Meet the Consumer Halfway

October 30, 2009

If you were to ask anyone what his/her favorite ketchup, laundry detergent, or chocolate is, odds are, you will get an immediate response. The odds are even better that the product will be branded. (Think Heinz, Tide, and Hershey’s.) This is hardly surprising. Brands have worked tirelessly to convince consumers that their respective products are the best, and for the three aforementioned—it seems like they have succeeded.

Yet, the last two years have taught us that few things are sacred. Consumers are under more pressure than ever before and have reacted accordingly—overall spending is down, private label consumption is up, and consumers no longer enter a store without a game plan. We know all that. But we still had questions, so we conducted a second phase of frugality research to uncover which behaviors consumers will shed after the economy recovers and which behaviors consumers will stick with.

One of the most unexpected findings was just how determined today’s consumers are. For some, their current situation made it nearly impossible for them to continue purchasing branded products—but that didn’t stop them from buying the brands they love.  In order to stay within their budgets, consumers scoured newspapers for coupons, hunted for deals online, and made frequent, specific trips to multiple grocery stores. (Clearly, brand loyalty is a strong motivator.)

Yet, is brand loyalty limitless? We found that it isn’t. Consumers have exhausted themselves expending the amount of effort required to thoroughly bargain hunt. Driving to multiple grocery stores, tracking down online coupon leads, clipping coupons at the kitchen table—each activity puts additional limitations on already tight schedules. Many shoppers are finding that private label products offer the quality of branded products without the headache. Consumers inherently understand this, so each time they sacrifice time or money to remain brand loyal, they expect recognition and compensation.  The quality of the branded product used to be sufficient. Now, however, consumers are asking brands to do more because the benefits of brand loyalty alone are dwindling. The rallying cry is simple—“meet me halfway.”

Over the next several weeks, I will be exploring the ever changing consumer expectations and the ways in which brands can exceed them. Consumers are weighing their options and it’s likely that a simple coupon simply won’t do.

posted by Northlich October 30, 2009 in cultural storms