This is a quick snapshot of a very comprehensive study conducted by GMA, Shespeaks & Booz & Co. titled Shopper Marketing: Unleashing the next wave of value. It is a pretty insightful study. Hope this quick snapshot version helps

1. February 3, 2010
From Shopper Marketing 3.0 Study by GMA, Shespeaks & Booz & Co.
Key insights about the in-store & out-of-
store shopping behavior.

2. In a price sensitive environment, most shoppers prefer
a better brand to a better price
Price is a clear winner here. But in an environment where price is the important battleground,
Shoppers use coupons or price promotions to justify buying the brands they want rather than as
the key factor driving their decision making.

3. Shoppers are using their pre-shop research to decide which stores they visit that week, in addition
to what they will buy within categories. Although price is the most critical factor in store selection,
brand assortment also plays a key role for many shoppers.
Price is the most important factor in selecting a
particular retail location

4. Shoppers are spending more time preparing for their shopping trips, making more than 40% of
their brand buying decisions before they get to the store. Also, research in grocery category is
more focused on finding the best price as opposed to learning more about product.
Respondents in the shopper study described this research as “hunting for deals”, which is
focused primarily on circulars and coupons in print media.
On average
59%
41%
More than 40% of shoppers make their brand buying
decisions before they get to the store

5. Majority of
shoppers
enter stores
without
detailed
shopping lists
Almost all shoppers plan their purchases before they enter the
store. Most shoppers have only rough or mental lists that are just
indicative of a broader consideration set in mind and they finalize
brand selection in the store.

6. Majority of shoppers spend 1 to 2 hours each week
searching for coupons & other price-related deals
A smaller set of shoppers spend 3 hours or more
3 hrs each week to search for price-related deals.
Female shoppers conduct substantially more
Female research than male shoppers.
Female shoppers conduct research versus 47% of
86% male shoppers

7. Long-standing
brand
preferences
are the most
important
influencing
factor in
determining
the shopping Shoppers typically have pre-established brand consideration sets in
list mind that become a key element in their choices at the shelf. These
preferences are built up over time through a broad set of touch points,
including media content, advertising, recommendations from friends
and family, the retail experience, and the product experience itself.

8. Shoppers use both online and offline to search for deals. Increasingly
shoppers have started using coupons. The out-of-store factors that
influence shoppers’ list-making selection also clearly indicate their
growing use of digital media. Online coupons, websites, blogs, e-
newsletters, online ads & social media were all citied as influential
factors in the study.
Shoppers
becoming
increasingly
digital

9. “For most in-store stimuli,
shopper marketers have less
than 10 seconds to break
through the clutter and
deliver the right equity
measures close to the point
of sale.”

10. As we can see, nearly two-third of the shoppers purchase exactly the same or fairly similar items
from their shopping list. However, approximately one-third of the respondents actually purchased
less than one half of the items on their lists. This proves that although the overwhelming majority of
shoppers are entering the stores with some sort of list, their lists are surprisingly malleable and
open to influence.
Shopping list versus actual purchase, by category

11. Beyond price,
other
influential in-
store drivers
of purchase
The relative importance of in-store marketing is getting beyond price
and closing the deal for brands which shoppers have not yet made up
their minds varies by product category.
The study also revealed that even though shoppers’ shopping lists
often include only the category, they already have a brand in mind
when they enter the store. If that brand can meet their expectations or
no other brand captures their attention… they will buy it.

12. Path to purchase

13. Factors influencing purchase across product categories