Shopper Culture

Shopper Marketing at Grocery

The National Grocers Association (NGA) has recently released its 2011 Consumer Survey Report. There are some interesting bits of data within the report that speak to the nation's cultural attitudes towards grocery shopping, and some interesting pointers in how to succeed with shopper marketing on the grocery channel.

Researchers found numerous factors that impact our decisions on store choices. Locally grown produce is an important factor for 86% of the respondents in this study. Yet only 61% of the same sample rate the store they currently use as being excellent or good at providing locally grown produce. Interestingly, 79% also claim to look for locally grown products when buying a new product for the first time. Yet only 50% eat locally grown products frequently (which is defined as more than three times a week).

It's a similar picture with organic produce. 68% claim that the availability of organic produce is very or
somewhat important to their choice of supermarket. 70% believe that their current supermarket choice is excellent or good at providing organic produce. A further 70% believe that organic is important to them when buying a new product for the first time. Yet only 42% eat organic products frequently (again, more than three times a week).

So, it looks like shoppers find the availability of locally grown and organic produce appealing, but we shouldn't expect them to buy it and eat it frequently.

Why might this be?

Ideas That Stick

Want to make sure your ideas stick? Want them to change your audience’s opinions or behavior and have a lasting impact? Then you need to communicate in a way that ensures people care. In Made to Stick, Chip Heath describes several principles that make ideas spread and “stick” in people’s minds: Simplicity (strip it down), Unexpectedness (disrupt expectations), Concreteness (explain with human actions), Credibility (carry credentials), Emotions (make ’em feel something) and Stories. 

A Simple Unexpected Concrete Credentialed Emotional Story can be repeated, and will be repeated, making your message more SUCCESsful with your shopper. Click here are some stick-worthy SUCCESs stories worth sharing in the latest edition of the Integer Pulse.

Subconscious Branding

Ever notice the crates that produce is stacked on? I usually don't. Then these caught my eye:

 

And these too:

Cute. Well-designed. And very evocative of antique produce labels like these. 

Do most people notice them? Probably not. But they're picked up in our peripheral vision and filed away somewhere in our minds. And when we do happen to notice them, they add an unexpected delight to our shopping trip and give us a clear sense of the Whole Foods sensibility.

MOST of our thinking is subconscious. In fact, the brain gets more done by 'automating' our tasks (driving a car is a perfect exmample of this). Shopping is no different. How do we use the subconscious in marketing to build brands and change behavior?

"Yeti's Best." Ha.

Data Transparency Can Encourage Participation and Improve Relations

I have recently fallen in love with ever-growing trend of discount and exclusive online wine clubs. One in particular, mywinesdirect.com, recently solicited my opinions in a survey, but more importantly, in the invite email, they demonstrated how they have been actively responding to the feedback they have received.

As you can see, they note where they are working on some areas (i.e. a loyalty program), have directly acted to others (i.e $0 shipping) and in cases where changes can't be made, they offer an explanation (i.e. point 6 about merlot selections). After reading this, I realized that immediately it made me think of them in comparison to other services I use and how much more positive I felt about their offering. It made me think, "they really listen to their users."  So, I immediately set about offer up my opinions in their survery. (The $20 credit didn't hurt either.)

More importantly, this got me thinking about all the data we collect as marketers and how it often gets treated.  At best, we are using to make informed decisions about our consumers/shoppers and maybe its feeding a CRM program. At worst, the data is getting store in a big machine somewhere, where no one is looking at it.  However, you don't often see companies letting consumers behind the data curtain to see what respondents ask for, and more importantly, what the company is doing about it. I found this a refreshing use of data to improve consumer/shopper relations.  How is your company using your data? 

New White Paper: Retail Loyalty Programs Today

What is loyalty? Is it something that can truly be achieved, or can we only incentivize shoppers one purchase at a time? Shopper marketing organizations must figure this out in order to bring more value to retailers.

In our new white paper, we take a closer look at the effectiveness of retailers' loyalty programs today and describe how they must evolve for tomorrow. Click here to download Retail Loyalty Programs Today: Not All Shoppers Are Created Equal. Including analysis of our Checkout data from over 30,000 respondents over the past two years, it explores the pitfalls and opportunities for loyalty programs through different shopper types.

 

Navigating The Path To Purchase

The Integer Group's Craig Elston and Paul Ballew, SVP and VP of Insight & Strategy, will be presenting on March 1 as part of the PMA's new online enrichment series, Navigating The Path To Purchase. Craig and Paul will be discussing the path to purchase as a strategic framework for effective shopper marketing. They will also be sharing findings from our ongoing quantitative shopper marketing study the Checkout. For more information on times and connecting to the webinar click here.

Is Your Brand Speaking To The Right Gender?

Most CPG brands talk to Mom. Historically, Mom has been the primary grocery shopper and decision maker. However, recent economic conditions have resulted in role-shifting among many American families as men were more adversely affected than women. (In December, the male unemployment rate was 9.4%, compared to 8.1 percent for women.) And, younger couples are blending traditional gender roles and are sharing responsibilities.

A survey by Yahoo late last year found that 51% of men aged 18-64 considered themselves the primary grocery shopper in their homes. Research from the IDDBA (International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association's What's In Store 2011 Reports Market Trends) found that “over 30% of men today are the primary grocery shopper” compared with 15% in 1985.

Whatever the actual percentage of men who are truly the primary grocery shopper, we do know that more men are making decisions at the shelf. And, they feel they are either being ignored as in-store communications speak to their female counterparts, or they are used as comedic relief in television advertising. In the Yahoo study, only 22-24% of men believed CPG messaging was directed to them. Are we willing to lose up to half of the shoppers in the store by speaking only to women? As an industry, it may be worthwhile to take a hard look at how men shop and what influences them in-store.

 

-Submitted by Amanda Parks, Dallas

Connecting With Gen Y Through Social Currency

While cash, debit, or credit have been used for decades to signify a retail transaction, social commerce calls for a different kind of currency. And social currency is the language of Gen Y.

• Erin Middleton just checked-in to Macy’s.
• Erin Middleton just bought an awesome new coat from @AnnTaylor
• Erin Middleton wants to share this Groupon for The Gap with you. 

These are just a few examples of activities that Gen-Yers frequently share with each other via Facebook, Twitter, Gowalla, Groupon, Foursquare, etc. And while this may be “oversharing” to past generations, to Gen Y, they are simple and instinctive behaviors that help them connect with the communities they desire to be a part of.

Retailers looking to reach Gen Y not only need to understand social behaviors and speak in social currency, but also need to be ready to put themselves on the backburner and recognize their advocates. Recognition goes a long way with Gen Y. And for this generation, successful social media is more about what a brand does than what it says or looks like.

Some simple things your brand could start doing today:

Five Things Sticking Around Post Recession

As the recession slowly winds down, what new realities have become “naturally sticky”? And by that we mean the changes that will have a lasting impact on shoppers’ opinions or behaviors. We’ve identified five “stickworthy” macrotrends every marketer should know about in 2011. Each one feeds into the other to affect brands, retailers and shoppers alike as they connect and reconnect within the Shopper Continuum™.

1. THE NEW BUSY
Routines have been shattered. One in 10 out of work means shopping is no longer... 

2. COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION
Borrowing has become big business. With a multitude of rental options for all, walking away... 

3. SHIFT TO THRIFT
The surge to save is huge. But it isn’t just about dollars — it’s also about saving energy...

4. REVOLVING DECORS
The winds of change are blowing sales your way. With shoppers sick and tired of...

5. “LUXYOURY”
Being rich has been reconfigured. It’s no longer only about having money: it's also about... 

Click here to read more on these 5 recession wind-down realities in the latest issue of the Integer Pulse.

Online Shopper Engagement: Good Deals Vs. Fostering Relationships

When it comes to online engagement with brands, online coupons were the most used interaction by shoppers; higher even than visiting brand Web sites. Within this category, Food brands led the surveyed categories with 21 percent of shoppers saying they had downloaded online coupons. Interestingly, a mixed bag of categories (Entertainment, Household Products, and Apparel) follow closely behind—showing that the Web-savvy shopper is looking for discounts across the board.

Where Does Social Media Fit In?

Increasing brands’ presence within the social media space is the cost of entry for many manufactuers, so it’s interesting that only 6 percent of consumers overall reported following a brand via this channel. It’s not surprising to see Entertainment brands (movies, music, books, etc.) lead social interaction as they are often popular topics shared on the Web. However, it’s at a meager 4 percent of social share for all consumers. Even apparel brands, which could potentially offer some amount of social badging and status, reach less than 2 percent of consumers.

For more information on the converging worlds for digital and retail, download the latest issue of The Checkout here.

New Tech Players Lighting Up the Retail Space

At the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), an unlikely retail player emerged. Fulton Innovation, using their eCoupled technology, showed a surprising transformation to packaged goods:

 

eCoupled is a wireless power solution. Fulton quickly realized that their technology has infinite uses: from charging devices to heating food to making your packaging more eye-catching – they created these custom-lit cereal boxes for pennies on the dollar.

As we all look for ways to make our goods pop off the shelves into people’s carts, I can see this being the next wave of in-store marketing. While it might not increase trial of familiar products (new look, same great taste), this could be a great way to attract attention to a new product – or to a product with low shelf presence. Either way it will definitely make consumers stop and take a second look.

- Submitted by Desereé DeZalia, Dallas

Passport To Purchase: M-Commerce

 

As online technology and services develop, mobile online technology and services of the same kind are sure to follow. This is true of mobile commerce. E-commerce has grown significantly over the past 10 years; and today, mobile commerce not only offers shoppers the same browser-based purchasing services via mobile, but in fact, allows more seamless crossing of channels from digital shopping to in-store shopping.

Click here to download our latest white paper, Passport To Purchase: M-Commerce, and read more abut the mobile evolution and its implications on CPGs, cross-channel approaches, target demographics, purchase behaviors, and more.

The Evolving Multi-Cultural Shopper

The importance of multi-cultural shopping in the U.S. is increasing as companies make the effort to understand Hispanic shoppers and their key drivers. The U.S. Hispanic shopper is evolving and adapting, requiring more creativity and engagement from brands and retailers in order to provide value to this segment and ultimately grow business.

We published some information on this important area of U.S. Shopping Culture in a recent edition of The Checkout. The research examines the Hispanic shopper and how their path to purchase has evolved. You can download the Hispanic edition of The Checkout here. 

In an unusual and blatant plug from us here at ShopperCulture, The Integer Group has recently launched a new website promoting the services of Velocidad, the Hispanic Promotional, Retail and Shopper Marketing division of the Group. Velocidad has been a bit of a well kept secret, building its skills and expertise with multi-cultural audiences through the last decade. As the topic raises its level of importance in the conversation about Shopper Marketing and shopping culture, particularly in the U.S., the Velocidad team has started to share its stories more widely. To find out what they are doing and for more information, please take a look at the new site at www.integervelocidad.com.

The Checkout: DIGITAIL® Report

Everything today has a digital component. Whether it's your own brand Web site, or your role on a customer Web site of varying flavors, plus the use of digital technologies within bricks & mortar, the worlds of digital and retail have and continue to move ever closer together. Giving rise to a new practice that we at Integer have deemed DIGITAIL®. 

 

The lastest edition of The Checkout looks at shopping behavior through the DIGITAIL® lens, and introduces the need for a new shopping mentality:

 

Scoring a deal was the number-one reason shoppers said they buy online. This isn’t surprising considering online shopping has traditionally been tied heavily to a spear-fishing mentality. When shoppers hunt for a singular item, they search for a good price, attractive shipping options, and then they buy. Categories that require hunting for multiple items at once, like Food and Beverage or Health and Beauty, need to introduce a new online buying mentality. The concept of completing standard grocery shopping online for most is still far off, and manufacturers and eTailers need to understand that there are conventions ingrained in shopper behavior that they must disrupt. And disruption calls for new value propositions supported by a superior experience from eTailers. Look for innovators like Alice.com and Soap.com to lead this charge. However, to truly create a change of serious scale, it’s going to take large eTailers like Amazon.com and Drugstore.com to offer something new.

For more DIGITAIL® data, you can click here to download the latest edition of The Checkout.

Google Helps Bridge the Online Gap Once Again

Google, through the use of its Google Voice service, allows companies to further bridge the gap between online shopping and in-store results.

The company has recently released a Call Metrics feature within its AdWords product, which helps companies directly link online ad dollars to in-store phone calls. In creating a unique Google Voice number, re-routing to a business line, companies are then able to glean call volume as well as other metrics like call duration. Add this to the growing list of ways in-store data is becoming digitally measured.

Imagine using this in partnership with the goals functionality already present inside Google AdWords – you could almost directly link phone traffic (and online traffic) with any business objective.

While this is currently only accessible for certain advertisers, Google is planning to make this capability more widely available soon. In the meantime, next steps include allowing a location-based, dynamically-created Google Voice number giving users more localized, relevant results. And isn’t that what Google search is all about?

Contributed by: Desereé DeZalia, Integer/Dallas

Wishing You A Happy Holiday!

Happy Holiday from everyone here at The Integer Group. We would like to thank our loyal readers for another successful year of our Shopper Culture blog. Thanks to your interest and support, we saw more than 80,000 unique visitors across 161 different countries!

As we gear up for 2011 we're excited to announce the release of the some fresh content and thinking coming in 2011. Early in the year we will be releasing:

• A year-end wrap-up of our 2010 Checkout data from the US.
• An edition of The Checkout about Digitail® and the continuing convergence of all things digital and retail.
• A Middle Eastern Checkout issue, with our summary of 2010 data in that region. 
• New white papers covering the subject of Loyalty in the retail landscape, along with an in-depth look at m-commerce. 

We're looking forward to another successful year in 2011 sharing our observations on the shopper marketing landscape and continuing the conversation about shopping culture and brand strategy from around the world. 

Have a Happy Holiday and we'll see you after the New Year!

 

Ideation Nation

In our corner of the world, ideas are our sustenance. Here are three trends that have nourished our thinking and creativity this year and will continue to be relevant in 2011. We hope it’s a gift that keeps giving throughout your New Year.

SMART CODES? SMART MOVE.

Google has made a really smart move in advancing usage of QR codes from a branding and selling perspective by sending out window decals to the top 100,000 most Google-searched local businesses in the U.S. Why is this so smart and such a big idea? Because it actively connects the power of Google’s search online to the offline world in real time. Plus, with Google’s recent $5.3 billion bid for the local coupon site, Groupon, the company is going to be even more focused on local businesses and their paid search offerings. Where could a smart code be a smart move for your business? And what would you feature — more information, a game, an incentive, or even a live body to talk to? Whatever you decide, it’ll be a move toward connecting to your target audience at the point of decision. And that’s always a smart idea.

COUPONS A-GO-GO

Online and mobile coupons are all the rage with the growing tech-savvy population. Digital couponing not only provides instant gratification, but is becoming even more accessible, secure, interactive, dynamic and intelligent. As companies receive detailed data about their redeemers, this allows them to customize future offers that are more appealing to that shopper and more monetarily efficient for that brand, making it a win-win for all. Want to put some couponing into your marketing plans? Ideate on ways to make coupons instantly cool by making them more instantaneous. This is a great way to shorten the time between seeing and buying as well as to give consumers — more on-the-go than ever — a reason to go in-store ... and BUY!

Click here to read more about Ideation Nation in the latest issue of the Integer Pulse.

 

Black Friday = Check-in Friday

Black Friday deals showcased several retailers partnering with check-in services (e.g., Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places) to drive in-store traffic by offering exclusive deals to shoppers who checked-in:

• Toys R Us offered a 15% discount for purchases over $150 to the first 3,000 shoppers who checked-in on Facebook Places, Foursquare, and Yelp;
• RadioShack offered a number of discounts for checking in on Foursquare – shoppers received 10% off when checking in, 15% if they're the mayor and 20% for unlocking the "Holiday Hero" Badge;
• Shoppers who checked in at The Gap received 30% off any item;
• 0:00 /1:34Plotting your Black Friday strategySports Authority randomly selected 20 users who checked-in to Foursquare and posted their check-in to Twitter between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm EST to receive a $500 dollar gift card;
• Shoppers who checked in at H&M on one of the mobile apps received 20% off purchases;
• And JCPenney offered $10 dollars off purchases of $50 dollars or more to checked-in shoppers

Retailers also promoted cause-related programs by making charitable donations based on customer check-ins using Facebook Places at their stores.

• Old Navy pledged 100 minutes of free phone calls for overseas troops to call home once 5,000 people checked-in to the retailer;
• North Face donated a dollar to the National Park Foundation for every check-in;
• And, REI pledged to donate up to $100,000 to various non-profits supporting local conservation efforts based on the number of shopper check-ins. 

The social and digital media site Mashable published an article detailing which retailers received the most check-ins based on initial data from retailers, Foursquare, Facebook Places and Gowalla. Target and Walmart were the frontrunners of the Black Friday check-ins.  

Retail Rebranding: The Brand Filter

This is part 6 of 10 in a series by Craig Carl, SVP Creative Director, The Integer Group Dallas

So the new brand is up and running. But do your sales associates understand the concept? If it's unclear to your employees, imagine how vague it appears to the customer.

When customers or your employees come into contact with any touch point of your business, what is the feeling you want them to come away with? What is the idea or feeling you measure your decisions against?

For example: when Victoria’s Secret launched, they were decidedly provocative, but so was Frederick's of Hollywood. In order to differentiate themselves from all the other sexy lingerie stores, the chain used one word to filter its creative and merchandising choices: “romantic.” This defined their brand vision and let them walk the thin line between sexy and sleazy.

In the mid ‘90s, Target was at a marketing crossroads. They were in direct competition with Walmart and regularly came in second at the "low-price” game. So they made a simple but hard decision: don't even try.

Instead, Target introduced their version of "cheap chic." The “cheap chic” filter was applied to everything the store produced, right through to the advertising. Design-driven products were developed, including a line of housewares by world-famous architect Michael Graves. Famous-label fashion designers created exclusive, inexpensive clothing lines.

Lights! Action! Neiman's!

Founded in 1907, Dallas-based specialty retailer Neiman Marcus is best known for their top fashion finds, fabulous foods and their brightly innovative holiday window displays.

At the annual holiday-time City Lights event, held at the retailer’s flagship store located in downtown Dallas, not only does the store turn aglow with thousands of lights, but the popular Palladian window serves as home base from which to unveil new themes to surprise and delight shoppers of all sorts.

This year’s concept is the celestial-inspired “Big Encounters of the Little Kind,” a partnership to aid Big Brothers Big Sisters.

More than just another window refresh, this year’s concept integrates new visual and audio technologies uncommon to window displays of yesteryear."For the adults on the outside, we've turned the windows from static to interactive," says Ignaz Gorischek, VP of Store Development for Neiman Marcus.

And by interactive, he’s totally right. Sidewalk visitors can:

■     Literally “go bananas” by texting a special number to trigger 1 of 6 special space-monkey themed effects inside the window display

■     Use their camera phones to experience controllable space scenes, compliments of QR codes;

■     Communicate from street-side audio devices to children playing in the “crawl-tubes” suspended above the city streets and integrated throughout the store window treatments

These new display advancements will undoubtedly lead to new trends in year-round window shopping behavior by retailers and shoppers alike.

Come On, Get “App Happy”

Going beyond the physical store window, NM’s new Gifts App lets users get their daily dose of wonder by shaking their iPhone/Touch or iPad, then shopping for daily suggested items to explore and purchase. Best of all, Neiman Marcus will donate $1 for each app downloaded by savvy shoppers to Big Brothers Big Sisters. 

-Contributed by Patrick Kiker