IRI MarketPulse survey: Consumers are cautiously optimistic

Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI) said its quarter-two 2015 IRI MarketPulse survey reveals that U.S. consumers are cautiously optimistic. Shopper sentiment dipped a bit in the second quarter compared to the first, but the drop is consistent with what typically is seen during quarter-two in past years. The good news, IRI said, is that sentiment is higher in quarter-two 2015 than it was in the same quarter in 2014.

"That new year's high does give away to reality after a few months, so this decline isn't surprising," said Susan Viamari, vice president of thought leadership for IRI. "Consumers are indeed cautiously optimistic, but they're still focused on value. They want brands that will offer them a good experience — and that good experience truly must be an experience that is highly tailored to the needs and wants of each individual target consumer at any given moment of purchase."

Consumers' conservative mindset is "really good news for store brands," Viamari told Store Brands. In fact, 42 percent of survey respondents indicated they are still purchasing more store brand products, only a slight drop from the 46 percent who said the same thing in quarter-two 2014.

To keep the momentum, Viamari recommends that retailers continue to innovate on the private brand side. And it's also important that they think about the assortment here and the associated messaging.

Consumers' cautious optimism also is prompting them to do their homework and plan their purchases ahead of time. In fact, IRI said 64 percent of consumers are making a list prior to heading to the store, while 52 percent are choosing a store because it offers the lowest prices on the items they need. And almost half of consumers — 45 percent — are stocking up on certain items when those items are on sale.

Although price is important, consumers are even more focused on value. In fact, two-thirds of shoppers purchase less than 50 percent of the shopping basket based on deals, IRI said. Eighty-three percent of surveyed shoppers said they will choose brands based on price in the coming year, but 80 percent also said they will choose brands based on previous trust/usage. And 58 percent will choose brands based on household requests.

"Retailers and manufacturers must work together to create holistic pricing strategies that underscore the value proposition for consumers, while still supporting their share, margin and growth goals," Viamari said. "It's not an easy task to achieve these goals. Marketers need to look across categories — and even aisles — to pinpoint categories where price cuts will generate sales lift and measured price increases will support margin without negatively impacting volume."