Good news for the Convenience Sector. The percentage of GB adults using the convenience channel has increased from 58% to 69% year on year. The average basket spend per trip continues to increase, and trip frequency remains steady at 3.7 times per week.
When him! spoke to 22,000 shoppers in their recent Convenience Tracking Programme (CTP), they found that improved range was the biggest reason for shoppers visiting their c-store more now than a year ago , and over ½ of all c-shoppers DO NOT feel that their store sells products they do not need, or would never buy.
Him! asked shoppers the reason why they were at their store (shopper mission) and 38% said they were on a ‘top up’ mission (whether to buy something they need for the next couple of days or urgently), spending on average 44% more than the CTP average spend 50% shoppers believe that this is where C stores expertise should be - in providing everyday basics for top up shopping.
However, with fresh being one of the key drivers in this mission, C-stores need to hold a competitive advantage now more than ever. Shoppers are still sceptical, and the competition is putting the pressure on. The general perception is that it is that fresh fruit & veg are still too expensive in c- stores. Shoppers are looking for value, and discounters are taking their increasing share within the ‘top up’ mission - 66% of shoppers that we spoke to in our ‘2012 Discounter Tracking Programme’ said this is why they were at that discounter!
Tara Benjamin, Client Director at him! said “Retailers need to focus on driving the top up mission; deals such as £1 bread and milk offering , ensuring availability, improvements in fresh range, and stock rotation are all key to implementing this.”
Top up shoppers that rate their stores 10/10 for range of fresh fruit and veg:
» Spent an average of 12% more
» Rated stores @ 9.3 vs 6.7 for value for money
» Visited the store 5 times per week versus CTP average at just over 3 times
Furthermore, if retailers can start to move away from category management and focus on ‘mission management’ (by merchandising items that are commonly purchased together) 79% of shoppers say this is what they want and 40% of shoppers say they will buy more!
Tags: convenience, CTP, discounter, fresh
Posted: 25/05/2012 11:53:14
by
Claire McClaughlin
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