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NORTH AMERICA. Promotions are having an increasingly powerful impact on the confectionery purchasing decisions of North American travellers, according to m1nd-set research.
Despite a “notable increase” in the percentage of travellers who stated that promotions have a strong influence on whether or not they make a purchase, the Swiss research agency said many still did not consider that the promotions gave sufficient price advantage.
Among the 2,000 travellers surveyed at airports across the region, savings promotions proved the most popular. Those that provide added value or an improved overall experience, such as a tasting opportunity, are still effective in triggering the purchase, m1nd-set noted.
“For many travellers, tastings give them the chance to discover new brands and selections that will encourage them to make additional purchases to their known favourites,” the agency said.
Other findings showed that the North American travelling consumer “generally tends” to want to discover new brands and tastes when purchasing confectionery, but the lack of exclusive offers is cited among the main reasons for not purchasing.
An increase in the travel retail exclusives range combined with opportunities to taste the products will “inevitably increase the conversion rates”, m1nd-set said.
M1nd-set Co-Owner and Joint-CEO Peter Mohn commented: “Confectionery & Fine Food is an important category in the US, as it represents just under 10% of sales at airports in North America & the Caribbean, according to our partner Generation Research.
“As our findings reveal, the category is an important impulse purchase driver in North America, so it is essential to understand what triggers travellers to purchase in terms of price point, brand, gift packaging and merchandising, and what are the key barriers to purchase. For example, for those passengers who haven’t really planned to purchase anything in the duty free shops, we find that they do enter the shops to check out the confectionery range specifically, while waiting for their flight.
“To capture more of these impulse purchasers, it is important for the retailers and brands to make the offer enticing and visible to passengers. Confectionery shoppers at duty free shops are most familiar with global brands such as KitKat, Toblerone, M&M’s, Godiva and Lindt so retailers need to ensure these are prominent and eye catching, even from outside the shop floor.”
Research for the report on confectionery shopper insights among North American travellers was conducted in the first quarter of 2016.
