Scott Matthews
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Close to 90% of shoppers will trust a brand or retailer who provides complete and easy-to-understand definitions for all ingredients. Category Management Association’s Emeritus Gordon Wade points out this key statistic from “The Transparency Imperative”(Food Marketing Institute & Label Insight) in his latest whitepaper “CatMan + Transparency” also published in partnership with Label Insight.
Changing shopper behavior, along with unprecedented disruption and declining categories are changing CPG marketplace realities. Major brands and retailers are feeling these changes through losing volume, share, margins or, in some cases, all three.
Impact of mobile
The white paper, developed through the collaboration, explains that part of the challenge for the industry is mobile technology. “Always-on” connectivity has created an expectation among consumers for on-demand, specific information.
However, the information supplied by packaged goods has not been accessible nor detailed enough. The report notes the consumers’ awareness of, desire, and need for exact information has only increased as technology has advanced this expectation.
Shopper mentality
The survey finds that 80% of shoppers are more likely to be loyal to a brand that provides more in-depth information, beyond the physical label.
Another compelling statistic quoted is that 77% of shoppers say they only somewhat trust the accuracy and completeness of food labels.
Shoppers are actively seeking specific product information, some of which is causing some confusion or is not easy to find.
However, as indicated in the above, the report finds that should the product information be presented in an easy to understand and transparent manner, the shoppers are willing to buy that brand.
In fact, the shoppers may even switch to a brand due to its label transparency. About 75% of the respondents say they would be willing to switch to a brand that provided more information, especially information they can easily understand.
Impact of clean label
This is uncharted territory for brands with transparency buying shopper and consumer loyalty and trust.
An example quoted in the study is for the adoption of the clean label. A clean label is essentially trying to help customers understand what it is that they are consuming, and is reliant on transparency and disclosure from the manufacturer.
The report shows that a clean label drives substantial growth in categories that have previously struggled. It may stimulate double-digit growth in categories like ice cream and candy. These product types might not conventionally view transparency as a top-line brand initiative.
Transparency may be the key to brands that are looking to grow in our current challenging environment. It’s a way to rebuild trust and loyalty.
Read the full report here.
Learning Evolution, along with GS1 US, and CMA will host a high-impact, one-day workshop on Leveraging Best Practices for Sustainable Omnichannel Growth.
You will explore what it takes to increase shopper loyalty and sales. Learn about this opportunity today.
Also check out our CatMan Bootcamp where you will gain foundational knowledge of category management as a business discipline. Learn about the basic activation “levers” for category management and understand some key category management best practices. You will also build confidence knowing how category management can help the business.
