Shopping Behaviors May Transcend Demographics

Henkel uncovers new findings in consumer study

New research from Henkel Consumer Goods Inc. suggests that the demographic traits in common usage by retailers and brand marketers are not valid predictors of shopping behavior.

The study found three surprisingly distinct and enduring behavioral styles that defy characterization by the more traditional evaluative criteria of income level, age of household or size of household.

"Our findings suggest an alternative basis for retailer marketing and merchandising that may offer significant advantages," said Mack Hoopes, manager, Consumer Insights. "They challenge our assumptions about the relative value of certain shopper segments."

The study, "The Shoppers' Perspective," examined three years of data from multiple retail channels, covering 300 food and non-food categories commonly carried in supermarkets. This data was collected from the Information Resources Inc. Consumer Network Panel and other sources.

* "Shoptimizers" are most likely to be influenced in their choices by pre-shopping stimuli such as circulars and coupons. In fact, this group accounts for virtually 100% of coupon usage.

* "Mainstreeters" do far less pre-planning and rarely save coupons, so their store choices are more likely to be influenced by location, convenience and price reputation. This group is highly sensitive to in store messaging and promotions.

* "Carefrees" bypass pre-planning, and once inside the store, tend to ignore prices and promotions and simply buy what they like.


"Members of each group select stores based on their trust that they will deliver what they value in a shopping trip," Mr. Hoopes said. "We believe we have identified some foundational elements of pre-planning and reinforced a fundamental truth for all shoppers - if they trust you, they shop you."