Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

Non-edible CPG volume is down but sales value is up

Consumers are confident, and they want to save money

The Consumer Connect Index, which monitors consumers' financial health and CPG behaviors for factors such as brand loyalty, attitudes toward organic/natural food and beverages, perception of national compared to store brands and frequency of using retailers' and manufacturers' coupons, is above 100 for Q2 2019, the highest since the Consumer Connect survey was launched in Q1 2016. Consumers report they are saving more in 2019 (42%) compared to a year ago (39%). Sixty percent of households earning $100,000 or more say their savings have grown in the past six months. The rate of increased savings is fairly consistent across all generations.

"Given the strong GDP, record unemployment and even steady inflation, consumers are feeling very confident," said Joan Driggs, vice president of Content and Thought Leadership. "However, when we look at consumer behavior, it's as if they're waiting for a shoe to drop. They are saving more and curbing spending on non-edible products, such as beauty and personal care."

Doing more with less
Non-edible unit sales were flat or down for Q2 2019, while dollar sales were a healthy 2.9% in April, softening to 1.2% in June. Spending on national brand non-edible products continues to outpace spending on private label non-edible products. Yet, buying private label products remains the top strategy consumers use for saving money - 80% in Q2 2019, down from 84% in the same period of 2018.

General merchandise, health care and home care monthly dollar sales grew in Q2 2019, while beauty is flat and tobacco sales are down. Deal seeking in beauty and personal care is most prevalent among less wealthy shoppers, millennials and Generation X.

More than one-third of consumers (36%) report they are willing to pay a premium for products marketed as sustainable, an increase of 2percentage points from a year earlier. While millennials are the generation most willing to pay a premium, sustainability attributes resonate with shoppers across all household income groups. Millennials also seek products made with natural ingredients and are the most likely to report avoiding products with ingredients they don't want, such as parabens, artificial colors and sodium lauryl sulfates.

"We anticipate that shoppers will gravitate toward premium private brand beauty and personal care products, such as those available at Ulta and Sephora," added Driggs. "Thirty percent of shoppers expect to purchase more premium brands in the coming months, but private label options remain the top strategy for saving money. It's these specialty retailers, which also offer elevated levels of service, that are best positioned to offer shoppers premium private brand options."

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)