Catch the Thrift Drift
The economic crisis faced by the country for the past two years has impacted spending patterns in America in a very telling way. Consumers have learned to be more prudent with their money in order to tide over the economic downturn. And though the markets have slowly started retracing their way back to health, the people are determined to stick to their new thrifty spending habits, for the next 6 to 12 months at least, if not more, as a food and beverage market research report from the NPD Group revealed.
The “What’s Next on the Road to Recovery” report examines how the recession has affected the America consumer’s habits when it comes to buying food and beverages. It reports that almost one in five consumers expect their financial situation to worsen from their current state in the next year. Half of the total consumers surveyed do not expect their financial situation to change from what it is today. Nine out of ten consumers say they will budget and be careful about spending on food and beverages (things that will need a travel cup holder so they won’t become litter).
It does not stop there. Some consumers, especially those with household incomes under $35,000, feel the need to practice even more thrift in the coming months. They will be curbing their spending by decreasing what they spend on groceries, using coupons from newspapers or magazines for food and beverage items, and searching store circulars to buy foods and beverages at discounted rates when on sale. They will also switch to less expensive brands of foods and beverages (and buy less expensive cup holders), and search for online manufacturer coupons.
Food and beverage manufacturers and retailers will now be looking at their new marketing communication approaches as part of recovery planning. But before that, they need to comprehend their consumers’ way of thinking. Many American consumers have lost jobs and a good amount of their wealth to this downturn. They are now very cautious and skeptical about the economy going back to the way it used to be. According to them, the road to recovery will take a lot of time, and they do not want to take chances.
Related posts: