Three Quarters of Shoppers Unlikely To Be Persuaded by Low-Price Messages

New research from Kantar Media into FMCG purchasing habits reveals gap between the motivations of shoppers and the marketing focus of brands and retailers

LONDON — The primary weapon in supermarket wars to appeal to consumers is a focus on low prices and offers. However, insight from Kantar Media TGI’s new Shopper Archetypes - seven mutually exclusive groups of British shoppers, each built around their key grocery shopping traits - reveals that factors other than saving are of significantly greater importance to the vast majority of consumers.

Drawn in large part from Kantar Media’s pioneering TGI WHY Code metrics which explain consumer choices, the new findings reveal that the two archetypes for whom price and savings are the crucial drivers - Promiscuous Purchasers and Strategic Savers - account for 8% and 16% of British shoppers respectively. Combined, they represent under a quarter of shoppers, and this during an economic downturn when consumers are seeking to control their spending more than ever.

The remaining three-quarters of shoppers include various groups of considerable size whose shopping habits are motivated by very different factors (e.g. quality of produce, convenience, ethical considerations), while there are also a fifth of shoppers who defy categorisation of their motivations altogether.

Among those for whom price is a secondary consideration, the Conscious Connoisseurs archetype includes 1.6 million shoppers. This group have a passion for food and a keen interest in ingredients that can inspire their home-made culinary creations. Online marketers in FMCG might efficiently engage this group, with insights from Kantar Media Compete revealing that 24% of online grocery shoppers search for recipe ideas.

A desire for quality products also represents a particularly prominent driver in grocery shopping. Kantar Media’s TGI Shopper Archetype Quality Crusaders accounts for 14% of all shoppers (4.5 million individuals) and their value is demonstrated by the fact they are over 40% more likely than the average shopper to spend over £90 a week on their regular main shop, whereas those driven by price and value are no more likely than the average to do so.

Richard Poustie, Chief Operating Officer, Kantar Media TGI, comments, “Whilst all supermarkets will count consumers from each of the Shopper Archetypes among their customers to a greater or lesser extent, our insights show that a focus on driving down prices is only likely to achieve real engagement amongst a modest proportion of consumers. All the while, this approach may alienate consumers from other potentially lucrative archetypes.”

“Price will always be a very important driver in grocery shopping decisions and has some influence on every shopper. However, our new Shopper Archetypes reveal that factors like convenience and quality are even more important to huge proportions of shoppers. If marketers can be more canny about targeting different kinds of shoppers with a focus tailored to what drives their grocery shopping, then they stand to make real gains over their rivals.”


For further information about our TGI Study Shopper Archetypes and the WHY Code, contact 020 8433 4000 or email tgihotline@kantarmedia.com

About Kantar Media
Kantar Media provides strategic advice and competitive intelligence to the world’s leading brands, publishers, agencies and industry bodies, helping them navigate and succeed in a rapidly evolving media industry. This includes analysis of paid media opportunities; counsel on brand reputation, corporate management and consumer engagement through owned media; and, evaluating consumers’ reactions in earned media. Kantar Media provides clients with a broad range of insights, from audience research, competitive intelligence, vital consumer behaviour and digital insights, marketing effectiveness and online influence. Our experts currently work with 22,000 companies tracking 3 million brands in 50 countries.

Target Group Index (TGI) was established in Britain in 1969, with most of its international expansion taking place over the last 10 years, giving it a presence today in over 60 markets worldwide. Kantar Media’s TGI study measures consumer product and brand consumption, attitudes and media usage. They are used across the globe by brand owners, agencies and media for a range of strategic and tactical purposes, including consumer profiling, brand positioning, the identification of target audiences, and media planning and buying. Sample sizes are robust, with over 800,000 interviews conducted around the world each year.

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