How Much Of A Discount Drives New Grocery Trial?

New research from Kroger Precision Marketing powered by 84.51° finds that 60% of shoppers will switch to a new salty snack (same size and weight) if that product’s price is only 5% lower than the regular price with the figure jumping to 77 percent for a 10 percent discount.

At a 20 percent discount, a similar 80 percent of Kroger grocery shoppers surveyed indicated they were encouraged to try the new salty snack.

“As a tactic to get consumers to try something new, steep discounts are undefeated,” said 84.51° in a blog entry. “However, the data says that you don’t need to go overboard: the difference between a 10% and 20% discount is negligible, indicating that even minor price reductions can be highly effective.”

The research found consumers are “open to innovation but may need a nudge to break from their usual purchase,” generally in the form of a discount or coupon.

84.51°’s survey found 76% are satisfied with the products that are currently available overall and 53% tend to just grab the same products each time without much thought. At the same time, 68% are open to trying innovative and unique products and 52% enjoy discovering new products even if they must deviate from their usual choices.

Point of purchase is key to trial as 80% of respondents said they make the decision to try something new in-store, with nearly an identical number (79%) saying they discover new items via in-store displays or promotions. Another 41% indicated they discovered new items through digital advertisements.

The research found that most households are more open to trying new items in certain categories: snacks, treats/desserts, frozen meals & sides, packaged pantry items, household essentials. On the other hand, they’re likely to stick to familiar products in categories such as deli/bakery, health & wellness, dairy, produce, fresh meat & seafood.

With high price also the biggest barrier preventing consumers from trying new products, 84.51°’s advice included leveraging “TDCs (targeted direct coupons), digital coupons, and strong promotional activity to get new products in the cart.”