Consumer Shopping Habits for Wellness and Environmentally ...

Introduction
It is an exciting time in the health, wellness and environmentally conscious lifestyle arena.
Consumers continue to be engaged in wellness activities and are, in fact, increasing
their desire to incorporate health and wellness (H+W) products and services into their
lives. In years past, the adoption of these products was largely due to the consumer‘s
stated need to take control of their personal health and the health of their families.
Currently, we are witnessing another underlying motivation emerge: Consumers are
reclaiming control over their health and wellness in-order to achieve better quality
life experiences.
The past ten years have clearly shown that H+W is not a fad or simply a niche market, but
rather a full-scale change in how consumers want to live their lives. Today‘s H+W consumer is so
mainstream that no particular demographic defines them — they are representative of all incomes, genders, educational
backgrounds and ethnicities. Although each consumer‘s level of intensity and passion around H+W may differ, the
common elements of their lifestyles are identifiable and understanding the trajectory of where these lifestyles will take
them is imperative for recognizing future business opportunities.
u Consumer Top Findings
and Associated Insights
Health and Wellness is not a niche market dominated by a small group of
consumers, it is a long-term change in how consumers view their lives and the
products they purchase.
H+W isn’t just one set of products. It stretches across the entire store.
Consumers participate at different intensity levels within H+W.
Don’t try to be all things to all people. Identify the segment you are
targeting and speak their language.
Demographics only offer limited insights into a consumer’s level
of engagement with wellness.
Consumer involvement is dependent upon lifestyle engagement, so traditional targeting methods
don’t work well.
H+W is not defined by consumers as just avoiding or managing physical conditions. It is about emotional and
mental states as well.
Consumers are seeking solutions that improve their day-to-day quality of life, not just products that
keep them from becoming ill.
For product manufacturers it is important to realize that the consumer moves along a Product Adoption Path. To move
the consumer from a Periphery position to Core segmentation requires that more transitional products are developed and
introduced into mainstream channels to meet consumer needs. There is also a need to increase consumer’s product
knowledge at the shelf via packaging attributes, point of purchase signage or staff member sales interaction with the
consumer. Not incorporating strategic wellness-based initiatives into marketing messages and product design could
significantly affect a manufacturer’s ability to grow sales with the H+W consumer in the future.
The Association for GM and HBW
Connectivity, Education, and Research
Consumer Shopping Habits Study