Nearly one in five shoppers would postpone purchase if their desired brand were not in stock in the healthcare category.
There is strong brand loyalty in this category, with 75% of shoppers saying they would not consider buying other brands unless their brand was out of stock or unavailable. In such cases, 18% said they would postpone purchase and look for their preferred brand in another store. These shoppers were mainly buying for someone else and were uncertain about what products might be an acceptable alternative for the sufferer.
During our visit, sales were high. The main items being bought were branded cold and flu, cough and sore throat medicines, then analgesics.
Nine out of 10 shoppers interviewed had intended to buy the item they purchased when they came into the shop. Of the 10% who purchased but had not intended to buy, half were prompted by seeing the display and the remainder remembered while shopping in other areas of the store.
In our visit 43% of those interviewed were buying for themselves, 34% for their partner and 10% for their children. The remainder were buying for other family members or friends.
Men and women shoppers used different language when describing their illnesses and motivation for purchase. The women used phrases like “I can’t afford to feel rough, I’ve too much to do” and “I haven’t got time to be ill”. The men said: “I’m trying to get rid of this awful headache” and “Now I’ve got these I’m going home to sit in front of the television”.
Confidence levels in buying medicines in a supermarket were very high. But there was still a need for reassurance - 68% had at some time asked the pharmacist for advice. From our observations, it is the pharmacist’s counter assistants who field the vast majority of questions. Where there is no instore pharmacy, there is a clear need for additional information to be made available at the fixture.
We asked shoppers why they bought healthcare items from a supermarket. Convenience was the main reason. A small number said they would prefer to buy in a chemist but in practice tended to buy these products wherever they were when they actually needed them or remembered this need. A few shoppers mentioned layout and easy availability as reasons for preferring a supermarket.
Given the past controversy over the removal of resale price maintenance, it was interesting that price was only mentioned by one shopper. In view of this, plus shoppers’ interest in buying the optimum combination of products to relieve their symptoms, promotional activity relating to linked purchases may be more motivating than money-off promotions.
We asked whether shoppers found stocking healthcare products at the checkout helpful. Just under three quarters said no. Some were concerned that children should not see medicines close to sweets. Others believed the selection would not be good enough.
This negative response may actually be a positive because it indicates that positioning these items at the checkout will not cannibalise aisle sales but generate genuinely new sales from impulse buyers.
There is strong brand loyalty in this category, with 75% of shoppers saying they would not consider buying other brands unless their brand was out of stock or unavailable. In such cases, 18% said they would postpone purchase and look for their preferred brand in another store. These shoppers were mainly buying for someone else and were uncertain about what products might be an acceptable alternative for the sufferer.
During our visit, sales were high. The main items being bought were branded cold and flu, cough and sore throat medicines, then analgesics.
Nine out of 10 shoppers interviewed had intended to buy the item they purchased when they came into the shop. Of the 10% who purchased but had not intended to buy, half were prompted by seeing the display and the remainder remembered while shopping in other areas of the store.
In our visit 43% of those interviewed were buying for themselves, 34% for their partner and 10% for their children. The remainder were buying for other family members or friends.
Men and women shoppers used different language when describing their illnesses and motivation for purchase. The women used phrases like “I can’t afford to feel rough, I’ve too much to do” and “I haven’t got time to be ill”. The men said: “I’m trying to get rid of this awful headache” and “Now I’ve got these I’m going home to sit in front of the television”.
Confidence levels in buying medicines in a supermarket were very high. But there was still a need for reassurance - 68% had at some time asked the pharmacist for advice. From our observations, it is the pharmacist’s counter assistants who field the vast majority of questions. Where there is no instore pharmacy, there is a clear need for additional information to be made available at the fixture.
We asked shoppers why they bought healthcare items from a supermarket. Convenience was the main reason. A small number said they would prefer to buy in a chemist but in practice tended to buy these products wherever they were when they actually needed them or remembered this need. A few shoppers mentioned layout and easy availability as reasons for preferring a supermarket.
Given the past controversy over the removal of resale price maintenance, it was interesting that price was only mentioned by one shopper. In view of this, plus shoppers’ interest in buying the optimum combination of products to relieve their symptoms, promotional activity relating to linked purchases may be more motivating than money-off promotions.
We asked whether shoppers found stocking healthcare products at the checkout helpful. Just under three quarters said no. Some were concerned that children should not see medicines close to sweets. Others believed the selection would not be good enough.
This negative response may actually be a positive because it indicates that positioning these items at the checkout will not cannibalise aisle sales but generate genuinely new sales from impulse buyers.
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