Filipinos went on fewer shopping trips during 1st half: Kantar study

MORE THAN half of Filipinos went on fewer shopping trips to purchase fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) during the first half of 2018 amid rising consumer prices.

This is according to a study on shoppers’ behavior by global research firm Kantar Worldpanel, which said that 53% of Filipinos went on fewer shopping trips from January to June. From 183 shopping trips in the first six months of 2017, the average Filipino household cut down to 178 in the same period this year.

Kantar Worldpanel said the decrease was more pronounced in lower income earning families. Class D households shopped six times fewer compared to a year ago, while Class E homes went on five times fewer trips in the same period.

“With less trips planned this 2018, FMCG brands must make each shopping visit count for Filipino consumers. And as consumer prices rise, we can see that households are making fewer purchase trips for FMCG,” Kantar Worldpanel Account Director Ruth Mendoza-Sazon said in a statement.

“Thus, communicating the right value proposition of our brands will be very critical to stay in their shopping basket as the budget becomes more challenged. For beverages specifically, revisiting healthier options such as water will be crucial in staying afloat,” Ms. Mendoza-Sazon added.

Despite the drop in number of shopping trips, the local FMCG market grew in terms of value sales and volume purchased. The uptick was seen in personal and home care categories which benefited from the upsizing and larger volumes bought my households.

Meanwhile, Filipinos went on the same number of trips to buy items in the food sector from a year ago. Households also bought similar basket sizes despite the higher prices.

In the beverage category, water saw an increase in volume of purchases during the first semester. In contrast, sugary drinks recorded negative performances as the implementation of higher taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages prompted double-digit price increases.

The study further noted that sports drinks, soft drinks, chocolate drinks, and teas and juices in ready-to-drink and powdered formats delivered negative figures based on frequency and penetrations rates.

Kantar Worldpanel said the 48% decrease in volumes from powdered juices was due to consumers’ shift to other beverages such as water which accounted for half of the lost volumes.

“The same scenario applied to soft drinks, with 9 out of 10 switching volumes lost due to consumers’ preference for water,” it said. —