Trendspotting: Breaking the routine — for retailers and consumers
Trendspotting: Breaking the routine — for retailers and consumers
In an upcoming In the Trenches column, featured in The Produce News' Feb. 9 issue, Ron Pelger writes about produce managers keeping an open mind when it comes to new products and ideas. Breaking routine is hard — for retailers as well as consumers.
According to new research from Kroger Precision Marketing powered by 84.51°, most grocery shoppers say they’re open to innovation. The reality appears to be a bit different as the report suggest that routine still rules the cart. It also touches upon what new really means to consumers, when they decide to try something different and what actually helps them break their autopilot habits.
Innovation is always a buzzword and most shoppers aren’t expecting existing brands to blow them away with something completely out of the box. According to the report, 88 percent of shoppers say that a new flavor is innovative while 56 percent say seasonal versions check their innovation box.
Consumers' propensity to impulse shop (four out of five shoppers said that they decide to buy new items while shopping) provides retailers with an opportunity to get new products into the shopping cart. Where a product is displayed plays a big role in doing so. The report said 68 percent of in-store shoppers expect to find innovation on endcaps (compared to just 22 percent in the checkout areas). For those who shop online, 51 percent rely on ads for new products, with just under half looking at the savings page and 37 percent hoping to see innovation in their suggested products.
It should come as no surprise that discounts are the key factor to convince shoppers to switch from regular to new. Only 60 percent will switch to something new if the new item is just 5 percent lower than the regular price. That number climbs to 80 percent who are willing to try the new item if it’s 20 percent lower than the regular price.
For produce in particular getting consumers to try new items is a bit more difficult. The report stated that 22 percent of consumers notice new items. That number drops to 15 percent of consumers that are likely to try new items.
Why don’t consumers try new items? The top three reasons are: too high a price, risk of not liking it and a preference to stick with what they know. For retailers, we all know sticking with “what works” doesn’t always work. Eventually new products are going to stick and it is in a retailer’s best interest to be ahead of the curve. As Pelger wrotes, “This unwillingness to explore and consider new ideas usually winds up losing valuable sales opportunities in the long run.”
