engaging and influencing shoppers at shelf

Engaging and Influencing Shoppers at Shelf

Highlights from the Avocado Point-of-Sale Messaging Study

Shopper

In-Store

Messages

2014

Introduction

In-store point-of-sale messaging continues to be one of the most preferred and effective communication methods to inform shoppers and influence purchase. Do certain message themes (for example, sensory/flavor, nutrition or usage ideas) have greater appeal than others? What particular at-shelf messages have the power to successfully engage shoppers and favorably influence purchase of Hass avocados? What are the characteristics or attributes of effective at-shelf messages? To answer these questions, and more, the Hass Avocado Board conducted a study of avocado messaging intended for use on retail shelf displays, signage and other point-of-sale materials. This quantitative, 2014 research examined shopper attitudes and purchase intent in response to twenty specific point-of-sale messages across four message themes:

The twenty individual messages tested are shown on the next page. Please see the Appendix for visual examples and additional information about the research methodology. The full research report, Quantitative Evaluation of Point-of-Sale Messaging in the Avocado Category is available at hassavocadoboard.com.

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Sensory Nutrition Usage/Occasion Call-to-Action

Messages Tested

• Sensory Messages

– Naturally delicious

– Taste the difference an avocado makes

– Smooth and creamy

– Guilt-free satisfaction

– From casual to elegant – avocados add a tasty touch to every dish

• Nutrition Messages

– Naturally good fats

– Cholesterol free

– Good fat in avocados can replace saturated fat

– 8% daily value fiber per 1oz. serving

– Sodium free

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• Usage/Occasion Messages:

– Slice…serve…simple

– The perfect lunch and dinner topper

– Transform any meal from good to great

– Make breakfast better with avocados

– Great in desserts/baking as a substitute for saturated fats

• Call-To-Action Messages:

– Fresh avocados – love one today

– Put a smile on their faces – serve avocados

– Make every meal a celebration

– Avocados make every meal homemade

– Bring a fresh avocado to your next party

*See the Appendix for a visual example of the messages tested

Executive Summary

Shoppers found the messages in the Sensory and Nutrition themes to be the most compelling, with Sensory messages scoring the highest overall.

“Naturally Delicious” topped the charts as the most preferred of all twenty messages tested, as well as in the Sensory group. Shoppers ranked “Naturally Delicious” highest across five key attributes. “Naturally Delicious” was also the clear front-runner in terms of motivating purchase:

More Likely to Buy Appeal Relevance Feel Good Buying Avocados Credibility

Shoppers reported they were drawn to this message because it communicates a combination of “great taste” plus the sense of “real” food that is “good for you.”

“Taste the Difference an Avocado Makes” also stood out as a credible and compelling message in the Sensory group.

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Executive Summary (Cont.)

Nutrition themed messages also scored well, speaking to shopper interest in both good taste and good nutrition.

“Naturally Good Fats,” “Cholesterol Free” and “Good Fat in Avocados Can Replace Saturated Fat” were the most appealing of the nutrition messages. “Naturally Good Fats” was the front-runner, appealing to shoppers based on three key attributes:

Simple and easy to understand Important to me Believable

In the Usage/Occasion group “Slice….Serve…Simple” held the strongest appeal. In the Call-to-Action group, the message “Fresh Avocados – Love one Today” rose to the top. Messages in these two theme groups had more narrow appeal than messages in the other groups and performed better among the super-heavy* sub-group.

5 *See the Appendix for an explanation of Super-heavy, Heavy and Medium buyers and respondent demographics


Executive Summary (Cont.)

Usage level in general was found to impact responses, with super-heavy and heavy avocado buyers* responding more positively in general to at-shelf messaging. This is good news for the category – the core avocado shopper is listening and is open to information that enhances their purchase experience and enjoyment of avocados. This research focused primarily on messaging intended for use on retail shelf displays, signage and other point-of-sale materials. However, this study also included a secondary goal of measuring response to everyday category signage options for Hass avocados. Respondents evaluated three different category signage options. “Fresh Avocados” was the most impactful of the three signage options tested, and also performed the best with the influential super-heavy avocado buyer sub-group:

• Fresh Avocados • Hass Avocados • Ripe Avocados

More detailed highlights of the study, by message group, begin on the next page.

6 *See the Appendix for an explanation of Super-heavy, Heavy and Medium buyers

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

TOP MESSAGES

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Key Highlights

Top Message in each Group

Appeal

More Likely

To Buy

Relevance

News Value

Feel Good Buying

Avocados

Credible

% % % % % %

Sensory Group:

Naturally delicious 72 58 71 32 74 79

Nutrition Group:

Naturally good fats 66 47 69 39 71 80

Usage/Occasion Group:

Slice…Serve…Simple 62 45 52 25 57 70

Call-to-Action Group:

Fresh Avocados - Love One Today 51 42 46 25 54 56

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Respondents ranked each of the messages on a scale of one to ten, with ten being highest. The chart below shows the percentage of respondents giving the message a “Top 3 Box Rating” (on a scale of one to ten, “Top 3 Box” equals a ten, nine or eight rating) for each of the attributes.

Overall, the Sensory and Nutrition messages received higher scores, with “Naturally Delicious” scoring well across most of the attributes. The top message from each group is shown below.

Overall Rating of Top Message in each Group (% Top 3 Box Rating)

Key Highlights

Top Messages – Super-Heavy/Heavy Buyer Ratings

Appeal

More Likely To Buy

% Total % Super-Heavy % Heavy % Total % Super-Heavy % Heavy

Sensory Group:

Naturally delicious 72 78 74 58 72 54

Nutrition Group:

Naturally good fats 66 77 57 47 62 39

Usage/Occasion Group:

Slice…Serve…Simple 62 71 57 45 53 39

Call-to-Action Group:

Fresh Avocados - Love One Today 51 71 43 42 60 35

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Ratings were found to vary by avocado usage level, with super-heavy and heavy buyers* responding more positively in general to at-shelf messaging. The core avocado shopper is eager for information that enhances their purchase experience and enjoyment of avocados.

Super-heavy buyers found the top messages more appealing and more likely to motivate purchase than respondents in general.

Comparison of Super-Heavy and Heavy Responses to Total Responses

*See the Appendix for an explanation of Super-heavy, Heavy and Medium buyers

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

SENSORY GROUP

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Sensory Group

Appeal Ratings

49%

53%

59%

61%

72%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

From casual to elegant

Guilt-free satisfaction

Smooth and creamy

Taste the difference

Naturally delicious

Overall Appeal of Sensory Messages (% Top 3 Box Rating)

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Q.3: How appealing do you find the message? (1-10 ratings scale, 10 = very appealing, 1=not at all appealing)

“Naturally Delicious” was the most appealing of the Sensory messages.

Sensory Group

Attribute Ratings

Is important

to me

Tells me

something I didn’t know

about avocados

Makes me feel

good about buying

avocados

Is believable

% % % %

Naturally delicious 71 32 74 79

Taste the difference an avocado makes 58 34 62 70

Smooth and creamy 55 32 57 70

Guilt-free satisfaction 54 35 59 60

From casual to elegant – avocados add a tasty touch to every dish

48 33 54 60

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Q6: How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? (10 = agree completely, 1 = disagree completely)

“Naturally Delicious” scored higher on relevance, believability and making buyers feel good about purchasing avocados. None of the messages was found to provide new information about avocados.

Attribute Ratings for Sensory Messages (% Top 3 Box Rating)

Sensory Group

Intent to Buy Ratings

10%

13%

16%

16%

44%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

From casual to elegant

Guilt-free satisfaction

Smooth and creamy

Taste the difference

Naturally delicious

Overall Ranking of Sensory Messages (% Ranking Each #1)

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Q.7: Please rank the five messages in order of which would most likely motivate you to buy avocados. (1 = most motivating)

“Naturally Delicious” is ranked highest on likelihood to motivate an avocado purchase.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

NUTRITION GROUP

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Nutrition Group

Appeal Ratings

45%

50%

60%

62%

66%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Sodium free

8% daily value of fiber

Good fat/replacesaturated fats

Cholesterol free

Naturally good fats

Overall Appeal of Nutrition Messages (% Top 3 Box Rating)

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“Naturally Good Fats,” “Cholesterol Free” and “Good Fat in Avocados Can Replace Saturated Fats” were the most appealing of the Nutrition messages.

Nutrition Group

Attribute Ratings

Is important

to me

Tells me


about avocados

Makes me feel

good about buying

avocados

Is believable

% % % %

Naturally good fats 69 39 71 80

Cholesterol free 65 51 69 81

Good fat/replace saturated fats 65 47 69 72

8% daily value of fiber 59 59 64 77

Sodium free 51 45 56 72

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“Naturally Good Fats,” “Cholesterol Free” and “Good Fats in Avocados Can Replace Saturated Fats” performed well on relevance, believability and making buyers feel good about avocados. None of the messages was considered particularly newsworthy.

Attribute Ratings for Nutrition Messages (% Top 3 Box Rating)

Nutrition Group


8%

20%

20%

23%

29%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Sodium free

8% daily value of fiber

Good fat/replacesaturated fats

Cholesterol free

Naturally good fats

Overall Ranking of Nutrition Messages (% Ranking Each #1)

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“Naturally Good Fats” ranked higher than the other messages on purchase motivation, but none of the messages was clearly dominant.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

USAGE/OCCASION GROUP

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Usage/Occasion Group

Appeal Ratings

38%

46%

55%

58%

62%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Great indesserts/baking

Makes breakfast better

Transform any meal

Perfect lunch/dinnertopper

Slice serve simple

Overall Appeal Of Usage/Occasion Messages (% Top 3 Box Ratings)

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“Slice…Serve…Simple” ranked the highest in the Usage/Occasion group. However, these messages had narrower overall appeal than messages in the Sensory and Nutrition groups.*

* See the Methodology in the Appendix for additional information about Usage/Occasion results.


Attribute Ratings

Is important

to me

Tells me


about avocados

Makes me feel

good about buying

avocados

Is believable

% % % %

Slice … serve … simple 52 25 57 70

The perfect lunch and dinner topper 56 28 61 72

Transform any meal from good to great 55 30 61 66

Make breakfast better with avocados 46 38 49 59

Great in desserts/baking as a substitute for saturated fats

45 55 46 48

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Relevance is somewhat weak for the messages in the Usage/Occasion group. “Slice…Serve...Simple” and “The Perfect Lunch and Dinner Topper” performed well in in believability. “Great in Desserts…” had the highest news value in this group.

Attribute Ratings for Usage/Occasion Messages (% Top 3 Box Rating)



10%

14%

19%

25%

32%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Makes breakfast better

Great indesserts/baking

Perfect lunch/dinnertopper

Transform any meal

Slice serve simple

Overall Ranking Of Usage/Occasion Messages (% Ranking Each #1)

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“Slice…Serve…Simple” ranked highest on purchase motivation, followed by “Transform any Meal from Good to Great.”

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

CALL-TO-ACTION GROUP

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Call-to-Action Group

Appeal Ratings

42%

44%

47%

47%

51%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Bring avocados to nextparty

Make any mealhomemade

Put a smile on faces

Make every meal acelebration

Love one today

Overall Appeal of Call-to-Action Messages (% Top 3 Box Rating)

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“Fresh Avocados – Love One Today” ranked the highest in terms of appeal in the Call-to-Action group. Overall, messages in this group had more narrow appeal for avocado buyers than messages in the other groups.*

* See Methodology in the Appendix for additional information on ratings in this message group.


Attribute Ratings

Is important

to me

Tells me


about avocados

Makes me feel

good about buying

avocados

Is believable

% % % %

Fresh avocados – love one today 46 25 54 56

Put a smile on their faces – serve avocados

47 25 53 54

Make every meal a celebration 45 26 51 52

Avocados make any meal homemade 42 25 47 49

Bring a fresh avocado to your next party 37 24 44 48

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The top ranked message in the Call-to-Action group was “Fresh Avocados – Love One Today.” Respondents noted this message was credible and made them feel good about buying avocados.

Attribute Ratings for Call-to-Action Messages (% Top 3 Box Rating)



11%

16%

18%

24%

32%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Bring avocados to nextparty

Make every meal acelebration

Put a smile on faces

Make any mealhomemade

Love one today

Overall Ranking of Call-to-Action Messages (% Ranking Each #1)

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“Fresh Avocados – Love One Today” ranked highest on purchase motivation in the Call-to-Action group.

EVERYDAY CATEGORY

SIGNAGE

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Everyday Category Signage


Total

Super Heavy

Buyers

Heavy Buyers

Medium Buyers

% % % %

A B C

Fresh Avocados 55 61 48 54

Hass Avocados 25 22 30 22

Ripe Avocados 20 16 22 24

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Q.1: Which of these messages would make you more likely to purchase avocados?

As a secondary objective, this study measured reactions to everyday category signage options. Three messages were tested: “Fresh Avocados”, “Hass Avocados” and “Ripe Avocados.” “Fresh Avocados” performed well among all respondents and subgroups, and particularly well among the Super-heavy subgroup.

Signage Most Likely to Influence Avocado Purchases

APPENDIX

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Methodology and Visual Examples

This study was conducted online with a projectable, national sample of 600 primary grocery shoppers ages 25 – 75 who were screened to meet the following criteria:

• Super-heavy, heavy or medium avocado buyers* • Purchase avocados in food and/or mass retail

channels (no exclusive farmers markets or produce stand buyers)

Order of messages was rotated to avoid position bias. While actual store signage would feature images chosen to illustrate and enhance each particular message, in this study, each message was tested with identical graphics to avoid potential bias related to different images. However, a different evaluation context (e.g. message-specific graphics and different shelf placement than shown in the test images) might yield different responses, particularly for the Usage/Occasion and Call-to-Action groups.

As a separate exercise, respondents evaluated three different category signage options for avocados: Fresh Avocados, Hass Avocados and Ripe Avocados.

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Examples of Test Visuals

* See next page

Super-Heavy, Heavy, Medium Definitions

Super Heavy Buyers

Heavy Buyers

Medium Buyers

120+ avocados/year 37 – 119 avocados/year 12 – 36 avocados per year

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Note: Light buyers (purchase 11 or fewer avocados/year) were not included in this study

engaging and influencing shoppers at shelf

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