Labor Day Menus Will Your Food Be on Customers Tables

 

Will your menu items take center stage on your customers Labor Day table? The simple question you should have been asking yourself two months ago is what can I sell to consumers that they will want on their Labor Day table no matter where they will be eating it? 

According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® meals and meal components that can be mixed and matched into a perfect customized family gathering meal either for indoor dinning or outside dinning will take center stage if retailers market, message, and manage communication that empowers customer choice while simplifying meal and menu prep time.   

Once again, this year Numerator continues to track purchase data and survey verified buyers to understand shifts in consumer behavior. Its 2023 Labor Day Intentions Preview identifies consumers’ celebration, shopping, and spending plans for the holiday. Here’s what was learned: 

1.       60% of consumers plan to celebrate this year, down from 75% in 2022 

2.       55% of celebrants plan to purchase alcohol for the holiday with the top options being beer (74%), hard seltzers (34%) and wine (33%)

3.       61% of celebrants plan to grill for Labor Day 2023 (the same as 2022), but other celebrations are shifting away from attending or hosting a gathering/party (41% in 2023 vs. 53% in 2022) to plans such as cooking/baking (26% vs. 20%), recreational activities (21% vs 12%), traveling (19% vs. 13%), and watching fireworks (16% vs 10%)

4.       89% of Labor Day celebrants intend to buy food, including hamburgers (83%), hot dogs (67%), chicken (60%), and steak (41%)

5.       42% of consumers expect rising prices to impact their Labor Day plans, and 86% of consumers anticipate taking money-saving measures for the holiday, including buying items on sale (54%), preparing more budget-friendly meals (35%), using more coupons (32%), switching to store brands (23%), and visiting dollar or discount stores (20%)

Planning Matters

Do you want to Grow

Share of Stomach?

6.       Summer 2023 saw beer grow sales by 11.7% and share by 1.6 points compared to summer 2022. Beer brands that grew summer share include Miller (+2.1 points), Coors (+2.1 points) and Modelo (+1.2 points). Bud Light declined by 3.2 points

7.       Ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, which includes hard cider, hard seltzers, ready-to-drink cocktails, and flavored malt beverages, saw sales increase by 1.6% this summer compared to 2022. Nutrl (+195.3%), Beatbox Beverages (+129.5%) and Absolut (+82%) saw the largest growth in pure sales, while brands such as High Noon (+4 points), Twisted Tea (+2.1 points) and White Claw (+1.1 points) gained the most share within the category

Mix and Match meal component bunding is a hallmark of grocerant niche success and continued growth.  Are you looking a customer ahead?  What resources are you utilizing to drive top line sales and bottom line profits in November?

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation, and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Service Tops Price in Influencing Food Spend Look at the Demographics

What drives consumers to stop and buy something from one of your locations? What do consumers think is important when they are about and about? Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® stated, its not always about you or your brand.  More often than not it is about your consumer. Below are some valuable insights from Numerator we think you should see.    

Numerator continues to track purchase data and survey verified buyers to understand shifts in consumer behavior. In a recent Mythbusters: Convenience report, we examine the fact that convenience is not a universal metric–what convenience means to consumers differs based on product type and shopping method, as well as between shopper groups, particularly different generations. Here’s what we learned: 

1.       82% of shoppers say convenience is extremely or very important to them; for Millennials, this number rises to 87%, while for Boomers+, it is only 77%. 

2.       When ranked alongside other shopping considerations, convenience comes in third, behind price and quality. 40% of shoppers rank convenience as their first or second decision-making factor.

3.       1 in 5 shoppers say store location is the most important factor for convenience, with an additional half saying it plays a role. 

4.       78% of all consumers consider the most convenient store location to be the one that is closest to home, followed by one along a route they travel regularly (54%). 

5.       Gen Z consumers prefer having a store within walking distance (25%) and along a public transportation route (13%). This is because Gen Z shoppers are 20% more likely to live in urban settings and 45% less likely to own a vehicle.

6.       Gen Z shoppers are 30% more likely than other generations to consider self-checkout a key component of convenience. 

7.       Store location is the top in-store convenience factor, but for online shopping, the #1 convenience factor is the ability to shop at any time.

8.       44% of Gen Z consumers prefer online stores that make it easy to use promotions/coupons, 28% of Millennials like the ability to store payment info, and 20% of Boomers+ find customer service the most convenient aspect of online shopping. 

9.       43% of all shoppers find online shopping somewhat or much more convenient than in-store, and Millennials are the most likely generation to favor online shopping (48%), followed by Gen X (46%). Gen Z finds in-store shopping “somewhat” to “much more” convenient (32%) than other generations.

10.   Consumers find it more convenient to shop in-store for perishable food and beverages (77%), frozen or refrigerated food and beverages (74%), and large home goods or furniture (55%). Meanwhile, consumers find it convenient to shop online for pet food and supplies (31%), small appliances or electronics (29%), and baby and toddler items (24%).  

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869