According to recent IELKA (Research Institute of Retail Consumer Goods) survey, consumers in Greece have changed their habits regarding their purchases on retail goods, due to the economic recession.
The major findings of the survey are the following:
- The vast majority (86%) are going after offers and discount promotions, while 82% are examining carefully what to buy. That includes comparing prices between different products, especially in supermarkets where the comparison framework is larger. They also dedicate more of their time to compare in-store, on the shelves, through offer brochures, or in the Web and in digital media to find more discount opportunities and deals.
- 76% of shoppers are oriented towards bigger packages in order to augment their savings. Three out of four consumers prefer to buy necessity and value-for-money items, avoiding luxury products that they used to buy in the past.
- A 77% said they have decreased their spending on buying delivery fast- food, preferring to cook at home, and therefore, they increased their in-store visits.
- An increasing amount of consumers shopping in supermarket chains (67%) opt to buy the best offered savings solution which is private label products. As a result, the volume and sales of private label supermarket products has shifted upwards.
- Greek consumers have now become more active. A 62% percentage has stated that they visit more than one store in order to compare prices and take advantage of special offers and deals.
- Consumers now prefer to make multiple but smaller in volume in-store trips in order to allocate their purchases to different stores but also to take advantage of the periodic deals. This key element underlines the trend of a current decline of the Greek household’s inventory size.
The above survey results and findings, are eye-opening and we can derive valuable conclusions about Greek consumer’s shopping behavior:
Overall, the Greek shopper in 2014 becomes more pro-active and smarter as a buyer, who focuses on finding discount opportunities rather than just reducing the shopping basket. The survey reveals that although in 2012/13 the Greek consumers’ main interest was to reduce their spending and volume of their shopping trips, in 2014 their main objective is to make smarter buys and increase their savings. Moreover, the Greek consumer is more market-aware and spends more time for seeking the best offers, compares prices more intensively and welcomes alternative products rather than sticking to the same products. Although the precedent years the diminished volume of purchases was a priority, in contrary, Greek consumers in 2014 are pre-planning their purchases and are willing to pay multiple in-store visits so as to find their desired deal.
Consequently, a shifting consumer behavior towards discount offers, deals and savings mentality creates multiple market opportunities for retailers to engage them, fill in loyalty gaps and revitalize their brand identity. Brands need to keep pace with those dynamics and adding up the digital evolution and the new channels that are emerging in the purchase process, a strong need to adopt innovative ways for campaigning has arisen. Integrating with MPASS turn-key solutions can be a win-win situation for both brands and consumers.
Source: http://www.ielka.gr/