Speed dating for soups and cereals

There’s been a lot of trade press, recently, about how much more careful, deliberate, and frugal consumers have become in the face of a recession.

In the interest of fair play, I have to share this recent story about some research from Miller Zell. Their report, as highlighted in a recent edition of Marketing Daily, suggests that while the use of shopping lists is up substantially (with 65% of shoppers saying they use one), many purchases are still quite spontaneous. (Note: Miller Zell consults companies about in-store strategies.)

Implications: I can buy into the idea that consumers make many in-store decisions in as fast as 2.3 seconds. But if my people-watching skills are any indicator, most consumers also have a pre-conceived notion of the types of products they’re looking for before they ever even arrive at the store. Can an end-aisle display or price-point signage influence those pre-determined purchases? Absolutely! But previous experience, as well as advance exposure to a product or service could be precisely what made that decision so easy to make, and so quickly.

But then, in the interest of fair play, I’m a marketing guy.

Mike Anderson