Canadian Consumer Trends – Does your Merchandising Strategy Measure Up?
When you develop a merchandising strategy with the thought of increasing your bottom line, the best way to start is by analyzing current consumer trends. A recent CBC report, ‘5 Canadian Consumer Trends to Shape the Future of Retail,’ did just that by looking at what consumers want from their retailers. The Business Development Bank of Canada study found that ‘value-conscious Canadians want local, healthy, customized goods they can research online.’
The report outlines the top 5 consumer trends:
- Trend #1: The buy-local movement. According to the report, Canadian consumers are shopping close to home. In the past year, 45% of respondents reported buying locally-made Canadian products for both ethical and environmental reasons.
- Trend #2: Rising health awareness. Canadians as a whole are becoming more health conscious and their buying choices reflect that, especially when it comes to aging consumers. 50% of Canadians consider the health impacts when making a decision to buy, and one-third will pay a premium for products that are better for them.
- Trend #3: Frugality. Even as the economy continues to stabilize, for many Canadian households incomes remain stagnant and debt is still an issue for many individuals. With this in mind, many Canadian consumers report still being mindful of prices and cautious when it comes to spending. This is especially important when it comes to those retiring baby boomers living on fixed incomes.
- Trend #4: The desire for customized goods. So many customers are looking to purchase exactly what they want these days, and won’t settle for just anything. New technology has made it possible for them to make these purchases, so offering a variety of goods is a smart strategy to entice consumers.
- Trend #5: The impact of the internet. This one is huge, but even so, some retailers are still trying to ignore it. Consumers can now do an immense amount of research online before they finally make the decision to head in-store to buy. At the same time, online shopping continues to account for an increasingly large portion of consumer spending, so ignoring online sales all together is a bad idea.
These Canadian consumer trends are not exactly surprising, and for the most part these results correlate with things that have been happening over the past few years. With that said, they have grown in importance and as a retailer you can no longer ignore their impact.
For more about what the results of this study mean and how you can implement a plan to take advantage of them, please contact Marketsupport today at 1-877-421-5081, or visit us online at www.storesupport.ca.
Check out the complete article here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/5-canadian-consumer-trends-to-shape-the-future-of-retail-1.2129072
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