Second50Years Marketing Blog

The economic downturn is showing up at the grocery store, says Vertis Communications. A new study says that just one percent of adults say overall food quality is the reason they choose a supermarket. They are much more impressed by low prices and convenience (as in close to work or home).

Scott Marden, director of marketing research at Vertis, said “Economic factors, such as gas prices and the housing market, are changing shoppers’ habits drastically…and many are shopping closer to home, stocking up more and combining shopping trips.”

You can believe that baby boomers and seniors are price and convenience shopping along with everyone else.

What might this mean for your business or service to the mature market? We think that you might want to consider:

• Weighting your inventory to less expensive items if you are selling a product, and providing some discounts for services should you be a service provider.
• Consider going to the consumer, in places where he or she will be shopping or congregating, to cut down on travel. Even some services could go to retirement or senior centers or even to clients’ homes. Would it make sense to provide home delivery of your products?
• Let your customers and clients know that you understand that times might be tight and are doing whatever you can to cushion the cost of services and goods. If you have a publication (mailed or online), provide cost-cutting tips and suggest bundles of products or services that cost less.
• If you don’t have a website where customers can order your products, this is as good a time as any to put one up. People will be searching the Internet either to do their research before they buy, or to purchase online rather than driving the car to your operation.

Are you seeing the effect of the economy yet in your business? In what ways? Let us know in the comments.

Read more about the report from Vertis in this article from Marketing Daily.