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08.30.2002

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For more Hartman Group articles on CHANNEL SELECTION & RETENTION...

NATURAL SENSIBILITY

The Way to the Consumer's Heart is Through Experience

Selling Health & Wellness in the Drugstore

Analyzing the Role of Expert Opinion as a Dimension in the World of Wellness

Customer Retention in the Organic Market: Understanding Where Organic Consumers Shop

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How Consumers Choose Where They Shop: product Selection - Part Two

How Consumers Choose Organic Products
The dimensions of Health Benefit, Taste, Price, Availability / Convenience, Appearance and Knowledge presented in the charts to the right are some of the primary issues for consumers choosing or not choosing organic products. Once consumers make a decision about what products or categories they want to participate in, they must choose the appropriate means of consumption and the appropriate rate of integrating them into their lifestyle.

Organic purchase and integration is generally a slow process. Consumers who attempt to adopt all organic categories at once (unless health-trigger motivated) will be less likely to remain a consistent organic consumer. To illustrate this point, consider a person who attempts a quick-fix weight loss program. This person is less likely to consistently maintain a desired weight after the diet is over. However, a person that commits to a change in lifestyle that includes a balanced diet and exercise will be more likely to see lasting results. In much the same way, consumers that slowly (yet steadily) adopt organic products as they fit into their evolving lifestyle will be more likely to see these products as instrumental in their every day lives. Simply put, what makes sense for someone today will change as they go through their life.

For example, a 24-year-old woman may start to buy organic produce as these products make sense for her, dependent upon cost, availability and convenience. As this woman learns more about the importance of organic in her life, she may consider how the lack of chemicals will be beneficial for her future health. She may then decide to adopt more products that she uses everyday, like organic milk or breads, and begin to feel that the importance of organic outweighs the issue of extra cost. She may eventually seek out stores that she feels have similar priorities and offer a vast organic selection. This consumer then begins to see other organic products that pique her interest such as organic makeup or lotions. As events in her life change, she will adjust and adopt products accordingly. Stages such as getting married (influence of partner), having a family (influence of children) and aging (influence of health conditions) will influence the products she buys. She is more likely to consistently buy organic products because she gradually adopted these products as they made sense for her throughout her evolving lifetime.

Distribution Channels (for more on channel selection, click here)
There is little doubt that organic and natural foods have gone mainstream. Recent large-scale national analyses by The Hartman Group indicate that 62% of organic and natural food shoppers purchase these products in the grocery channel. Additionally, 13% of organic and natural consumers report purchasing their organic and natural foods through the mass merchandiser/discounter channel (e.g. Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.).

Perceptual Mapping
Retailers choose specific store designs, set product shelves, establish specific promotions and develop marketing plans to attract a variety of customers. While these activities are all very important, we have identified the following key reasons for consumers to buy organic foods and beverages from a particular channel:

They have knowledgeable salespeople
I always shop there
They have a large selection
They have competitive prices
The store is in a convenient location
I can do the majority of my shopping there
They genuinely care for my health and wellness

We asked respondents to indicate which of these reasons were most responsible for their own channel selection and then analyzed their responses using a two-dimensional model of motivation. The two dimensions represent channel selections motivated primarily by utilitarian (what the store does for the consumer; how well the job gets done) or emotional (how the consumer feels about the store; how it makes them feel) reasons. The seven reasons we have analyzed comprise both of these dimensions, but each reason tends to include more of one dimension than the other.

The emotion dimension is primarily a function of:

They have knowledgeable salespeople
I always shop there
They genuinely care for my health and wellness

The utility dimension is primarily a function of:

They have a large selection
They have competitive prices
The store is in a convenient location
I can do the majority of my shopping there

Click here for

PART ONE: How Consumers Choose Where They Shop

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