Getting on the List

I have previously written about shopping lists, partly because they are fascinating in their own right, but also because they represent a pivotal part of the shopper journey. This would explain why so many brands or categories are borderline obsessed with ‘getting on the list’.

‘Getting on the list’ is important for brands or categories as it means that they have made it into the consideration set for a particular consumption occasion and that the shopper is intending to purchase said category or brand.

Source: Shopfloor Insights

It’s been fun to revisit this topic with my partners Ink Research, who have undertaken some quantitative shopper research to put some numbers against the importance of shopping lists as part of the shopper journey and instore decision-making process. ?

The shopping lists I encountered (or not) during my stint at Tesco were very interesting as they indicated that shopper behaviours varied enormously:

• Many shoppers did not use a list, seemingly content to travel around the store picking up items. There would in most cases be a certain repertoire of dishes, items, brands and categories involved, many of which would be influenced by familiarity, habit or promotions.
• Some lists merely comprised a succession of consumption occasions (dinner, BBQ, lunch stuff, kids’ snacks), which hinted at the existence of a mental consideration set that would be resolved instore.
• Some were a list of categories (crisps, chocolate, shampoo) indicating that the shopper fully intended to participate in the category but would make a choice of sub-category, brand or pack format while at the shelf).
• A few lists were more detailed, breaking down the week into specific consumption occasions (Monday dinner, Friday fish & chips) for which categories or products were also detailed. ????

As I noted in the first article on the subject, in a worrying conclusion for brand marketeers, very, very few of the shopping lists made any reference to brands. Given that many categories have overwhelming branded market leaders, I expected to see many big household name brands putting in an appearance. But, instead of lists featuring Heinz, Hellmann’s or Heineken, lists instead featured ketchup, mayonnaise and beer.

Of course, it might be the case that these brands ended up in the basket or trolley, but – with private label accounting for at least 50% of volume – it’s just as likely that requirements were sated by Tesco’s own brand range. Another caveat could be that some brands might be synonymous with the category: is ‘beans’ on a list just shorthand for Heinz?

Shopping lists matter as they are a crystallisation of the transformation of planned consumption occasions into shopper missions. However, they are created before the shopper enters the store (or website) and are therefore a list of intentions rather than a list of purchases. There is much that can happen before the intention becomes an item in the shopping basket and this is where factors such as shopper marketing and price promotions are so impactful.

Source: Ink Research

Ink sought to quantify how important shopping lists are, not just in general, but also in terms of their efficacy at actually impacting instore and online behaviour.?

For instore shoppers, Ink discovered that 62% of shoppers deployed shopping lists when completing a main shopping trip, with 44% opting for a good, old-fashioned bit of paper and 18% using a list put together on their phones.

Unsurprisingly, this varied significantly from online shoppers. A higher percentage (82%) of internet grocery shoppers used a shopping list, a proportion enhanced significantly by the ability to use pre-established or ‘favourites’ shopping lists on online grocery websites or apps: these lists were used for 37% of online trips, compared to 29% for written lists and 26% compiled on a phone or tablet.

What we might conclude from this is that, despite the old tropes about X% of buying decisions being made at the shelf, there are still many decisions (be they about consumption occasions, categories, products or brands) that are made well before the store itself.

This should remind us that advertising or brand-building outside of the store still has a great deal of merit: categories and brands need to be in the consideration set for particular consumption occasions. Obviously, if these awareness- and consideration-driving endeavours are accompanied by suitable instore activations or promotions, so much the better – these will help tip the balance in a brand’s favour for those brand decisions made instore.

On the flipside, a significant number of shoppers are embarking on their physical or virtual shopping trips with no list, perhaps leaving them more open to influence via secondary displays, promotions, shopper marketing or online recommendations.

Either way, for both the planners and spontaneous among the shopper base, a combination of instore activation and above-the-line influence still appears a worthwhile investment. ?

??????Source: Ink Research

This takes us nicely into the next theme, the influence (or otherwise) of impulse for those shoppers who use a list of any description. There are three distinct groups of shopper behaviours in this regard:

Strict list adherence: more common instore (29%) than online (24%), these are list devotees, possibly those with more clearly defined limits on disposable income, who are not tempted to put unplanned items in their baskets. ?

Prone to temptation: by far and away the majority of shoppers that use lists (68% instore; 64% online), these shoppers have planned their trips but are susceptible to impulse and will supplement their planned shopping repertoire by adding unplanned items. This might be prompted by advertising that means that shoppers are aware of these brands; or items or by instore/online promotions, secondary locations or shopper marketing that creates the impulse buy.

Winging it: Observationally, this small minority of shoppers might comprise those who have a somewhat nebulous shopping list (dinner, breakfast) and then improvise around this basic list instore or online, making decisions based on prior experience, promotions, previous repertoires or pure improvisation.

With HFSS looming next year, the topics of shopping lists, planning, impulse and instore activation will become more pertinent than ever. If you’d like to discuss how we could help you navigate this new landscape and help optimise your marketing decisions, get in touch with us or with Ink (details below).