Snacking and impulse purchasing provide a fantastic way for increasing your customer spend, since 71% of Brits snack more than once per day (Mintel, 2016). 47% of trips to the workplace restaurant are for a snack and only 1 in 5 of those know what they want to buy before they go in (PepsiCo Impulse Shopper Research, 2016). To take full advantage of this, you must have a range that caters for the varying customer needs throughout the day.
It’s snack time!
45% of people get their snacks to go
(Mintel, 2016)
60% of consumers look for healthier options when shopping
(Nielsen State of the Nation, 2017)
60% snack once a day or more, rising to 76% of 16-34s. The younger generation tend to snack more.
(IRI Consumer Snacking Survey, 2015)
57% of snackers are cutting back for health reasons
(IGD ShopperVista ‘Food to Go’, 2016)
71% of Brits snack more than once per day
(Mintel – Consumer Snacking, UK, 2017)
59% of consumers indulge when snacking
(Mintel – Consumer Snacking, UK, 2017)
Sweet
Sweet treats are the nation’s favourite choice of snack for treating themselves, with 32% of consumers buying them for a reward (Premier Foods, 2018). The other needs for consumers which should be considered are:
- The nutritional value of it so that they have a natural look and feel
- Those wanting a quick fix which isn’t too much of a fuss
- Those purchasing a sweet treat for perceived togetherness with friends/family during a social
Savoury
Savoury items continue to have an ever-present influence on what is found on the high street. There is particular emphasis on those looking for a quick grab and go option, which 53% of people in the UK buy (Mintel, Attitudes to lunch out of home UK, 2016).
Drinks
Since 52% of all food/drink to go purchases are soft drinks, whilst 46% are hot drinks (IGD ShopperVista ‘Food to Go’, 2016), drinks provide a perfect pairing opportunity for meals.
With the recent sugar levy on soft drinks it is important to understand how this can affect you. This is why we have created a simple guide for our customers for further support. To see this, please get in touch with your account manager.
Making the most of your offer
The location of products is vital
All products should be placed near each other, meaning that savoury snacks, sweet snacks, and drinks should all be located near each other so that the customer can pair items together easily and to encourage incremental purchases.
Fridge baskets provide the opportunity to put confectionery items with drinks to encourage buying products together which can in return deliver uplifts of around 40% (Kettle, 2018) For further information on having these at your sites, get in touch with your account manager.
Understand the customer flow
Customers don’t want to have to take time to search for what they want to find. Keep alike products together to not cause confusion. For example, split your snacks by healthier, premium, and classic.
To encourage lines that possibly have a higher GP, keep those lines at eye level so that they are easily visible to customers on their journey.
Know your audience
To truly have a range that meets your customers’ needs, you must understand key demographics, such as the average age of your customers and the gender split. Knowing these will help you tailor products in your range more specifically to them and will in return stop them resorting to the high street. For further help with this, get in touch with your account manager.
Use meal deals to encourage impulsive buying
Meal deals remain to be one of the most popular ways of drawing customers in due to the fact that promotional deals/being part of a meal deal is the main reason behind impulsive purchases in store (MCA – Food to go report, 2018). It remains popular despite the fact that they are now more challenging to do due to testing conditions caused by rising food inflation, rising operator costs, and generally difficult economic conditions. To combat this, 5 out of 8 leading operators in the high-street have retained their prices but revised their offers (MCA – Food to go report 2018).
Healthier ranges tend be left out of meal deals as they tend to be more expensive but this provides an open opportunity for there to be an increase of smaller sized healthier alternatives to make up a meal deal.
Change what you offer throughout the day
Changing what you have on display throughout the day not only is a good way of freshening up the look of your outlet but it also allows you to tailor your offer more towards your customer needs throughout the day. For example, you could simply have porridge pots by the till for the morning, and then replace them with confectionery items before lunch time.
More top tips for making the most of your offer can be found within the brochure!