The traditional "path to purchase" has an additional step gaining traction in today's digital age.
Online Search has become an important touch point along the way.
Before going to the store for a purchase, a growing number of consumers are researching products using their computers or mobile phones. A March 2010 study of shopper behavior led by Microsoft showed that three of four Internet users research grocery and personal care products. This behavior precedes the interaction between a shopper and a product on a store's shelf - a step that Procter & Gamble famously labeled as the First Moment of Truth (FMOT).
While this so-called FMOT is still important, the increased use of online search provides an opportunity for interaction between a consumer and a brand before that consumer ever sees a product on a shelf. Google has labeled this step the "Zero Moment of Truth" (ZMOT); that is, when consumers first encounter a brand or product online via search.
For most of the modern retailing era, the information shoppers received was controlled by manufacturers and retailers. These one-to-many advertising and marketing efforts across television, radio and print were the predominant points of influence on shopper behavior.
Access to information via the Internet began to erode that one-to-many model. Shoppers are now regularly using the Internet to look beyond their neighborhoods for products and retailers that best meet their needs. In an April 2010 survey conducted by comScore, 59% of consumers said that gathering information online is important to helping them make purchase decisions.
The economic downturn has accelerated shoppers' use of the Internet. Google reported an increase in search for coupons of 288% over the last two years and comScore reported 40 million visitors to coupon sites in November 2010. Conversely, retailers were only able to attract 1.5 million visitors to their websites in the same period. With broadband penetration now over 63% in the U.S., shoppers are well in control of the information they receive.
"Ask many traditional CPG retailers, and most will admit they have been slow to react. ...
Hispanic consumers exhibit unique shopping behavior in convenience stores, says a new study. Marketers can use specific guidelines on how to use these insights to develop targeted shopper marketing and merchandising strategies.
VideoMining Corporation conducted the study consisting of a detailed analysis of over 300,000 convenience store trips by Hispanic shoppers as part of a syndicated national program. The State College, Pa.-based firm is a provider of in-store intelligence for retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers.
The report, Hispanic C-Store Shopper MegaStudy, is part of a national syndicated program, C-Store Shopper Insights (CSI-2),conducted by VideoMining in cooperation with 7-Eleven, AM/PM, Circle K, Sheetz and Cumberland Farms.
The study dissects the "path to purchase" of a large sample of Hispanic shoppers to develop an understanding of how they shop the convenience store compared to the overall population. Significant differences were discovered - both in how they navigate the store and in how they shop individual categories such as snacks, candy, beer or non-alcoholic beverages...
Go Digital or Get Left Behind
Hispanic Shopping Behavior in C-Stores
