ShopperVista Report, March 2013 The Shopper at easter

Snapshot The shopper at Easter Understand shoppers’ attitudes to Easter and adapt your 2014 commercial plans to meet their needs Plan for both eating in and eating out Easter missions Appeal to shoppers’ savvy shopping instincts Inspire shoppers across all stages of the shopper journey Shoppers don’t abandon their savvy shopping instincts at key events such as Easter. On balance, shoppers expect to cut back spend over Easter, particularly for what they consider as non-essentials such as Easter Eggs. Quality assurance is vital for all foods. More are planning to shop at discounters as they shop around for quality at a keen price Entice shoppers with stand out displays and keen price points to driver shopper awareness and encourage treating. Make the shopping experience less of a chore for those (particularly older shoppers) catering for family and friends at Easter. Engaging with younger shoppers at different stages of the shopper journey in reducing their anxiety about cooking at Easter can build trust and loyalty among this group. Two in three plan to mark Easter in some way, with more visiting others than making their own Easter meals. One in four combine preparing a special Easter meal (e.g. on Easter Sunday) and visiting family and friends. It is important to appeal to different shopper profiles – older shoppers who entertain more, and younger shoppers who visit friends and family.

Easter – a time also for socialising Easter is a time when shoppers plan to spend time with family and friends Two in three (67%) plan to mark Easter in some way, rising to 70% of higher social groups (vs 64% of C2DEs) and 74% of those living in London (vs 55% of those in Scotland) More plan to visit family and friends (47%) over Easter than prepare an Easter meal for their own family (38%) A quarter (26%) of shoppers combine preparing a special Easter meal (e.g. on Easter Sunday) and visiting family and friends at other times (e.g. Good Friday) Implications When planning ahead for Easter 2014, it is important to put shoppers at the heart of your strategy alongside sales data With many shoppers marking Easter, it is important to cater for both eating in and eating out missions Remember to appeal to wide variety of cuisines. Cater for communities who may use the time to socialise but who do not celebrate Easter % who plan to eat in, preparing special meals, or eat out, visiting family and friends this Easter 67% 14% 26% 27% Eat in (41%) Eat out (53%) Base: all main grocery shoppers, Feb’12

Older shoppers planning to entertain over Easter Older shoppers, those living in Wales and Scotland are most likely to stay in and entertain over Easter Men and those aged 18-34 are more likely to rely on visiting family and friends and eating out Eat in only Eat out only Implications The Easter shopper cannot be stereotyped, however, the life-stage differences should be recognised Make the shopping experience less of a chore for those catering for family and friends at Easter Understand what’s important to older shoppers e.g. providing a range of meal components together as well as having good availability at key times before and during Easter Provide gifting ideas that younger shoppers can provide to family and friends at Easter Base: all main grocery shoppers, Feb’12

Shoppers trying to avoid buying on impulse Easter spending intentions Buying Easter eggs is the aspect shoppers are most likely to claim they will spend less on this Easter Many have adopted a ‘mood of moderation’ which could be prompting shoppers to cut back on non-essentials as they continue to prioritise savvy shopping tactics to help them save money Shoppers see an opportunity to save money in this highly promoted category DEs, the group most likely to be affected by the austerity measures between 2010 and 2015, are most willing to cut back spend on Easter as they look to stick to a budget for their family Easter meal Less The same More Easter eggs 29% 61% 10% Eating out 25% 67% 8% All meals at home over Easter 21% 69% 10% Special meals at home 20% 9% 71% % expect to spend less this Easter Implications Companies can help to address these challenges by demonstrating empathy with shoppers’ need to save money Merchandising needs to work particularly hard to entice shoppers with stand out displays and keen price points to driver shopper awareness and encourage treating Easter meal All meals Eating out Easter eggs Base: all main grocery shoppers, Feb’12

Families shopping around more for value at Easter Shoppers are using their savvy shopping instincts to shop around for quality at a keen price More than one in five (22%) plan to shop around across different stores for food and groceries at Easter With the popularity of discounters increasing (see January tracking presentation), more are planning to use them this Easter compared to last year Interest in using discounters for Easter is evident among families across different social groups, illustrating their broadening appeal Discounters appeal to those planning to eat in and eat out during Easter, highlighting the appeal of meal solutions and gifting at these outlets Implications Discounters are becoming more innovative and engaged with shoppers to drive their appeal for key events Manufacturers could consider the discount channel as an opportunity to drive sales for future events e.g. Christmas and Easter 2014 % who plan to shop around more this Easter compared to last year 23% 19% Food discounters High street discounters Food discounters High street discounters Base: all main grocery shoppers, Feb’12, 6%-8% plan shop around less

Extending local/British range prioritised for Easter Shoppers prioritise enhancing the range of local/British products for their main meals at Easter, particularly older shoppers who only eat in There is still unmet demand for providing inspiration in-store at Easter. Entertaining for many can be a chore and shoppers are looking for more help at Easter, through merchandising, whether it is trying products, having more recipes or grouping products together Younger shoppers appear to lack confidence and knowledge in the kitchen, and are twice as likely to request more help on what and how to cook at Easter Implications Interest in local and British food predates the economic downturn, however, recent events are likely to ensure it remains a key priority for shoppers Engaging with younger shoppers at different stages of the shopper journey in reducing their anxiety about cooking at Easter can build trust and loyalty among this group Top improvements requested for Easter Higher among 45+ year olds Bigger range of local/British products Food sampling More Easter recipes Wider variety of healthy meals Meal suggestions/grouping meal together Wider variety of world foods Wider variety of fresh ready meals Ability to pre-order Easter meals Easter cookery lessons in-store Easter meal advice/tips from staff Higher among ABC1s with kids 23% Higher among 18-24 year olds Base: all main grocery shoppers, Feb’12

Can we help you further? Planning for Easter 2014? – Read our latest Shopper Trends report >> Shopper Trends - Q1 2013 in FastTrack 1 Build your customer engagement capability with IGD’s Academy >> See IGD’s Academy 2 Visit Retail Analysis to see ways to drive sales through events and special occasions >> See the special analysis 3 Report author: Michael Freedman Shopper Insight Manager michael.freedman@igd.com Need something else? Email shopper@igd.com or call +44 (0) 1923 851954 Follow us on Twitter @IGDShopperNews Return to Contents