LIQUOR SHOPPERS WILL JUST DO WHAT THEY ALWAYS DO… New Zealand liquor shoppers aren’t as habitual as you might think, writes Andrew Arnold, NZ Country Manager, Shopper Intelligence.
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abitual purchasing rules the roost – “That’s my favourite”, “That’s what I always get”, “That new thing looks interesting, but I’ll have my usual, thanks”. Surely that’s how shoppers shop? It doesn’t matter what channel you’re talking about. Whether it’s grocery, convenience, or traditional liquor. I know what I like, so I’ll buy that. I also know what others in my household like who I buy for. Past purchasing history will determine what people buy in the future. You get the idea. The thing is though, that is an outdated - and totally wrong - view of shopper behaviour. What people habitually buy is a good indicator in some categories across channels, but by no means does it hold true for everything. One size most certainly does not fit all. 10 THE SHOUT NZ – MARCH 2021
What shoppers want and need is the best indicator of future behaviour. And unsurprisingly, after 12 years of research into why shoppers make purchase decisions, we’ve come to a resounding conclusion: Every category, banner, and channel must be approached differently, as shopper motivations rapidly evolve. Liquor shoppers – particularly after lockdown – don’t just buy what’s familiar. They want to try something new. They want theatre. They want excitement. HOW HABITUAL ARE SHOPPERS? A common metric that we look at is whether shoppers plan to make their purchase before they even get to the store. We have been collecting shopper data in New Zealand in the liquor channel for four years, so we can see some clear trends starting to appear. The proportion of shoppers in the
Andrew Arnold, NZ Country Manager, Shopper Intelligence With 20 years’ worth of experience in NZ FMCG, Andrew has worked in a wide variety of sales and insights roles with the likes of Red Bull, Gordon & Gotch and Energizer. During his career he has led sales and insights teams to develop insight-led strategies that drive both retailer and category growth.