The time stress to which consumers are increasingly exposed is threatening to plunge the retail sector into a fundamental crisis. Saving time is more important to customers than saving money. Our representative study "Going Shopping is Dead" shows that shopping is no longer a leisure activity for the Swiss. Strolling around is out.
However, not every interviewee finds grocery shopping tedious or dislikes shopping. There are sometimes big differences between genders or age groups. The different attitudes to shopping are illustrated in the study with four shopper types:
The open-minded optimisers have a fairly balanced attitude towards shopping.
Although they love speed and efficiency,
they also like to feel inspired depending
on the shopping situation and occasion.
They usually only go shopping when they
actually need something, but they are
open to new ideas. It is first and foremost
this openness that distinguishes them
from the more hard-line, disciplined
needs-based shoppers. However, even for
the open-minded optimisers, shopping
hardly forms the basis of their identity.
Compared to the average, they spend
slightly less time shopping per week (-5.5
minutes). This reflects their need for
efficiency.
Compared to the overall population,
people between the ages of 25 and 54
are disproportionately represented in the
group of open-minded optimisers. The
gender distribution, on the other hand, is
balanced.
Disciplined needs-based shoppers
only go shopping when they really need
something. When they go shopping, they
make it as fast and efficient as possible. They plan their shopping in advance
and leave the house with a shopping
list, which they work through quickly.
Shopping is neither fun nor inspiring
for them – its purpose is to meet their
needs. The strategy pays off in terms of
time: disciplined needs-based shoppers
spend by far the least time shopping per
week at 101 minutes. This is about 14
minutes less per week than the average
for Switzerland.
Over 55s are disproportionately represented in the segment of disciplined
needs-based shoppers. Moreover, a
slightly above-average proportion of this
category are men.
Efficient identity-based shoppers are
people who use consumption and material things to express themselves and their
personality and to develop their identity.
Shopping contributes to their self-esteem
and enables them to realise certain goals
and aspirations. Although they are open
to new things and like to feel inspired,
they usually plan their shopping in advance to save time. Going shopping does not
necessarily require a specific need, but it
is usually the reason for a shopping trip.
Efficient identity-based shoppers are
predominantly younger people. Compared to the total population, people
up to 39 years of age are significantly
overrepresented. Men are also slightly
overrepresented.
Aimless browsers include people who
like to go shopping without knowing
exactly what they need. They enjoy
strolling aimlessly through the shops
and being inspired by the different
offers. In shops, they like to take their
time to browse and try things out. They
are open to new things and love to be
surprised. A shopping trip is a way for
them to develop their personal style
and have fun. Of all the types, they
spend the most time shopping.
People up to 24 years of age and
women are clearly overrepresented
among aimless browsers compared
to the total population. The browsers
enjoy buying clothes the most – not
groceries like all the other types.
Die vier Shopper-Typen im Überblick (German, PDF)
An overview of the four shopper types (English, PDF)
Neugierig, welchem Shopper-Typ Sie angehören? Dann machen Sie jetzt den Selbsttest!
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The study «Ausgebummelt – Wege des Handels aus der Spass- und Sinnkrise» can be downloaded free of charge.