In the next five to 10 years shoppers will become more efficient with their time, health conscious, individual, experimental and socially conscious, according to new research from IGD.
Launching on 20 June, a report from the grocery research charity identified an emerging group of ‘influencer shoppers’ that currently represents around a quarter of total consumers in the UK.
With this group likely to expand over the coming years, IGD has forecast the trends that resonate most with this group and are likely to become more mainstream in future.
Set to replace baby boomers as the generation with the biggest purchasing power, the strongest voice and the largest influence over the food chain, ‘influencer shoppers’ will be highly engaged on health and, in particular, social issues.
Some 59 per cent of them said recent TV shows, such as Blue Planet 2, have inspired them to make changes to support the environment as the ‘David Attenborough effect’ gathers pace.
They also said they will embrace new technologies that make the grocery shopping experience more personal, and they could have a strong influence on their peers.
As such, IGD predicts that shoppers of the future will:
1) Be time-optimisers: With 71 per cent of 18-24-year-olds saying their lives will be busier in five to 10 years’ time, retailers will have to work harder to help shoppers make the most of their time.
Vanessa Henry, shopper insight manager at IGD, said: “We’re experiencing an increasing array of leisure activities, with more time spent on social media and the internet chipping away at what time we have left for more traditional things like grocery shopping.
“Shoppers are relatively split in terms of their enjoyment of food and grocery shopping, so for retailers it’s about optimising their time in store and engaging with them whether they want to spend time shopping or grab and go.”
2) Be more health conscious: Supporting shoppers both to look and feel good will be a major priority for both retailers and their suppliers in 2025, with 42 per cent of 18-24-year-olds saying they will be more likely to eat healthily to look good in the next five to 10 years.
Some 70 per cent of shoppers said they want more information from UK food and grocery companies to inspire them to make healthier choices. As such, IGD advised firms to keep their nutritional messages as simple as possible to avoid confusion.
3) Be more individual: The shopper of the future will be open to a more personalised food and grocery experience, but only if there is a clear benefit to them, with minimal effort.
Over half (56 per cent) of ‘influencer shoppers’ said they would be prepared to share data with supermarkets so they could tailor their food and grocery offers to their individual needs.
Meanwhile, 61 per cent of online grocery shoppers said they would like it if online retailers personalised special offers based on what they buy regularly.
4) Be more experimental: The shopper of the future will increasingly experiment with their shopping and meal preparation to broaden their repertoires.
Some 80 per cent of shoppers said they were open to trying new and different food and non-food products, services and experiences and 65 per cent of ‘influencer shoppers’ said that in the future they would always try new meals and recipes.
This is a growing trend, with 73 per cent of grocery shoppers now welcoming new food and grocery products, up from 58 per cent in 2010.
5) Be more socially conscious: Shoppers will want to make sustainable and ethical choices, but only if other needs are also satisfied, such as price, availability, and quality.
Companies will have to respond on shoppers’ terms as social issues become a growing concern. For example, 74 per cent of British grocery shoppers said they had become more aware of the environmental impact of plastic packaging over the last 12 months, and 60 per cent of under-35s said concern for the environment would be more important to them in the next five to 10 years.
Additionally, 38 per cent of ‘influencer shoppers’ said they would always buy environmentally sustainable food and grocery products in the future, compared with 33 per cent of shoppers in general.
IGD chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch concluded that grocery retail was “undergoing a revolution, driven by mergers and acquisitions as well as evolving shopper expectations.”
“This is set to continue over the coming years,” she added. “Our sector is built around shoppers and their ever-evolving habits, attitudes, tastes and preferences – they sit at the heart of the industry after all.
“Adopting a future-focused mindset is essential for any retailer and manufacturer looking to succeed, and we look forward to joining that journey.”
