THE NIELSEN GLOBAL LIQUOR SYMPOSIUM AND GLOBAL WINE FORUM

Posted on Oct 30, 2009 - 03:13 PM

Last week, the Liquor Merchants Association of Australia (LMAA) in association with Nielsen presented the inaugural Nielsen Global Liquor Symposium and Global Wine Forum at Doltone House in Pyrmont, Sydney.

With key liquor industry representatives from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and America, it was a great opportunity for Shopaholic to gain some valuable market intelligence about the current state of play and emerging trends in the liquor industry.

Highlighted are a few key points worth pondering for any liquor marketer.

Consumer spending habits

“While alcohol beverages are sometimes thought to be ‘recession proof’, we’re seeing significant evidence of changes in consumers’ dining and buying habits,” said Danny Brager, Nielsen Beverage Alcohol Team US. As a marketer, we need to understand those changes.

Job security is still a concern looming over most consumers’ heads, and they are changing their purchasing behaviour accordingly. 30% of those surveyed by Nielsen claimed to have cut down on purchases of alcohol, and almost half have cut back on nights out. This trend was visible across all four markets represented at the Symposium.

Why then do Australian consumers continue to ‘trade up’? BarScan data indicates that the average price per serve has grown in the last year across all categories. Off premise also experienced much stronger growth in the categories of premium spirits, RTDs and beers than in their standard counterparts.

Perhaps more important than price to a shopper, is perceived value. With alcohol there is a degree of status consumption involved, and so shoppers are more open to paying a premium for something they perceive to completely meet their needs. With the strong shift to off premise, retail media has never been better placed to influence shoppers at the point of sale.

Promotional reliance

Overseas shoppers have become conditioned to buy only on price promotion. While price promotion accounts for over half of Australia’s beer and wine sales, this rises to close to 80% in New Zealand. In Australia, while most categories have experienced an increased reliance on promotion for sales, beer has actually experienced a slight decrease. With beer claiming over half of the past year’s new product development sales in Australia, it would seem that shoppers are willing to pay a premium for innovation. Brands should take care to avoid the pitfalls of relying solely on price promotion and consider other activation strategies such as in-store advertising.

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