Customer-centric retailing – Now you know what ... - Roland Berger

RETAIL CONSUMER TRENDSConsumers' needs are becoming increasingly diversifiedRetailers need new formats to keep upTHE DEMOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL STRATA OF ALL EURO-PEAN INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS ARE SHIFTING SUB-STANTIALLY, LEADING TO FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES INTHEIR NEEDS AND PURCHASING PATTERNS. THIS MEANSTHAT IN JUST A FEW YEARS' TIME, MANY RETAILERSWILL NO LONGER RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN CUSTOMERS,BECAUSE THEY WILL HAVE CHANGED SO MUCH – LIKESOCIETY AS A WHOLE.They are not only older, they're also more aware of theenvironment and their health. They live in smaller andsmaller households, want shopping to be easy – avoidingtraveling long distances as much as possible – and areincreasingly interested in products from their own region.They are more individualistic in their lives and purchasinghabits than any generation before them. They want to livehealthily and sustainably, and this doesn't only apply tothe LOHAS (lifestyle of health and sustainability) targetgroup.Others have to budget for every cent and watch pricesmeticulously. Both customer groups are interested ingetting good value for money. And that often also meansthat they prefer to pay a little more for good quality. Themarket is thus becoming increasingly polarized. Althoughmidmarket segments are certainly shrinking, they won'tdisappear completely (despite predictions to the contrary).Instead, we will see increasingly "hybrid" consumptionpatterns with a boom not only in the branded andpremium segments, but also at the lower-priced endof the market.Traditional market research is finding it increasingly difficultto classify these people (and many others) in traditionalsociodemographic terms. Moreover, consumers canno longer be reached as they could in the past due to thefragmentation of the media landscape. Although peopleare watching more television, ratings are falling in individualformats. In the digital future, consumers will be able4