The UK's leading grocery retailers have been urged to 'clear the fog' over pricing, and prioritise low prices over promotions.
IGD chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch's rallying cry at today (7 October)'s IGD Convention in Westminster comes on the back of a continued strengthening of the discounters' power, and food stores’ sales in the year to July falling for the first time on record, despite the UK economy growing in 2014.
Denney-Finch also told the 600 or so delegates at the food and consumer goods research organisation'sprestigious annual event that in the face of 'huge turmoil', food and grocery companies can help turn around declining sales by pushing shopper satisfaction deeper into the heart of the boardroom.
She said: 'I’ve never seen so much turmoil before during my lifelong career, and to understand why, we’ve examined how shopping behaviour has fundamentally changed in recent times.
“Our research shows evidence of a shopper backlash against complexity which needs a deeper emphasis within the boardroom. People tell us they are faced with a promotional blizzard when buying groceries, so clearing the fog over pricing is a priority.
'Promotions will always have their place in retailing but they should be used decisively and be guided by shoppers. Over half of shoppers want price cuts more than multi-buys - three times as many (17 per cent) as in 2007. People want pricing that makes a real difference.'
Denney-Finch added: “People are now shopping around more, investing more time to get the best quality and ethical standards possible for their budget. On average, we make 24 shopping trips per month and use four different types of retail formats when buying our food and groceries. And yet people still don’t want to spend any more time and effort than they need to.
“As Britain’s most important industry, worth more than car and aerospace manufacturing combined, and feeding over 26 million households every day, we need to be even more customer-focused, fast-moving and inventive. And while more disruption lies ahead, it’s nothing that food and grocery companies can’t turn to their advantage by listening harder to shoppers and acting decisively on what they say.”
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