The New Consumer (September-October 2023)
The Path to Purchase Institute partnered with global brand consultancy and market research firm Provoke Insights to study socially conscious consumers and their shopping habits for Provoke’s bi-annual consumer trends study.
Most American consumers (74%) are socially conscious when making purchases, but they are not consistently buying product from socially responsible brands. (Only one-tenth of respondents said they always do.) To understand these shoppers, the research determined that:
• “Made with clean ingredients” is the No. 1 attribute that consumers (mostly Gen Z and Democrats) consider when buying socially conscious products.
• Companies focusing on charitable donations, minority-owned and B Corp certified were not highly considered factors.
• A third (32%) of respondents will switch brands if the company does not align with their values. (Democrats, wealthier Americans, Millennials, parents and males are more likely to have this sentiment.)
• Those who are purchasing sustainably sourced items say they are more budget conscious than six months ago.
Promotional Effectiveness
Amid current economic uncertainty, shoppers are divided on what promotions they prefer most, according to July research from Kroger’s 84.51 data analytics subsidiary.
• 17% of shoppers ranked digital coupons lowest on
their list.
• Digital coupons are leveraged most when shopping perimeter categories (e.g., produce, dairy, meat/seafood), while threshold events and endcaps are used most often when shopping center store (e.g., shelf-stable, drinks & snacks/candy).
• Lower-income shoppers cited digital promotions as the top way to save money, while higher-income shoppers gravitate toward threshold events.
• When it comes to threshold events (e.g., BOGO/spend x, save x), the most popular is “Spend $15, Save $5,” particularly for younger shoppers.
Other trends highlighted from the last quarter include:
• Store pickup is popular. While the majority of shoppers plan to shop in-store in the upcoming months, grocery pickup showed notable growth over the past quarter.
• Fewer shoppers report noticing price increases in dairy and meat/fish compared to the past year average.
• More shoppers notice price increases in drinks, while produce, frozen foods and paper products trended flat
Holiday Trends
Research from Bazaarvoice explored where, what, when and how shoppers will make purchases this holiday season, especially during Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend (BFCM).
• Shoppers prefer holiday shopping in-store (81%), but not by much: 72% said online and 22% said social media.
• Consumers want to learn about deals in certain places: Ads (64%) are where consumers want to hear about Black Friday deals most, but social media (46%), marketing emails from brands (46%) and news articles and gift guides (42%) are not far behind.
• Social media is a big discovery tool for BFCM: 49% of consumers said they follow brands on social media to discover Black Friday deals, 45% are more likely to discover a product via social media than any other channel over Black Friday, and 25% of shoppers prefer to shop via social media over BFCM. Sixty-three percent said they expect to discover new products on social media over BFCM.
• Reviews are a top priority across channels: Three quarters (74%) of shoppers agree that reviews impact their purchasing decisions, while more than half (59%) say the same about social media.
• Brands should be holiday-ready now: 11% already holiday shopped in July and 14% in August, while 19% will in September, 35% in October, 57% in November and 48% in December.
• Hot-ticket items this holiday season: 70% said they’re gifting apparel, 51% said games and toys, 47% said electronics, 40% said food and beverages, 37% said health and beauty and 36% said jewelry.