Retailers should tailor Xmas promos to local level, says IGD

Published: 21 December, 2011

Tailoring the customer experience at a local level and focusing on innovation, is the advice given to retailers on the run up to Christmas by market research company, IGD.

It comes on the back of its latest survey which revealed in November nearly three-quarters (73%) of consumers said in the run-up to Christmas, promotions are a key influence when deciding what to buy.

The figure is up from 67% in October, with 84% of shoppers with children under five rating promotions as very important, against 69% of those with children aged between 11 and 15, and 71% of shoppers without children.

The survey also revealed consumers are more willing to give up time and effort to shop around for those best value products.

Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive, IGD, said people are feeling the squeeze from a series of pressures, such as higher utility bills, but still want to maintain the quality of their food and groceries.

It means they are prepared to give up more time to secure the best value with four in ten shoppers (40%) saying they will put greater effort into their grocery shopping over the next six months.

"As shoppers are watching every pound they spend, it is also crucial to get the basics right, such as tailoring the customer experience at a local level - a 'one size fits all' approach will not work," she added.

"In the current challenging environment, companies need to focus on investing in innovation and we are starting to see evidence of this.

"For example, eBay recently opened a 'pop-up' store where products were tagged with quick response (QR) codes allowing shoppers to use their smart phones to scan the products, buy them online and have them delivered."

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