint, this is interesting. Coupons are a price promotion, so why is it that coupon cutters spend more on average on groceries? It makes sense that they buy a wider variety because they buy what is on sale. This statistic begs the question, what is the benefit of coupon cutting? Is it about getting more for their money to care for a larger household efficiently?  Is it about getting a deal, meaning could they be trying products they might not normally buy just because they have a coupon? Maybe it is a hobby, maybe it is a craft skill and only those that are the best at it are actually saving money. It begs the question…what is the true power of a 50 cent off piece of low stock paper?

 Overall, there is a significant rise in Internet couponing. The trend will only continue to grow as people become more accustomed to technology in everyday life. People will begin to change their habits as the benefits of services of Shortcuts and Cellfire make more and more sense. So, many people now get their news from the web. Will coupons follow suit? How much longer will print newspapers be in circulation, anyways?

Submitted by: Claire Foss

What's for dinner? Smell this screen.

There’s more than meets the eye to this digital signage system being tested in a mall in Japan.  Think Smell-O-Vision, only for advertising.

The "Scent-emitting LCD Display System" emits scents that correspond to the material shown on the 42-inch LCD display.  Although the system has the capability to emit a variety of scents, it’s currently being used to share “appetizing” aromas meant to draw mall shoppers to the unit.  The hope is that they’ll then grab one of the coupon books at the kiosk and head into the restaurant being advertised--or should we say “Smell-O-Vised”?  How about “Smellvertised”?

It seems that NTT Communications, the makers of this system could be on to something here.  According to Martin Lindstrom, ex-CEO to numerous marketing agencies, author, and all-around branding expert, “marketers can no longer rely only on a consumer's senses of sight and sound to make their products stand out.” Lindstrom asserts that in order to create “buzz and long-term customer loyalty, marketers will also need to promote their products through touch, taste and especially smell.”  He goes on to say that scent is the sense most directly tied to human emotion.

There are endless possibilities and implications to the use of this gadget.  Here are a few:

1.    Unmanned demos:  No longer having to pay a person to give in-store demos means a more cost efficient option for manufacturers.  Could the perfume ladies at Nordstrom be out of a job?
2.    Reduced product breakage/spillage:  Now, shoppers won’t need to open the top of that laundry detergent to see whether they like that new scent.  Which means less cleanups on aisle three.
3.    Experiential Marketing:  Adding that extra sensory experience gives a manufacturer that much more opportunity to create a brand experience.  In the retail world of stop/hold/close, adding the sense of smell will help encourage the shopper to do all three.

The big watch-out here is that the scent emitted, especially in the case of food, must truly be appetizing and true to the product it’s advertising.  If it isn’t, the advertiser risks losing the sale—or even worse, the shopper buys the product and is disappointed.

We’ll keep an eye on this technology as it develops.  For one, we hope to see it get smaller—as of now it’s not really applicable to many uses outside of a large shopping mall due to its size.

- Contributed by Amanda Moorhouse

New Digital Signage Brings Dynamic Content To Shelf

In an ever-changing retail marketplace, both the brand and the retailer are striving to enhance the shopper’s experience. Technology is playing a growing role in this, not only due to its dynamic nature but also its inherent efficiency. One such technology is ZBD’s epop solution, an electronic point of purchase technology that could redefine retail signage.

A zero-power LCD display, this small shelf-level option brings messaging via high resolution and excellent readability in any light and conditions. The technology provides shoppers with information on product and pricing and can be updated wirelessly across the enterprise, region or store level. The displays are updated via ZBD's Bounce communicator, which fully integrates simply with major retail technology platforms. What’s most amazing is that the technology requires power only during updates which helps drive low cost of ownership and has a minimum life expectancy of five years.

With growing competition within retail, multi-channel shopping trends and turbulence in the economy, the technology could spur some changes in the retailscape. For example, if this technology enables retailers to eliminate labor involved in placing and checking paper labels, will its benefits translate to the shopper by way of cost savings? Will it be capable of enhancing shopper experience and loyalty because the available information is more accurate and easily noticed? What will be interesting is if the technology is leveraged for communicating with shopper on a brand level and how it will impact marketing at retail over the next few years.

- Contributed by Priyanka Sah

Happynomics

Check out Integer Des Moines' latest post on "Happynomics" in the Integer Pulse section under Our Thinking. Happynomics explores an insight that consumers who have a greater sense of belonging are happy, confident, and thus more willing to open their wallet, which in a recession-scared economy is no easy task. Find out which brands are creating a "culture of happiness" when you walk through their doors, creating feel-good, inclusive experiences that create a sense of belonging and increase spending potential.

Sprechen sie Future?

The Germans are onto something here, and it's called Future Store. This new-age supermarket employs a collection of new technologies to help make the shopping experience efficient and entertaining: shop via cell phone, stop by the intelligent freezer, play an interactive game, or simply take product advice from a roaming robot. And rather than cash, check, or charge, feel free to checkout via fingerprint or RFID.

As we look to the future (and the Future Store), it’s essential that we continue to examine the role of marketing in this brave new world. Sure the shopping experience is getting easier, but how do we ensure that our products remain the top consideration? What other technologies can we bring to the Future Store to further enhance the shopping experience? But most importantly, where can we get robots of our own?

- Contributed by Craig Pelz

White Paper: Women and consumer electronics: A love story

Our team in Dallas have just produced a new white paper based on the Consumer Electronics Study undertaken in 2007.  The paper looks at the needs and wants of the female shopper in the Consumer Electronics category and offers some thoughts on how to effectively engage them.  Click here to download the paper.

Advertising - recycled

Given all the conversation surrounding paper versus plastic at the store, we thought this was a great approach to creating reusable shopping bags.  The Commercial Drive Business Society in Vancouver is recycling the street banners it creates for use in the shopping neighbourhood into shopping bags once their campaigns are over.  The bags are sold with the proceeds going to developing new green spaces within the neighbourhood.  Saves the banners going to the landfill making them more sustainable and creates a limited edition, unique bag - giving shoppers a touch of exlusivity.  A great use of old messaging.