Shopper marketing

Shopper marketing is carried out in stores, its purpose is to turn a store visitor into a product buyer. The goal of shopper marketing, therefore, is to encourage the buyer to make a purchase decision in a store near the product. The consumer and the potential buyer of the product can be different people. For example, the mother of the family can be responsible for 90% of the purchase of daily purchases, while consumption can be distributed evenly among four family members.

From the point of view of retailers, shopper marketing means that suppliers of goods make their marketing investments in the store instead of traditional media investments. In addition, a significant factor in the emergence of shopper marketing was a deeper understanding of customers and purchasing behavior, made possible by advanced trading information systems (for example, conclusions about the number of purchases based on information from discount cards). Investments of product suppliers in shopper marketing are growing at 21% per year [1] . The Procter & Gamble company, in particular, invests, according to its tax report, annually at least $ 500 million for shopper marketing [2] . For example, the following research results redirected investments from consumer marketing to shopper marketing:

70% of brands are selected in the store [3]
68% of purchase decisions not planned [4]
5% are true to one brand of products [5]

Content

Areas of activity

The starting point of shopper marketing is always a potential buyer, that is, a person who has come to shop. Therefore, as a measure shopper marketing means a marketing irritant aimed at a potential buyer, based on an understanding of the purchasing behavior of the latter. Shopper marketing can be divided, like traditional mixed marketing, into four “Ps” : product (product), price (price), place (place) and marketing message (promotion).

Product: product size, shape, color, material, packaging, text and graphics on the package.
Price: price discounts, discounts for a large party, price designation and coupons.
Place: store concept, lighting, aisles with shelves and placement of special presentations.
Marketing message (promotion): packaging, store, advertising information, special presentations, television in the store, stickers on the floor and advertising in grocery carts and baskets.

Purchasing Behavior Information

Information about the behavior of a potential buyer is collected in three different ways: monitoring, surveys and the cash system. With the help of observations made in the store, it turns out how a potential buyer behaves when purchasing goods. For example, the length of the buying process that the buyer noticed that he touched, reviewed and what he bought, as well as the purchasing methods that affect the process. Surveys reveal motives that guide purchasing behavior. Most often, such issues as substitutability of goods and identification of substitutes, assessments and positions, preferences and motivation factors, as well as lifestyle and current life circumstances, are found out. Using the cash system you can get information when and what products were sold. In addition, with the help of discount cards you can determine the purchases that certain customers make. Thus, absolute data is obtained - what and when an individual buyer purchased. A complete picture of the buyer’s behavior emerges when combining information obtained by all the above methods of collecting information in order to create a comprehensive image of the buyer (how, why, what and when).

Segmentation of potential buyers

When segmenting customers, the market is divided into the most important and measurable groups - segments - based on information about purchasing behavior. Segmentation of potential customers makes it easier to meet the needs of individual segments. For example, price-sensitive and tradition-conscious customers stand out from others for their behavior. By segmenting marketing measures, you can target the most profitable customers.

Examples of segmentation of potential buyers

TESCO [6]

Finer foods

Healthy

Convenience

Price sensitive

Mainstream

Traditional

Social shoppers

WAL-MART [7]

Brand aspirationals

Price Value Shoppers

Trendy Quality Seekers

Price Sensitive Affluents

One stop shoppers

Conscientious Objectors

SAFEWAY [8]

Value-Seeking

Variety-seeking

Brand-seeking

Simplicity-seeking

Discovery-Seeking

Quality-seeking

Literature

McCarthy, E. Jerome (1960). Basic Marketing, Irwin-Dorsey Limited, ISBN 0256085242