Understanding How Shoppers Live (and Shop)

There have been plenty of things said about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on how shopping has changed. The enthusiasm and chatter about the growth of e-commerce, the flight to online purchasing and frictionless services retailers have adopted in response to a more safety-conscious shopper have been prioritized (or heard loudest). However, there is seemingly minimal depth of discussion on how different audiences and their COVID-19 response to has driven change in their points of influence. Among primary grocery shoppers, four distinct lifestyle behaviors have come to light in Path to Purchase Institute's research. Shoppers are evenly split between being two lifestyles that are more cautious and two that try to live normally, with some differences based on age, race and gender.The increase in online purchasing driven by COVID-19 is undisputed. Perhaps surprising to many, in almost all categories studied, a majority of shoppers across all four lifestyles always make their purchases in physical stores. This remains particularly true for perishables like bread, meat, fresh produce and dairy. A small percentage of more traditional stock-up purchases like health/beauty/personal care and baking supplies shoppers claim are purchased “always online.” Nonetheless, across audiences, more than half of their purchases in these categories remain in-store. On the surface, all groups demonstrate similar shopper behaviors. The actions of checking inventory at home and writing out a shopping list fall in the top one and two positions, respectively, for steps used in product purchasing across all surveyed categories. As we progress one level deeper into the data, the behavioral and tactical preferences and product purchase drivers between the identified groups show some distinction. The survey data indicated that the cautious shoppers are the ones embracing online shopping. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that digital tactics with online price comparison and looking for digital/online coupons delivered a higher-than-average preference among shoppers sheltering in place and those who go out if necessary, compared to the other two audiences. The product factors these two groups consider and weigh more heavily in their purchase decisions become important for a brand’s communication and activation planning. Across 10 or more categories, shoppers from the two cautious groups claimed that packaging size, package functionality, and the availability of new varieties and product innovation were more important than brand when making a product choice. The utilization of online tactics and more traditional in-store tactics seems to be in balance with these shoppers with comparing prices at shelf and reviewing the printed store flyer as steps used frequently across categories.COVID-19 has created a more complex shopper landscape than ever before, one where a more engaged shopper resides. Shoppers are making choices based on their personal need in achieving a level of safety that is both comfortable and convenient. This desire has, in turn, caused them to adapt their shopping behavior across categories and embrace both digital/online practices and in-store influences.So what does this mean to manufacturers as they adapt and plan for 2022 forward? Manufacturers need to invest more time in understanding the relationship of “how I live” and “how I shop.” By doing so and unlocking that relationship, it will allow brands to make strategic decisions and subsequent tactical choices — using both online and in-store vehicles — that are driven by purchase factors and preferences grounded in shopper understanding. Liz Fogerty is chief strategy officer at Edge Marketing. In the world of borderless retail, Edge is conversion obsessed. Edge creates enduring bonds between people and brands through agility, brave thinking and retail prowess.

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