shopper marketing: 13 trends for 2013
TRANSCRIPT
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Welcome to 2013
The glorious summer of 2012 is over and we have all takena collective deep breath and asked ‘so, what next?’
Post-Olympic blues, EuroZone crisis, technological convergence& EcoEthic shoppers among many other topics are weighing on our minds... but what on earth does it all mean?
In the next few slides we cut through the jumble of ideas andreveal what will really affect shoppers in the UK and Europe in the coming year and how we, as Shopper Marketers, can make the most of the future.
Read on and enjoy!
Darren Keen Managing Director
MARS London
10. BEHAViOURALECONOMiCS
1. VALUE RESiziNg
2. HigH StREEt 2.0
3. LiKE BRANDS…ONLY BEttER
5. PEER gROUPSHOPPERS
6. FROM A-LiSttO C-LiSt
4. NEW AMAzONiA
8. BOg’WiF
9. tHERE CANONLY BE ONE
7. CLiCK & COLLECt 11. it’S ALL ABOUt ME
12. SANDWiCHSPREAD
13. tHE SHOPPERLEgACY
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1. ValUE RESIZIng
After three years of recession-driven
aggressive discount messaging,
shoppers have become numb to its
affects and expectant of competitive
pricing both off and online.
‘Low price’ now only serves as the
battleground baseline.
In 2013 we will see shoppers become
loyal to brands and retailers that offer
a great value price tag AND a relevant,
more imaginative experience.
Shoppers will positively react to
Value Resizing propositions ranging
from genuine efficacy innovation and
usage format enhancements to smart,
simple rewards that make a small but
genuine difference to their everyday
lives.
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2. HIgH STREET 2.0
Ethical shopping has been slowly
crushed by the economic downturn
– BUT localization has and will grow as
smaller baskets, shorter journeys and
local produce are all seen as the best
way to regular shopping thriftiness.
The continuing high cost of fuel and
food inflation (driven by increasing
food production raw materials) will
sharpen shopper’s reluctance to travel
to complete bigger, less frequent shops
and help support the ever-growing
awareness and management of food
wastage in the home of which the IDG
has reported currently stands at 14%.
Engaging shoppers with distinct local
or regional campaigns and activations
will become more commonplace and
will motivate them to choose brands
that contribute to a well needed close-
to-home feel-good factor.
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3. lIKE bRanDS. Only bETTER.
Continuing retailer commitment to
private label will make brands reassess
their shopper marketing strategies as
they are forced to compete even more
aggressively in environments owned
by what are now effectively #2 and #3
‘competitor’ brands.
Throughout 2013 shoppers will further
increase their trust – and therefore their
loyalty – in private label as retailers
extend their own ranges, create new
non-banner ones and undertake
new own-label strategies including
provenance messaging and celebrity
endorsement that were, until now, the
preserve of brand leaders.
Brands will not only need to continue
to engage shoppers both from
a quality perspective but also look
to enhance cross category and occasion
based offerings through new brand-
partnerships to reinforce the added
experiential value of their offering.
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4. nEW aMaZOnIa
Since it’s launch in 1998 amazon.com
has, each year, played a bigger part
in our shopper lives – offering more
categories, greater choice, better targeted
recommendations, easier ways to pay
for and receive goods.
With the convergence of technologies
and the continued march into grocery
we will see a fundamental step-change
to how they effect shopper’s lives.
In 2013 amazon will signpost some
pivotal changes in their relationship
with shoppers – being more connected,
more tailored and offering a huge range
which includes core grocery products at
attractive prices and new, alternate ways
to shop.
FMCG brands need to non-negotiably
develop shopper strategies that will
embrace the Amazon platform as a key
channel and engage opinion formers
who will influence millions of shoppers
over the forthcoming 12 months.
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5. PEER gROUP SHOPPERS
The evolution of online purchase
behaviour and the increasing
ubiquity, penetration and capability
of smartphones has given shoppers
the impetus to trust themselves and
their peer group more than brands and
retailers. This is magnified further by
the parallel loss of faith in banks and
corporate institutions throughout the
recession.
Next year, due to exploding connectivity,
we will see shoppers use social network
platforms in real time, exploiting price
comparison sites, product reviews and
peer group recommendation while in
store more than ever before.
Clever brands (and retailers) need
to embrace this change, showing
confidence in their brand values and
empowering consumers with the price,
peer group opinion and provenance
information that will sway shopper
purchase behaviour and be present
with the right digital platform messages
at the point of buying.
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6. FROM a-lIST TO C-lIST
Driven by the inspirational brilliance of
the 2012 Olympians and Paralympians,
2013 will see a recalibration of celebrity
culture in the UK.
Shoppers will no longer entertain the
positive notion of indulged footballers,
soap stars and big brother contestants
persuading them to buy brands. The
A-List will be replaced by CREDIBLE
role models – the new C-list – who have
striven for and spectacularly achieved
during 2012, earning themselves the
genuine respect of a nation in the
process.
Move over Peaches and Rooney, clever
brands, with deeper pockets will have
the ability to leverage Bradley Wiggins,
Ellie Simmonds and friends whilst
lesser budgets can succeed by focusing
upon credible personification of their
brands using local achievers or up-
and-coming ‘cre-lebrities’ to drive
engagement and loyalty.
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7. ClICK & COllECT
Considered the broad compromise
solution between digital-shopping
convenience and retailer-delivery
complexity, Click & Collect will continue
to grow across the continent and
become a major new shopper trend
in the UK.
In 2013 Click and Collect will offer
retailers ROI rationalisation on their
digital platform investment and
shoppers will have an enhanced, more
convenient shopper experience that
works for them.
Brands that actively drive shoppers
to Click & Collect formats will benefit
from increased shopper spend.
To do this they must add value through
instant reward and rapid post-shop
experiences.
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8. bOg’WIF
The uptake of Wi-Fi and in particular
broadband at home has become the
norm. But, the availability of fast speed
connections away from home has been
patchy and often non-existent at best.
Retailers and brands, until now, have
been slow to see the provision of Wi-Fi
as a simple value add for their shoppers.
Shoppers, now expectant of fast speed
access at home, will start to demand
similar service levels on-the-go. Whilst
the uptake of 4G will gain traction
towards the end of 2013, an opportunity
exists for brands and retailers alike
to provide fast-access as a credible
incentive.
2013 will see brands and retailers alike,
grasping the nettle and providing
Wi-Fi across retail and entertainment
venues as an instant enticement and
pre-purchase reward. Expect to see
smart brands and retailers not blocking
the practice of show-rooming but
providing access in a bid to push instant
incentives and reasons to drive footfall.
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9. THERE Can bE Only OnE
Driven by the phenomenal uptake of
tablets, and in particular, iPad sales,
purchases online via mobile devices
continue to follow unparalleled growth.
As devices continue to become more
powerful, the number of devices that
shoppers use to assist and do their shop
is reducing.
Laptops have become tablets and tablets
are shrinking to also be our phones.
With the uptake of devices such as the
Kindle Fire, Samsung’s Note and the
newly shrunk iPad Mini, the shopper’s
assistant for browsing on the sofa to
the one checking prices in store are the
one and same. Coupled with the faster
connection speed, NFC and instant
coupons, the power of the mobile-
shopper reaches even greater heights,
from the initial trigger to search through
to purchase and sharing the experience.
Retailers and brands need to develop
strategies that cover the entire shopper
journey on one device. From providing
simple shopping list generators and
self scanning apps through to post
purchase loyalty incentives, single
device campaigns will encourage
both frequency and long term loyal
behaviours for retailers and brands.
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10. bEHaVIOURal ECOnOMICS
Behavioral Economics will be the latest
buzz ‘methodology’ to be adopted in
shopper marketing. It won a Noble Prize
10 years ago and has taken a little time
to filter down to the shopper marketing
community but will have a massive
impact on the understanding
of shoppers.
By merging the rational nature of pure
economics with the irrational behaviour
of distinct shopper groups. Behavioral
Economics has brought a sense of reality
and humanity to the clinical world of
economics with the necessity of making
marketers engage in an additional
process to deliver shopper focused,
insight rich campaigns... that have more
impact and appeal to shoppers and a
bigger ROI for brands and retailers.
Brands need to seek a deeper
understanding of what choice, brand-
ownership and rationalization mean
to a shopper and how we can use these
disciplines to directly effect the way
shoppers behave across all purchase
environments.
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11. IT’S all abOUT ME
For the past decade online retailers
and their brick and mortar counterparts
with sophisticated shopper behavioural
insights, have been offering shoppers
increasingly accurate personalised
offers and experiences based on click-
through or regular purchase behaviour.
Whilst personalisation has been
centered on email, online and couponing,
social media activity coupled with
a combination of location-based mobile
services and action data now offers
retailers and brands the opportunity
to communicate with shoppers in-store
on a true one-to-one basis.
2013 will see a greater use and value put
upon shopper data as platform cohesion
allow marketers to run campaigns to
deliver instant loyalty and switching
tactics, “live” location based promotions
and even UK trials of individual pricing
in-store.
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12. SanDWICH SPREaD
The engine room of the UK economy
is feeling the squeeze like no other
experienced in decades. Having kids
later, career focused necessity plus
ageing parents has, over the past five
years, meant for 35-55 year olds the
good life has become the tough life...
With little prospect of salvation.
2013 will see the start of the mildest of
recoveries in confidence within this group
as boredom and the perceptive grip of
recession begins to loosen supported by
increasingly forward-looking media-led
perspectives for 2014 & 2015.
Brands that offer light-at-the-end-of-
the-tunnel solutions and incentives will
win if they can deliver activity that can
help meet the tired need-states of the
Sandwich Generation.
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13. THE SHOPPER lEgaCy
The 2012 Olympic games was an
unquestionable success both in the
UK and across the world and has
genuinely inspired, brought together
and engendered national pride to
a level in a way that few predicted.
The challenge in 2013 is for brands to
continue to engage shoppers with the
same sentiment.
A handful of brands - both sponsors and
guerrilla - exploiters - helped prompt
a unique and meaningful way for family
and friends to enjoy coming together for
all too infrequent shared experiences.
The opportunity to be the catalyst
remains in 2013.
The exploitable shopper legacy will be
where feel-good meets togetherness as
brands create and deliver unique, new
experiences for shoppers to enjoyably
connect with those they are closest too.
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