IPC Insight: The rise of the ‘Self Conscious Shopper’

Andy Marrs, head of insight – audiences at IPC Media, says in the current economic climate, brands need to work harder to prove their worth by tailoring messages across different media…

The UK is experiencing a significant shift in consumers’ shopping attitudes. Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, mainstream shoppers are increasingly applying stringent value assessments to all purchases, big or small. In this month’s article, IPC Insight takes an in-depth look at consumers’ changing grocery shopping mindsets, and highlights the key messages marketers must communicate to prove their brand’s value.

‘Do I really need to buy this?’

This is a question increasingly reverberating around the minds of millions of mainstream UK shoppers – gone are the days of impulse buys. Why this change of attitude? Quite simply, it’s the recession. Whether in the form of the stark everyday realities of increased financial struggle, or through equally powerful pessimistic media messages, the recession has forced people to reassess their spending habits. The result is a more thorough assessment of the genuine value that purchases offer and a subsequent move towards more controlled and considered consumption. The Henley Centre summarises this change in value as a move from ‘indulgence’ to ‘consequence’:

Value, for mainstream women shoppers, can appear in many forms and does not simply mean cheap, as summed up by one shopper – “Value can be getting a lot for your money, or having something nice you’re happy with… the key thing is not to feel cheated!” (Sara, Leeds, IPC Supermarket Squeeze research)

Value means finding the product that gives the best return on what a consumer has spent: it could make her life easier, pick her up, give her an experience to remember, provide her with added value and benefits or entertain her. So this is not simply a change in expenditure, rather a definite shift in attitudes and mindset towards the ‘Self Conscious Shopper’.

Nowhere is this attitude shift more apparent than online. Here we have seen the rapid growth of ‘money saving’ and ‘value’ focused websites providing visitors with vouchers, codes, special offers and many more ways to grab a bargain. In fact, mass market mums are paying more attention to money saving tips and ideas across all media, as highlighted below.

This search for value is not constrained to bigger ticket purchases, as everyday purchases are also being scrutinised.  In fact, on a day to day basis, the supermarket is one of the easiest places to make adjustments, and subsequently FMCG purchases are under as much scrutiny as higher priced ticket categories.

‘The 10 (grocery shopping) Commandments’

So how exactly does this search for value manifest itself in consumers’ everyday grocery shopping behaviour? We have identified the following 10 key behaviours amongst mainstream women:

1. Pre-plan the household’s meals for the week
2. Investigate value, for example via price comparison sites
3. Work the offers, for example shopping around multiple supermarkets
4. Write a shopping list
5. Go to the supermarket alone, leave the kids at home
6. Set an absolute spend limit
7. Only buy products on the list
8. Visit the offer aisle first
9. Stock up on offers
10. Check the price per unit of products.

Source: IPC Supermarket Squeeze 2 / The Street Revisited

Changing brand relationships…

Changes to consumers’ grocery shopping mindsets and behaviour have produced a shift in their FMCG brand relationships. Consumers today are increasingly challenging their brand relationships – even longstanding ones – with what we’ve termed a ‘flexible wallet’ approach. This involves juggling between three main options as shown below:

Increased in-store activity and promotional mechanics has led to consumers ‘speed dating’ FMCG brands – in some cases becoming ‘brand flirters’ or ‘brand flexible’. This more flexible and experimental approach is impacting upon brand relationships in three different ways:

1. Reaffirming of brand relationships
2. The emergence of new loyalties to branded or own label products
3. New brand/own label repertoires – where consumers may still have a ‘favourite’ but are happy to switch amongst a shortlist

Brands need to work harder…

It’s clear that for today’s ‘Self Conscious Shopper’ brands need to work harder; being ‘known’ alone is no longer enough.

FMCG brands must now overcome a stringent two-stage emotional and rational decision-making process before entering shoppers’ baskets.

Stage 1 involves the consumer emotionally identifying whether the brand matters to them (see diagram below). If their identity and emotional well-being is tied up with a brand they will be automatically loyal to it and unlikely to consider anything else. Brands lucky enough to have this emotional connection need to push this to the fore of their communications.

If there is no identifiable emotional importance then they will move on to Stage 2 of the value assessment. This second stage is about weighing up the rational benefit of a brand versus a trade to an alternate brand or switch to own label. It involves a value assessment looking at how the brand rates on five key measures: performance, enjoyment, family approval, adaptability and uniqueness (detailed below).

Brands need to communicate value…

In the current economic climate, brands can no longer rely on status as a reason for choice. They need to effectively communicate value to this new ‘Self Conscious Shopper’ by –

1. Reinforcing the emotional benefits AND
2. Increasing emphasis on the rational benefits

Mainstream female shoppers have never been so hungry for information and reasons why they should choose one product over another. They also appreciate the different roles that different media play. TV is great for making them aware of a brand; while newspapers are good for news of offers. They rely on magazines for product recommendations, advice and inspiration. Naturally they also see the internet is a place for discounts, price comparisons and more in depth information via reviews, recommendations and forums.

Ultimately every brand needs to prove that it is worth the money. So tailoring the communication and message according to the different media used is key for hitting the ‘Self Conscious Shopper’ from all angles!

Looking to the rest of the year ahead, many mainstream consumers are feeling cautiously optimistic, but the new ‘Self Conscious Shopper’ is here to stay. Consumers will continue to seek out value from their purchases, which will demand long term strategies from marketers.