Consumers’ eating and drinking out habits vary enormously and change fast—and CGA’s segmentation tools offer brands the best way yet to understand them.
Those were among the key messages from CGA’s Rachel Weller at the Insight 2018 conference in London last Thursday (19 April). One of her most eye-catching stats was that 31% of consumers make up 70% of food-led visits—and properly appreciating the needs and wants of these core spenders is vital if brands are to thrive in an ultra-competitive marketplace. As Weller put it: “Understanding what’s important to your customers… is more challenging and yet more important than ever.”
CGA’s segmentation of consumers is based on in-depth analysis of factors including behaviour, attitudes, spend and brand repertoires. It then breaks people down into ten main groups, including ‘Trending Tastemakers’ and ‘Mainstream Minded’—both of which eat or drink out frequently but can be quite fickle in their loyalty to brands. The groups cover the full spectrum of spending—from high-value consumers in the ‘Business Class Seekers’ segment who spend more than £100 a month on average, down to groups like ‘Cost Conscious Champions’, who spend £50 a month or less, go out more rarely, and seek value for money when they do.
By looking beyond blunt demographics, CGA’s segmentation can spotlight consumers in a far more sophisticated way. The value of the tools is illustrated in analysis of important groups like millennials—who contrary to some opinions do not all behave in the same way, but are a very varied group with many different attitudes.
Weller pointed out that CGA’s segmentation can help retail brands in numerous ways, like by refining food and drink offers, planning new openings and building loyalty at a time when brand churn is increasing. The tools can benefit suppliers too, by identifying ways in which they can help bars, pubs and restaurants increase the appeal of their drinks to different groups—like tasting activities, pop-up ventures and brand takeovers.
She suggested that no brands can be all things to all people and that it is better to focus sharply on understanding existing consumers and the groups they are trying to attract. That helps operators to give their guests the best possible experience—and, as a result, a much better chance of persuading them to come back for more.
“We’ve never needed to be so great in so many areas,” she said. “And great comes from understanding your customers—who they are and what they want.”
Five important segmentation stats on consumer behaviour
- 31% of consumers account for 70% of all food-led visits
- 15 Average number of brands in the repertoires of the ‘Trending Tastemakers’ group—compared to just seven for ‘Confident Conformists’
- 2.5 Times more likely that brands with 100+ sites will attract ‘Cost Conscious’ consumers compared to brands with 25 sites or less
- 71% Correlation between consumers who are very satisfied with a drink-led visit and consumers who think the drinks brands on offer are very good
- 56% Of ‘Mainstream Minded’ consumers who drink cocktails—compared to only 27% of ‘Sparkling Socialisers’
CGA’s consumer segmentation tools can help every business in the eating and drinking out sector transform their understanding of consumers and increase their sales. There is much more about CGA’s segmentation tools here, and a guide to all ten consumer groups identified by the research here. To discuss ways CGA’s research can be tailored to your requirements, contact Rachel Weller at rachel.weller@cga.co.uk.
Go here to read more news from Insight 2018.
