FROM THE CONSUMER... From the consumer...
Every issue, Danielle Pinnington from Shoppercentric tells us how the consumer is behaving to help you stay competitive
We recently conducted a study among shoppers looking at the impact of multi-channel retailing which got us thinking about new considerations for brands when trying to communicate with shoppers.
basis. It is the principle that for many dictates their purchase decisions, as they work hard to get the most out of their money. Given the typical expectation
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that environmentally or socially friendly products will be more expensive, it would be no surprise if ethical considerations are often over-ruled by budgetary constraints. As one consumer put it: “I like to buy organic, locally produced food, but when I am
ight now, the cost of living is the major concern for British households on a day to day
short of money I can’t afford to look after ethical concerns”. Yet despite this clear prioritising
of budgets, ethical considerations of some form or another have not fallen by the wayside. In fact, the proportion of shoppers looking out for ethical labels on the products they buy appears to have increased over the last few years – 83 per cent in 2012 compared to 64 per cent in 2007. The difficulty for consumers wanting to buy ethically is that there are so many labels to choose from, sometimes almost competing on the same products. So it’s worth reflecting on which labels resonate with consumers and which are the labels that potentially add value to a brand or support brand affinity. What we’ve learnt is that
consumers are most likely to connect with labels that have either a functional or emotional
something that wise businesses should bare in mind
important to the consumer,
Danielle says that ethical considerations remain
benefit to them, because if a label has a benefit then it can be more easily incorporated into the value equation they use when deciding what to buy. The labels that have seen growth
since 2010 include: free range, fairtrade, recycled, bio-degradable, dolphin friendly and farm assured. Each of these can be seen to have either: • a functional benefit, such as better taste, or easier to dispose of; • or an emotional benefit, where the consumer feels good about their decision because their spend is going to producer support or animal welfare, for example. When the benefit is clear to the
consumer, the issue shifts from ‘why should I?’ to ‘why wouldn’t I?’ High profile celebrity chef campaigns have achieved that shift in the eggs market, and arguably local government legislation has had a similar impact on recycling. The recycling issue demonstrates how different parts of the jigsaw, when joined together, can impact on consumers. In short, if it makes life easier, of
course it’s good: Packaging is a good issue, there must be something done to cut down on some excessive packaging or use something that can be easily recycled. Most people are lazy by nature and don’t want the hassle of seeing whether it can be recycled so if it’s immediately obvious it saves time and more will be done. If consumers can make a direct
benefit link between the ethical label and the product they are buying they are more likely to incorporate that into their decision. We need to remember that the days of buying a label for a label’s sake are gone - ethical goods need to justify their reason for existence
as much as any product.
Danielle Pinnington is the founder & owner of Shoppercentric, specialists in shopper insight and trends research. For more information, visit
www.shoppercentric.com.
34 | FMCG News |
FMCGNews.co.uk
“What we’ve learnt is that consumers are most likely to connect with labels that have either a functional or emotional benefit to them, because if a label has a benefit then it can be more easily incorporated into the value equation they use when deciding what to buy.”
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