FDBusiness.com

Product range continues to drive shoppers into stores, with the majority of shoppers preferring a ‘wide range of products’ over convenience, quality and store services in many cases. This is according to a new Shopper Insights Report of 2,600 European consumers across seven countries conducted by IRI, the big data and technology expert for consumer industries.

The report indicates that at a time when many retailers are reviewing their ranges, and in some cases rationalizing them to cut costs, ‘range’ – which includes wide assortment, choice of brands, and good selection of healthy products in line with the growing trend for health and wellbeing – is still a key driver for consumers.

Sixty per cent of European shoppers indicate it is a reason for store choice when it comes to supermarkets and hypermarkets. Other reasons for choosing this type of store include products being in one place (40%) and customer loyalty cards (27%).

Across all of the countries surveyed – Italy, Greece, Spain, Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands – having a wide range of products was least important when selecting discounters and also when shopping online, with shoppers driven primarily by price (68% and 50% respectively).

However, for specialized stores, offering a wide range of products appears to be a main driver for shoppers visiting that shop in the first place. Of those visiting a drug store, 56% chose it because of range and 52% because of convenience, while 55% of shoppers visiting a frozen food store do so because of range, 51% because of convenience and 43% because of price and promotions. When it comes to our pets, 53% of consumers chose a pet store because of the wide range of products on offer, while 44% say convenience is important.

Health and organic shops come out on top for product range, with 68% of shoppers in the IRI report indicating that they chose a store based on this criteria, followed by good quality (47%) and store services (39%). Focusing on range is also critical for beauty stores, with 59% of shoppers selecting a store because it offers a wide range of products, while 49% are attracted by in-store services and 34% by quality.

“Our survey has shown quite clearly that European shoppers increasingly prefer to visit online stores, with a third saying they do so regularly, so bricks and mortar stores are having to work much harder at getting people in-store,” explains Laura Fusi, Shopper Insight Senior Manager, IRI.

“Retailers will have to manage their assortment, in collaboration with manufacturers, by understanding in-depth what each shopper in each store is expecting to find, if possible in a supermarket format, as hypermarkets have become too large. And going further, this personalization approach, thanks to big data technologies like IRI Liquid Data^, enables them to reach each shopper with the right message, with promotions for instance, at any moment of his/her shopping trip.”

European Shopper Insights largest countries breakdown – reason for choice of store:

UK

• 60% of UK shoppers chose a supermarket because of wide range of products, with 64% because of store services and 50% because of price and promotions.
• 59% of shoppers cite wide range of products for their choice of health & organic stores; 57% for a frozen food store; and 51% for a make-up/cosmetics store
• Convenience is chosen most commonly in the UK when it comes to reason for store choice, with 70% choosing it for their choice of supermarket and 71% for their choice of convenience store.
• Range is less important when it comes to choosing greengrocers, butchers, bakers and fish stores, along with pharmacies (43% state as reason for store choice).

Italy

• 61% of Italians select wide range of products as the reason for choosing a hypermarket, while 58% do the same for supermarkets.
• When it comes to specialized stores, 67% select range as a reason to shop at a health/organic store, 62% for a perfumery store and 57% for a frozen food store.
• Range is less important when it comes to shopping at convenience stores, with just 24% of shoppers choosing it as a reason for store choice, while just 32% chose range as a reason for shopping at a discounter (hard and soft).

France

• 61% of French shoppers select wide range of products as the reason for choosing a hypermarket, while 68% cite convenience and 62% chose store services for their reasons for shopping at this type of store.
• Just over half (51%) say range is a reason for shopping a supermarket.
• Over two-thirds (68%) cite it as a reason for store choice when it comes to make-up and cosmetic stores and 64% for drug stores.
• Just 22% think wide range of products is key to store choice for convenience and 28% for shopping at the discounters.

Spain

• While 59% of Spanish shoppers cite wide range of products as a reason for store choice when it comes to hypermarkets, 52% say the same for supermarkets
• Over three-quarters say range is the reason for choosing a health or organic store, nearly two-thirds (64%) for choosing make-up or cosmetics store, and 60% for choosing a department store.
• Range is less important for store choice when it comes to convenience stores (34%) and discounters (37%)

Germany

• Germans overwhelmingly vote wide range of products s a reason for shopping at a hypermarket (73%) and supermarket (70%)
• 66% cite it as a reason for choosing a drug store or a health/organic store.
• Shoppers in Germany see range as less important for convenience (30%) and pharmacies (44%)