Some 60% of European shoppers cite the product range available in stores as a key consideration as to why they shop with certain retailers, a new study by IRI has found.
The group’s Shopper Insights Report, which surveyed 2,600 European consumers across seven countries, found that range, the incorporation of a wide assortment, a choice of brands, and a good selection of healthy products remain key drivers – in many cases, more important than convenience, quality or value.
However, having a wide range of products was deemed least important in terms of shopping in the discounters and also online, with shoppers primarily driven by price (68% and 50%, respectively).
“Our survey has shown quite clearly that European shoppers increasingly prefer to visit online stores, with a third saying they do so regularly, so bricks-and-mortar stores are having to work much harder at getting people in store,” explains Laura Fusi, shopper-insight senior manager, IRI.
Regional Breakdown
Across the countries surveyed, there were similarities in the percentage of shoppers choosing particular stores because of the range available.
In the UK, 60% of shoppers chose a supermarket because of its wide range of products, 64% because of store services, and 50% because of price and promotions. In Italy, 61% of shoppers cited a wide range of products as the reason for choosing a hypermarket, while 58% do the same for supermarkets.
In France, 61% of shoppers selected a wide range of products as the reason for choosing a hypermarket, while 68% cited convenience and 62% chose store services as their reasons for shopping at this type of store. In Spain, while 59% of shoppers cite a wide range of products as a reason for store choice when it comes to hypermarkets, 52% say the same for supermarkets.
Meanwhile, in Germany, respondents overwhelmingly consider a wide range of products as a reason for shopping at a hypermarket (73%) and supermarket (70%).
Assortment
“Retailers will have to manage their assortment, in collaboration with manufacturers, by understanding, in depth, what each shopper in each store is expecting to find – if possible, in a supermarket format – as hypermarkets have become too large,” Farsi added.
“Going further, this personalisation approach, thanks to Big Data technologies like IRI Liquid Data, enables them to reach each shopper with the right message, with promotions, for instance, at any moment of his/her shopping trip.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
