Food and grocery businesses must engage shoppers on an emotional level to stimulate growth, according to new findings from UK research firm IGD.
IGD’s research studied shoppers’ feelings in detail, using an emotional gauge that identified five clear emotional states: control, desire, belonging, immersion and freedom. When testing grocery shopping for these emotions, the research found that shoppers scored highly for control, in the medium range for desire and belonging, and poorly for immersion and freedom.
The research also found that online and discount formats are the best at triggering positive emotions, while shoppers view the biggest retailers as the ‘establishment’.
“In a business environment, we pride ourselves on thinking rationally,” IGD CEO Joanne Denney-Finch said, “but let’s stop thinking so rationally all of the time and build our emotional intelligence.”
She said the future battles in grocery would be ‘cook it at home’ versus ‘food to go’, discount versus full-range stores and physical versus online shopping.
“Food, drink, health and beauty are some of the greatest pleasures in life,” she said. “They should really stir the emotions – we shouldn’t be halfway on the gauge. We don’t have to sacrifice excitement for efficiency – we need both. So let’s engage differently with our customers and build a stronger and more powerful relationship.”