Consumer Shopping Habits for Wellness and Environmentally ...
Consumer Shopping Habits for Wellness and Environmentally ...
Consumer Shopping Habits for Wellness and Environmentally ...
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Though this is an important category, caution should also be observed be<strong>for</strong>e investing too heavily in<br />
it. As we saw in Chapter 2, the Internet now serves as the key source of H+W in<strong>for</strong>mation <strong>for</strong><br />
consumers. We do not see this trend reversing itself, in fact, we anticipate the Internet becoming<br />
more important overall in consumer H+W over the next several years.<br />
Purchase Criteria<br />
Purchase criteria are rather difficult to discern in this category, as many consumers do not purchase<br />
within it regularly <strong>and</strong>/or purchase such items on whim or impulse. Price is often a leading criterion,<br />
but it tends to operate in retail channel selection rather than in an immediate store context. That is,<br />
many will simply go to a specialist channel (e.g. Borders) where they expect pricing will be<br />
competitive when they go out specifically to purchase publications. When publications are purchased<br />
impulsively, price often does not matter so much so long as it is not unreasonable. Probably the most<br />
significant other factor is simple <strong>and</strong> immediate relevance, which makes in-store placement of<br />
publications important e.g. having books on cooking with herbs near specialty herbs, or placing<br />
books on vitamins near vitamins.<br />
Br<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Product Offerings<br />
There is of course no lack of available printed materials on various aspects of H+W. Some selection<br />
of key works in H+W topic areas (e.g. books by Dr. Andrew Weil) would be desirable in most<br />
channels covered by this report. The specialty drug channel <strong>and</strong> specialty grocers should consider<br />
carrying more extensive variety of H+W related publications. In the latter case, publications relating<br />
to food (E.g. Saveur) should be prioritized given the H+W resonance of food in those stores.<br />
Non-Gateway Categories/Sub-Categories<br />
The following categories have some discernable relevance to H+W, <strong>and</strong> often appear alongside<br />
other categories of adoption. However, by themselves they currently lack the ability to facilitate a<br />
consumer‘s growth into other categories of H+W goods, thus they are ―non-gateway‖ categories.<br />
OTC<br />
H+W Relevance<br />
While this category has a very direct relationship to H+W, it is not the<br />
most positive association. OTC products are generally associated with<br />
conditions of illness <strong>and</strong>/or crisis (e.g. a bad headache) <strong>and</strong> lack the<br />
positive, proactive H+W associations that we find with certain other<br />
categories, e.g. taking the right supplements is often viewed as a<br />
positive, self-empowering move by Mid-level consumers. Many H+W<br />
consumers tend to use less in the way of OTC as they evolve <strong>and</strong><br />
develop a general disinclination toward ―drugs‖ or other medications.<br />
The following figure shows consumer attitudes towards OTC use versus<br />
using natural versions. Overall, a majority of consumers (58%) use<br />
OTC medications, but try to limit the amount used. The Core is more<br />
Figure 70 – <strong>Consumer</strong><br />
Collage Showing Concern<br />
Over Taking “Too Many<br />
Drugs”<br />
90