NielsenIQ: Consumers adjust their shopping list based on price
We're not yet seeing a contraction in Mexican consumption, as we saw in 2020, with the pandemic, or in 2009. But defensive spending migrations are materializing, warned Raquel Jiménez, Director of Customer Success at the consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ.
Sales in pesos are slowing, although the volume of product purchases remains the same, he noted.
"Consumers are becoming bargain hunters and are shifting across the entire product sales segment, from traditional channels like corner stores to self-service stores, specialty stores, and department stores; digital shopping; and so-called high-discount stores like BBB stores, El Zorro, and Waldo's Neto.
Regarding these latest discount stores , he said they have grown significantly across all economic segments, to the point that they have already opened stores "even in Polanco."
And he emphasized that they gain customer loyalty, because "more than 80% of consumers who try shopping at high-priced discounters stay in this channel."
In the webinar "Mexico: Opportunities in a Context of Uncertainty," the expert commented that the Mexican consumer is becoming omnichannel.
It refers to searching for more purchasing channels in order to find the product with the lowest price in the corresponding channel.
The traditional channel remains the most important for purchasing products. It has gained importance in the last two years, with 35% of spending done there, and the largest supermarket chains continue to lose ground.
He noted that as consumers are more price-sensitive, "with stressed wallets," they are willing to switch brands and stores to optimize their spending.
The categories most sensitive to this change and price comparison are cooking oils, toilet paper, evaporated milk, and beer, he explained.
To identify the difference from other periods of economic stress, he explained that in 2021, four out of 10 categories in the Nielsen baskets were considered elastic, meaning they could trade brands for price, sacrificing quality. "Today is totally different.
68% of the categories are already in this zone where the price moves slightly and they react.”
Consumers are making adjustments by reducing their purchase quantities, switching to cheaper brands, or seeking other distribution channels because they are willing to sacrifice quality to cope with the price increase, he commented.
And it's now that consumers are reacting more to promotions on the same products where they were willing to sacrifice quality for price.
He said the country remains highly refreshed, and therefore the purchase of non-alcoholic beverages continues to grow.
Eleconomista
