The Why Behind The Buy
The sluggish economy continues to divide consumers into two income groups, further influencing current purchasing trends.
That’s according to Acosta Sales & Marketing’s biannual The Why? Behind The Buy report, compiled by AMG Strategic Advisors, Acosta’s growth strategy consulting unit.
The report reveals that there is a pronounced “Tale of Two Shoppers.” Despite divergent shopping behaviors, shoppers with annual incomes of less than $45,000 and those with annual incomes exceeding $100,000 are making purchasing decisions based on similar factors, including price:
- 55 percent of shoppers bought more items on sale than last year.
- 71 percent of shoppers plan their trip before going to the store.
- 88 percent of shoppers have bought buy one-get one offers.
- 50 percent of shoppers clip coupons.
The average monthly grocery budget has increased 11 percent to $309, reflecting higher unit prices. Shoppers are spending three times more on groceries than on eating out.
Shoppers are creatures of habit, with 84 percent buying what they have bought before and three out of 10 planning to continue purchasing store brands even when their budgets increase.
Today’s consumer is a multichannel shopper, moving across store channels to find the best deals and products, which is especially prevalent among higher income shoppers.
The influence of digital marketing continues to grow as shoppers strive to increase productivity. Shoppers primarily use digital for pre-trip planning, with 36 percent of shoppers logging onto home computers, mainly to find coupons, and 20 percent of shoppers visiting brand and retailer websites.
“Today’s purchasing and marketing trends are reflective of a continued challenging economic climate,” said Robert Hill, Acosta president and CEO. “Shoppers are still budget-conscious, leading marketers to use discounts to spark demand. By helping CPG and retail marketers truly understand current and future shopper needs, and providing strategies to address them, The Why? Behind The Buy can help them capture a greater share of consumer dollars.”
The Why? Behind The Buy offers insights into the behavior and buying patterns of today’s shoppers, as well as actionable tips to help CPG and retail marketers adapt to the ever-evolving shopping landscape. The report was produced with research from a random sample of 1,098 shoppers via Acosta’s proprietary ShopperF1rst online survey.
Acosta provides outsourced sales, marketing and retail merchandising services, and represents more than 60 percent of the top brands in the CPG industry.