The consumer buying environment continues to change due to new technologies and consumers’ reliance on social media. At the Summer Fancy Food Show, Menu Matters VP Mike Kostyo and President Maeve Webster will discuss the impact of these changes and how brands can build trust with today’s consumers.
The session, titled “Retail Revolution: Unlocking the New Consumer Purchasing Journey,” will take place on the Big Ideas Stage at noon on Monday, June 24. Exploring generational differences and new platforms, speakers will offer insight into what matters most when consumers are deciding how to spend their food dollars.
“At the Fancy Food Show we look at modern issues consumers have in their journey to purchase and how that impacts brands,” Costio said in an interview with SFA News Daily.
Kostyo introduced some of the topics that will be covered during the educational sessions.
Tell us how the consumer food shopping journey has changed and what it means for retail.
When we think about the traditional consumer path to purchase, every business may have its own unique path, but it usually looks like a two- or three-step cycle.
• Awareness: How do people find out about your brand?
• Consideration: Consumers are trying to decide whether or not they should buy your brand.
• Purchase: When the consumer decides they want to buy this. It’s what they want in life.
Some brands also factor in later stages such as post-purchase and repeat purchases, so you can include that too.
Think about your path to purchase and how it has evolved over the years. For example, a few years ago it was simple: you hear about a brand on the radio, in the newspaper, on TV, then you go to the grocery store and buy it. There weren’t as many options as there are today.
With the increased amount of information available to us today, the path to purchase is becoming more complex and beginning to evolve. One example of this is the awareness stage. Algorithms are a big part of the tech side of the industry. These algorithms are often how consumers learn about brands. If your customer is on TikTok or another social media platform, the algorithms may be serving ads or organically produced content to them.
The consideration stage is much more complicated. We’re doing a lot of work on the needs that the food industry needs to address when consumers are making a purchasing decision. A lot of it right now is about trust. Unfortunately, a lot of consumers have lost a lot of trust in the industry. They don’t necessarily think that we have their best interests at heart… So building trust is key.
More than ever, consumers are turning to friends, family and colleagues for input when making purchasing decisions.
At the purchase stage, brands need to think about the pain points consumers have when making a purchase: modern pain points might be when a consumer orders delivery, they have technical issues, they have to check multiple screens, or the final checkout price is higher than they originally thought.
Would you say that consumers are now more price sensitive?
Ask consumers today if they are price sensitive and they will say yes. Indeed, consumers are feeling the pain of rising prices. Similarly, we conducted research earlier this year and found that consumers still want to treat themselves. Even in times of economic crisis, we are seeing consumers still looking for more affordable opportunities to treat themselves. Brands can get in there and demonstrate their opportunity throughout the path to purchase.
What big or emerging trends are you seeing on restaurant menus?
Floral scents are popping up on menus a lot. Lavender is used in many coffee drinks today, both in retail and in the foodservice industry. I can’t imagine there’s a menu today that doesn’t have a floral scent in it. Floral scents are especially popular with younger consumers, and if there’s a color, that color can also be a feature on the menu and promoted on social media.
This leads into a big trend of social media and “TikTok-friendly” videos. I know there’s a lot of discussion about the future of TikTok, but whatever happens with TikTok, the shift to video has become super important to young consumers.
