Do You Know the New Breed of Shoppers?

NEW YORK — Retailers seeking to survive in today’s evolving landscape must better understand and cater to a new breed of shoppers, who make faster trips in stores and more frequent ones outside traditional channels; are less loyal to brands and disillusioned by the lack of perceived differentiation in categories; and feel that most retailers are mediocre at best.

“In even just a year, the American shopper has changed dramatically. We need to rethink the way we do our business,” Wendy Liebmann, CEO of WSL Strategic Retail, said during a keynote session at the recent Shopper Marketing Summit in New York. The annual event is presented by Convenience Store News sister company Path to Purchase Institute.

Although there are now more places to buy than ever before, brands have fewer places to sell, with the average number of channels that shoppers utilize dropping for the first time in years.

Liebmann characterized the modern shopper as a “shopping goddess.”

“The modern shopper curates her own path to purchase,” she told attendees of the Shopper Marketing Summit. “You need to ask, ‘Am I in all the places she wants to be in?’”

Touting “new and improved” products and offering basic price promotions will no longer win over modern shoppers, who care less about “stuff” and more about achieving happiness.

“If we’re in the stuff business, we need to build that proposition around the value she’s looking for,” Liebmann said, noting that shoppers are more willing to pay for:

• Experiences and products that reduce stress in their lives;
• Healthy products that improve their well-being; and
• The opportunity to make discoveries in stores and receive a customized experience.

To drive growth, retailers also need to develop dynamic strategies and programs that meet the changing daily needs and personas of shoppers, who can no longer be viewed through a singular lens.

“When it was clear she was coming in the store as a mom, it was easy; it’s not so clear now, and we need to consider all iterations,” Liebmann said.

Click here to see the full story from Convenience Store News sister company Path to Purchase Institute.