Even With Price Increases, Consumers Less Likely to Switch Beverage Brands: Survey
If brands needed yet another reason to prioritize discoverability for digital grocery, here’s one more: Even consumers with low loyalty to e-commerce usage had online baskets that were more than double the size of their in-store ones.
That’s according to recent data from Kroger's retail data science company 84.51°, which examined in-store vs. online trips for the last year.
Consumers who used e-commerce the most had larger baskets across the board, whether shopping in stores, ordering products delivered, or using a click-and-collect service, Melissa Myres, insights director at 84.51°, tells CGT. However, in-store pickup orders tended to be the biggest trips made by shoppers regardless of how often they typically used e-commerce.
Beverage Category Trends
While 73% of shoppers say they’ve noticed drinks increase in price, only 48% were willing to switch to a lower-cost brand, says Myres, compared to 64% who would switch for paper products.
“This demonstrates the importance of the ‘brand’ in the drink category,” notes Myres.
Purchases of soft drinks and energy drinks increased during the past 26 weeks compared a year ago, according to 84.51°. Some of the category growth is being driven by functional beverages, with 35% of shoppers surveyed saying they consume protein drinks and 34% saying they use water enhancers.
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Shoppers ages 25-34 are most interested in digestive health beverages, antioxidant enhanced beverages and drinks infused with CBD or THC.
Taste remains the primary driver of purchases in the category:
- 83% say it’s the most important attribute
- 72% report looking for a fair price
- 60% are primarily focused on the quality of the ingredients
- 58% value clear packaging explaining the product’s health benefits
Shoppers want drinks that minimize artificial ingredients and excess salt and sugar, according to the firm. They also prefer flavors that they can easily recognize and enjoy throughout the year.
Another growing category is non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits, with millennials and parents primarily driving the trend. Sales are up 28% in the last 52 weeks, with 23% of shoppers saying they drink non-alcoholic beverages, and 32% saying they are consuming more of those drinks than they have in years past.
More than half of those who drink nonalcoholic beverages say that they are looking for a healthy alternative for alcohol and that they drink them when they’re a designated driver. However, only 29% thought that these drinks actually taste better than their alcoholic equivalents.
Mocktails are the most popular product in the category, with 65% of respondents saying they’ve tried them, but trial of nonalcoholic spirits and bitters remains below 10%.
