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GlobalShop 2012: 5 consumer trends that retailers can't ignore

High gas prices and aging populations are changing how retailers market to consumers.

March 2, 2012

Although the recession was officially "over" in 2009, most low- and middle-class shoppers are still being thrifty, Todd Hale, senior vice president of consumer and shopping insights at Nielsen, said Friday during his keynote speech at GlobalShop in Las Vegas.

U.S. consumer confidence rose 6 points in Q4 2011, but it's still at recessionary levels, and as the nation recovers from the economic crisis, there are several consumer trends to which retailers should focus their marketing. They include:

• Concern over high fuel prices
• Value buying
• Aging populations
• Growth of non-white populations
• Concern with health

Concern with high fuel prices

Although consumers remain concerned with rising gasoline products, research shows they're becoming more used to them. Even though consumers are paying nearly $1 more per gallon than they were a year ago, January car sales were phenomenal, Hale said. As fuel prices continue to rise, many stores, including Hyvee and Kroger, have realized that offering discounts on gas is one way to drive traffic to their stores. Both have gas loyalty programs that reward their customers with cheaper gas each time they shop.

Value buying

Despite what some may think, value buying is not only about cutting prices. There must be a balance between price and value, Hale said. For example, in categories like yogurt and chocolate, premium brands have enjoyed increases in sales while their cheaper competitors lost out.

"One of the things we did wrong is the recession is that we talked too much about low prices," Hale said. "We didn't talk about the emotional connection that retailers and brands have with consumers. The consumption of products has to be more than just prices. You gotta deliver some benefit, and you gotta deliver some emotional connection."

Nielsen research found that advertising on price alone doesn't connect with shoppers; what works is humor and helping them make emotional connections with the products, Hale said.

"I'd like to see a little more fun with advertising in the retail space," he said.

Aging consumers

The U.S. has about 75 million baby boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964. The U.S. grandparent population will grow by 11 percent from 69.6 million in 20010 to 77.1 million by 2015.

"They spend a lot on a lot of different people, so how do you connect with them?" Hale asked.

Health and wellness

As consumers focus on getting healthier, winning stores and restaurants are selling healthier products. Walmart, Guiding Star and SuperValu each have their own label to let consumers know which are items are healthy.

"I think we need to find a simpler way to educate consumers on how they can look at a package without reading all the ingredient details to find out if it's good for them," Hale said.

That could end up falling into the government's hands, but Hale thinks the industry would benefit most if retailers collaborated and came up with a uniform system on their own.

Growth of non-white populations

Non-whites and Hispanics accounted for 98 percent of the population growth in large metro areas, according to Nielsen research, so retailers could easily increase sales by appealing to minority shoppers. Winn-Dixie remodeled a Miami store with Hispanic décor and added bilingual signage and marketing. Macy's recently partnered with Latina Magazine and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, hoping to gain more Spanish-speaking consumers.

"When you think about how you design your stores, how you communicate, what kind of signage, what kind of language we use, I think we have a long way to go with adding Spanish language to a lot of the apps out there, Hale said.

Read more about consumer behavior.