Capture Multichannel Shoppers

We might think that consumers who shop around among a variety of sources for their needs are spending less money than those who engage in one-stop shopping. But at least when purchasing consumer packaged goods (CPGs), multichannel shoppers actually spend significantly more money than single-channel shoppers.
     This is according to a recent report from The Nielsen Company. Across the fifteen product categories examined in the Nielsen survey, people who purchased from at least four channels spent three to five times as much as people who used only one channel. The ratios were most dramatic for the categories of pet food, disposable diapers, and carbonated beverages.
     Why might this be?

• Researchers at University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University have speculated that when what consumers are buying is experiences, any novelty increases the amount the consumer is willing to pay. Your customers might be shopping around even for products they could purchase from your store because they want a variety of shopping experiences.
• Researchers at University of Texas-Arlington found that when consumers worked harder to get at a desired item, the consumers came to value the item more highly. Driving around town with a shopping list gives the consumer a feeling they’re working harder. In turn, this can lead the consumer to conclude that they deserve to spend more. A current angle on this is that shoppers have increasingly come to believe they are supposed to hunt around for the best price on an item before making the buy.

     Rather than let go of these multichannel shoppers, explore ways to make their shopping experience more varied and even a bit challenging.
     The categories of channels Nielsen included for place of purchase of CPGs were grocery store, dollar store, club store, mass merchandise outlet, and a minor category they called “other.” But shopping channels can also include ecommerce, catalog orders, telephone orders, and even booths at special events. You probably won’t choose to capture multichannel shoppers by opening a store with a wholly different retailing personality—such as a dollar store in addition to a grocery store. But if you’ve a store format, you might be able to expand the availability of merchandise via ecommerce, catalog, or telephone order, for example.
     The Nielsen Company is ready to help you with doing this. Their report suggests to manufacturers that they seek a broader variety of channels for retail sales of products.

Click below for more:
Leverage Barriers to Increase Value
Integrate Multiple Shopping Channels