Our lives may be settling down at last but there’s no room for complacency in the liquor channel. Businesses that take their eye off the ball this year could be in for a tough ride. It’s more important than ever to gather robust information and distill it into actionable insights.
To this end, the latest round of off premise liquor research from Shopper Intelligence is about to go live. Over 23,000 shoppers have told us which post-COVID behaviours look set to continue through 2021.
It’s little surprise that health and wellbeing remain high on shoppers’ agendas. Although still less important than aspects like quality, price or offers, healthy choices saw the biggest increase in emphasis across all sixteen measures we track.
In terms of delivery on health, there is good news at a total level. Shoppers say the industry is doing a better job now than it was twelve months ago. In all five departments, satisfaction with healthy choices has increased, but spirits and cider lead the way.
This is a solid basis for further growth. The industry must continue to segment shopper groups more precisely and tailor more accurately to their needs. Merchandising and layouts need to evolve so shoppers can navigate more easily. This will help raise awareness of the breadth of options available to them today.
Another aspect to keep front of mind is in-store information. We reported in October that more liquor purchases were being decided upon once shoppers were in-store. This behaviour continued through the rest of 2020. Shoppers are less fixed on a particular category or brand when they set foot through the door. They’re more likely to be triggered by information and advice they see at and around the fixture.
Shoppers also say they’re more likely today to be buying something someone else has requested. This is fascinating for two reasons. It highlights the potential for the shopper and consumer to be different people. It also suggests that even when the shopper is going to consume the purchase, they may be less engaged with the category or have less knowledge of it. All of this again points back to the importance of providing the right level of guidance in-store to support shoppers in their decision-making.
This is of course just the tip of the iceberg. Getting under the skin of how these and other changes have played out at category level is the key to staying ahead of your competitors.
If you need a deeper understanding of shopper behaviour to fuel your growth this year, contact david.shukri@shopperintelligence.com.au or visit shopperintelligence.com.au.