Shoppers get more discerning

Kirkbride says: "It is not enough to gain competitive advantage through conventional methods. Marketers need to drive consumption growth at a category level if they wish to secure a bigger share of a bigger market. This means they must understand and leverage category level drivers better than their competitors."

Consumption growth in turn can only be achieved through positively influencing the behaviour of the most significant consumers: "This requires understanding and targeting, the specific needs of the most attractive consumers on the most attractive consumption occasions. This understanding will highlight which behaviour changes are required in order to stimulate bigger consumption. Only then will you be able to develop an effective consumer proposition."

Kirkbride pointed out that a brand level focus is insufficient to deliver sales targets and that manufacturers and retailers needed to maximise the basket size and mix on each shopping trip, claiming that visualising and motivating a "basket of success" is an important factor in gaining market share or stimulating meaningful market growth.

Kirkbride says that to do this certain questions must be answered: "Who are the shoppers and who are they shopping for? Where and when are they shopping? These insights will give rise to new sales opportunities. People shop on a variety of different occasions to meet a wide range of needs, and marketers need to target those occasions and needs to motivate additional purchases.

Le Sar points out that identifying a shopper by demographics and LSM could be limiting: "You can tailor target-marketing if you understand shopper segments. Emotional needs and lifestyle are major predicators of shopper behaviour. Lifestyle can have an important influence on shopper segments and associated needs and behaviours."

While shoppers claim to do their purchases only once or twice a week, research undertaken by Le Sar has shown that the average shopper makes up to ten trips weekly.

"It is important to determine exactly when they do shop and why, bearing in mind that the occasion, or reason, will determine the behaviour. So the store offering needs to fulfill different needs for different occasions."

Le Star says shoppers have been so spoiled for choice that catching their attention becomes increasingly difficult.: "They tend to do more planning about purchases and consequently only one third of them will walk through most of the store - they will tend to go directly to where their choices are displayed. However, one out of every two will purchase more than they planned, hence the importance of optimising range, visibility and impact of products on sale."

Once manufacturers and retailers have determined their target shopper segments, prioritized the shopping occasions, identified the desired basket size and mix and associated purchasing behaviours, Kirkbride advises that only then can they develop a compelling shopping offer: "This offer should incorporate all of the 4Ps: Product - with the most appropriate pack size and design; Place - the right distribution and range optimisation; Price and Promotion - achieved through communication and interaction, special offers and competitions."