News tagged Retail
More Green Means More Green
June 11th, 2011Consumers in the US are willing to pay more for a variety of products that are environmentally friendly, or “green,” and 90% say they have incorporated some level of “greenness” into their daily lives.
Though a relatively small percentage (8.8%) consider themselves to be 100% green, most are aspirational green, having incorporated at least a few environmentally friendly behaviors into their daily life, the study found.
Green Commands Premium Prices
Consumers are willing to pay a premium for products they know are made out of green organic materials. Not surprisingly, aspirational green and 100% green consumers are the most willing to pay a premium:
- Aspirational green consumers are most willing to pay a premium for food and household products they know to be green, including produce (66.6%), juices and other bottled drinks (61.1%), household cleaners (59.2%), laundry detergents (58.7%), and packaged food (58.2%).
- Among the 100% green respondents, more than 80% are willing to pay a premium for all product categories, including food, garden/landscaping supplies (84.4%), home improvement supplies (84.0%), bedding (83.3%), and health and beauty products (82.0%).
Internet Best for Info
Nearly four in 10 (39.4%) respondents say the internet is the best source of information on green products and practices, followed by TV (18.4%), friends and family (9.2%), newspapers (7.1%), magazines (6.5%), and books (4.6%). Additionally, while men search for information on alternative energy and green technologies, women look for healthy recipes, recycling, simple living, and natural remedies.
Ad Claims Meet Skepticism
More than half (56.6%) of all respondents believe – at least to some extent – advertising claims that promote a product as green or environmentally friendly. However, one-fourth (25.1%) do not believe the claims or find them confusing or misleading, and only one in 10 (10.0%) say they never believe green claims made in an ad.
In terms of results based on respondent “greenness,” two-thirds (67.5%) of aspirational green consumers believe green claims in advertising, compared with 58.2% of 100% green respondents, and 32.3% of consumers who are not green at all. Interestingly, women in all key age segments are more likely than men to purchase a product that is advertised as being green or environmentally friendly. However, men still lead women for being completely green, 12.1% vs. 5.3%, respectively.
Motivations Differ
There are interesting and distinct difference in the motivation to go green between aspirational greens and those self-identified as 100% green. While aspirational greens point to working for a better environment (61.3%) as the reason for incorporating environmentally friendly behaviors into their daily lives, only 38.1% of 100% greens point to this cause. The reasons for being green, among respondents who are 100% green:
- To live a better quality of life (36.6%)
- It’s good for the community (35.4%)
- The desire to make a difference (32.9%)
- To set an example for others to follow (31.5%)
Among this all-green segment, being green identifies a lifestyle rather than personal activity.
Additional Research
A recent report from Environmental Leader and Watershed Publishing found that consumers are rewarding companies that use so-called “green marketing” tactics and are willing to pay more for the same product when it is presented with an environmentally friendly message.
The in-depth report, “Green Marketing: What Works & What Doesn’t – A Marketing Study of Practitioners,” also revealed that increased spending on green advertising and marketing is, in many cases, the result of firms finding distinct additional marketing and advertising advantages with green messages.
What does it all mean?
We see that the green minded consumer is consistently turning to online and digital sources to find information about brands and companies. To this end, smart well planned communication planning which supports how the green consumer researches and connects with brand information is critical.
Optimizing the “U” in SKU
June 11th, 2011Successful CPG manufacturers are much more likely than other CPG companies to engage in annual SKU optimization, according to Nielsen.
8 in 10 Winners Conduct Annual SKU Optimization
Data from the 2010 Customer & Channel Management Survey indicates 78% percent of the most successful CPG companies, or “CPG winners,” conduct SKU-optimization analyses once a year, while 42% of other players do. In winning companies, marketing and sales lead this analysis; in other organizations, finance and supply more often assume this role.
While all surveyed CPG companies use profit as a SKU optimization criteria and virtually all use volume, results show winners are more likely to take a strategic approach. For example, 100% of winners and 84% of other companies use strategic fit as a criteria. Similarly, 78% of winners but only 58% of other companies use future growth prospects, and 56% of winners and 42% of other companies use consumer decision trees.
Survey results show winners are more likely than others to initiate this process with a retailer. Only 22% of winners use a retailer request as criteria in their SKU optimization process, compared to 63% of other companies.
Winners are also more likely to apply a targeted approach to SKU optimization, focusing on one category at a time. Furthermore, winners create a relatively smaller number of customized SKUs for retailers. Seventy-seven percent of winning companies tailor less than 10% of their SKUs for individual retailers; 36% of other companies do so.
Complexity Management Seen More Relevant
A combined 96% of respondents see complexity management as more relevant (60%) or much more relevant (36%) than in the past. Despite broad efforts, only 30% of respondents are able to manage this complexity in an effective manner. Winners are reducing their SKUs below the category average while increasing revenue and achieving category growth by adhering to the following imperatives.
Most CPG Companies Pursue Standardization
The survey reveals that most CPG companies pursue standardization. While standardization initiatives have been implemented in many areas, more than 70% of respondents focus their efforts on supply chain, manufacturing, and marketing and packaging.
These players involve a broad range of cross-functional groups in the process of identifying standardization opportunities, including supply, research and development, finance, and marketing. Data indicates companies pursuing standardization initiatives usually realize the greatest savings in inventory, raw material, and packaging costs.
Other Findings
- More than 40% of retailers reduced SKUs in 2009
- 25% of SKUs generate 80% of respondent CPG sales
- 77% of winning companies tailor less than 10% of their SKUs for individual retailers; 36% of other companies do
I Am Not Some Sort Of Crazy Coupon Clipper! But I Do Love My Mobile Phone Coupons…
June 11th, 2011Here at world headquarters, we have been following consumer’s increasing use of mobile phone couponing. The report released by Retail Connections shows some amazing consumer metrics. Nearly 80% US mobile phone users currently uses or will use mobile text coupons within 24 months.
Text Coupons Most Popular Retail-Related Consumer Mobile Activity
Looking at a variety of retail-related consumer mobile activities, text coupons lead both in terms of current engagement (25%) and planned engagement in the next 12 months (47%). Probably due to the high percentage of consumers who will already be using mobile text coupons within 12 months, planned engagement within 12 to 24 months is only 9%, tied for second-lowest with consumer self-checkout.
The other two retail-related consumer mobile activities currently used by more than 20% of mobile phone subscribers are regular barcode (22%) and 2D barcode (21%). Coupons on mobile screen only have 16% current engagement, but 38% planned engagement within the next 12 months, second only to text coupons in this category.
iPhone/iPod Most Supported Consumer Mobile Platform by Wide Margin
Study data indicates 85% of US retailers support consumer use of the iPhone/iPod platform, and 88% plans to do so in the future. This current support rate dwarfs the 55% support of the next-most-popular consumer mobile platform among retailers, the iPad platform. However, 72% of retailers plan to support consumer iPad use in the future.
While only 50% of retailers currently support consumer use of the Android platform, 79% plan to support it in the future. Windows Mobile has 43% current support and 53% planned support, while Blackberry has slightly lower current support (40%) but slightly higher future support (58%).
4 in 10 Retailers Support Store Associate Blackberry Platform
Retailers display different preferences for supporting mobile platform use by their employees, and at much lower percentages. Part of the reason for this lower level of support may be the higher cost involved in supplying store associates with mobile devices, as opposed to letting consumers use their own devices in the store.
The iPhone/iPod and Windows Mobile platforms are tied for second place with 42% current support. However, 67% of retailers plan future iPhone/iPod support, while only 41% plan future Windows Mobile support, implying a small number of retailers currently supporting employee use of Windows Mobile devices plan to end it.
Android only has 26% current support, but comparatively high 41% planned future support. Windows CE/7 also has 26% current support, but similar to Windows Mobile planned future support for this platform dips to 22%.
Texting Most Popular Mobile Plan Feature
Perhaps explaining the popularity of text coupons, more than nine in 10 mobile phone owners (94%) have text included in their phone plan. This makes texting by far the most popular feature of US consumer mobile phone plans. Other popular features include email (80%) and mobile web (78%).