OCTOBER 2005 Times & Trends Executive Summary
 Beyond Time Savings: The Changing Face of Convenience
 

IRI's Times & Trends highlights new developments and critical events across all major CPG categories and channels, providing powerful benchmarking data to help guide your strategic decisions. This issue delivers an in-depth analysis of sales trends among products offering convenience benefits.

 This free summary is also accessible via the GMA Web site  at http://www.gmabrands.com/publications/gmairi.cfm

Introduction

The demand for convenience has been a long-standing driver of consumer purchasing behavior. However, the face of convenience is changing, as underlying demographics shift, new products raise consumer expectations and health concerns wield more influence. Quick and easy is no longer enough – multiple benefits, including nutrition, greater portability, quality and value, are expected.

The challenge for manufacturers and retailers is to identify how their target consumers’ needs are changing and what additional benefits beyond convenience have become requirements.

This assessment provides an in-depth look at purchasing trends among convenient meal solutions, snacks, beverages, personal care and household categories to highlight current and potential future growth opportunities among products with convenience benefits.
Key Findings

  • Demand for “fresh” convenient meal solutions is on the rise. Perceived health advantages of fresh foods versus frozen and shelf-stable are driving increased demand for refrigerated meals and meal components. Continued growth potential does exist in frozen and shelf-stable convenient meal solutions, however, as illustrated by strong growth among various sub-segments and brands.

    

  • High growth of single-serve snacks illustrates the strong appeal of portability and portion control. Despite slow total category growth among more indulgent snacks, single-serve packages and/or multipacks of single servings are enjoying strong growth. These products deliver two convenience benefits that have become critical to many consumers: portability and portion control.

  • Consumers are increasingly purchasing beverages for “on-the-go” consumption. Significant increases in demand for single-serve beverages within food, drug and mass channels highlights consumers’ growing propensity to consume beverages on-the-go, and points to potential growth opportunities through increased points of access.

  • Personal care may be the next big convenience growth arena. The growing number of consumers engaging in personal care “on-the-go,” coupled with the strong success of disposable facial cleansing cloths and portable oral care products, may signal the beginning of a new era in personal care convenience characterized by an increased focus on greater time-savings and portability.

  • The market is ripe for convenient new house care products. As evidenced by phenomenal success among new time-saving house care products in recent years, consumers are eager to find streamlining opportunities in house care and rally around products with real convenience benefits. As consumers will avoid increasing the number of cleaning products in their cupboard, multi-purpose products will be well-received.
     

  Back to Top
  


                   


Source: IRI's Times & Trends Reports
Information Resources, Inc is a leading provider of UPC scanner-based business solutions to the consumer packaged goods industry.