Snacking categories delivered a solid 61 per cent shopper satisfaction score in 2021 compared with 58 per cent across the total grocery store.
By Shopper Intelligence ANZ Senior Insights Manager Ming Lianto.
With the over-consumption season now behind us and our social media feeds full of diet/detox/meal-delivery solutions, how can grocery retailers and snacking brands keep shoppers coming back for more?
For the team here at Shopper Intelligence, the answer is always to look at the shopper mindset in these categories. The scan data tells you what your shopper bought, but knowing what they need and want is essential for those planning activations.
So, let’s take a look at three big drivers of shoppers’ purchasing decisions in the snacking department, and why you need to know what matters for shoppers in your category.
It’s not just about price, but the right price messaging
I’m hesitant in bringing the big pricing debate in, but it’s inevitable when we talk about impulsive categories, and here’s why:
Great prices and hi/lo offers are the most important thing to snacking shoppers, who have much higher expectations compared with the average shopper.
One in four snacking shoppers are browsing – predominantly because they enjoy shopping the snacking categories… and because they’re looking for the best deal on the day.
Almost one in two snack shopping events are unplanned with shoppers only deciding to buy the category once they are in-store… and the price/specials and displays have triggered this impulse purchase.
There’s no doubt that prices and specials are effective in driving the basket for snacking. In fact, 62 per cent of snacking purchases in 2021 were bought on promotion.
Snacking shoppers are also one of the most expandable – one in three are likely to consume more, the more they buy.
But here comes the fun part: you can’t apply the same price strategy to all snacking categories, because:
- With some snacking categories shoppers are willing to pay more for a different/higher quality product – eg, premium crackers and jam/fruit biscuits – so in these categories, you’d want to dial up your quality messaging.
- Shoppers of healthier snacks are among the least aware of prices in the category, so, although promo tickets will help guide their purchase decision, the promotion doesn’t necessarily have to be so deep. You’d also want to highlight the percentage saved on these tickets.
- Block chocolate shoppers are open to being persuaded to buy extra, so, use multibuys or offers on bigger pack sizes to leverage this.
It’s precisely these different shopper behaviours that allow us to find more opportunities for a category. The key is to leverage their existing motivations.
Read the article in full in the January/February issue of Convenience World.
