Media & Marketing: A new generation of cost-conscious and hard-nosed shoppers are likely to give discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl serious momentum in future years, with established names like Dunnes Stores, Tesco and even premium brands like Superquinn suffering as a consequence, writes Emmet Oliver.
That is the verdict of new research carried out for consumer goods companies by market research firm Behaviour & Attitudes.
At a Marketing Society meeting in Dublin tonight, director of Behaviour & Attitudes, Des Byrne, will deliver a stark warning that Aldi/Lidl's appeal is not solely related to price.
"Our research shows there is a new generation of shoppers coming along. They are busy and more hard-nosed. They want to get in and out of the supermarket quickly.
"They are drawn to the competitive prices, but they are telling us via the research that the quality and range of choice is also present in some of the new offerings," says Byrne.
The Behaviour & Attitudes presentation will be of interest to fast-moving consumers goods companies, who work regularly with Behaviour & Attitudes.
Summing up the feelings of the Irish consumer, Byrne will tell the gathering: "In short we are feeling grumpy".
A kind of post-boom disenchantment has set in, he will argue, with retailers as much as politicians finding it hard to manage the backlash.
One of the reasons for the grumpy mood, Byrne will say, is consumers feel they are not getting value for money.
"There is now a certain cachet in saying I got good value. Before there was a certain haughtiness towards shops which were competitive on price," he says.
The figures assembled by Byrne certainly make for stark reading for the retailing establishment.
For example, last year the average weekly grocery spend in Aldi/Lidl was € 123 - this has now risen to € 133.
This was more than the average weekly spend at Dunnes Stores.
While this is stark, figures on how often shoppers visit particular stores are even more dramatic.
The number of shoppers selecting Dunnes Stores as their main shopping option has dropped 5 per cent to 22 per cent in the last year; Senator Fergal Quinn's Superquinn is down 6 per cent to 6 per cent in one year. Tesco fares better with its figures rising 4 per cent to 26 per cent.
Aldi and Lidl registers 7 per cent in this measure, already moving beyond Superquinn. In 2002 the two German chains had 3 per cent.
When asked do they ever shop in Aldi or Lidl, the figures rise considerably with 36 per cent responding that they occasionally shop at either store. This is up from 7 per cent in 2002.
Byrne sums it up succinctly: "Dunnes and Superquinn seem to be hurting, while Aldi and Lidl are benefiting".
He says while Superquinn has traditionally occupied the top end of the market, this segment is not necessarily going to remain untouched.
"There are indications some of this group may be drifting away towards more price sensitive options. There will always be a premium offering, but how big it will be is the question.
The new type of young family is likely to embrace value, and once the quality is also there, that combination will have a strong appeal," says Byrne.
Milestone for NTL
The long and painful process of getting television viewers to switch from analogue television to digital began yesterday for cable group NTL Ireland.
Any viewer receiving Sky Sports 3 will no longer be able to receive the channel on analogue and their only option will be to switch to digital.
This bonus channel is arguably the least well known of the Sky sports channels, showing a mix of watersports, greyhound racing, showjumping and angling. Consequently non-digital viewers may not baulk at losing this service, but dropping Sky Sports One and Two from the analogue service may prove more unpopular.
NTL is anxious to increase the number of people subscribing to NTL Digital. While still trailing Sky the big cable group is starting to see a reasonable uplift in its digital figures.
Dangling the carrot of Sky Sports One and Two in front of sports-obsessed fans may help to shift several thousand more viewers to its digital platform.
New mobile-focused mag to be published
Despite the demise of In Dublin and Magill, the enthusiasm of magazine publishers remains undiminished.
Damian Ryan, who already publishes Investor magazine, intends to try his luck with a new title, Top Up, based around the loose theme of mobile phones. The magazine will be published by his company Digital Media Intelligence and will come out about 10 times a year.
The A5 magazine, aimed at 18 to 25-year olds, will hit the shops on October 30th with a cover price of €1.50. It will include celebrity news, listings, lifestyle features and plenty of items about mobile phones, including games, text-based competitions and discussion on that most vital of topics for the young - ring tones.
The magazine will be supported by an advertising campaign, including a television element to be aired on Sky and TV3. Described as Europe's first "mobile lifestyle" magazine, it will have an initial distribution of 40,000, with an anticipated readership of around 150,000, according to Ryan.
He says 20,000 copies will be distributed throughout the State by Newspread and Easons, with another 20,000 copies going into colleges, clubs and cinemas by independent distribution.
Advertisers on board include Nokia, Vodafone, Motorola, Pepsi, iTouch, text company Puca and student travel group USIT. Over 80 per cent of the advertising space has already been sold for the first issue, with many advertisers also committed to the next issue, due out at the end of November, says Ryan.
In its pitch to advertisers the company says: "With no independent guide to mobile devices services, users have had no way of knowing that they are getting the best value for their money". Japan already has 10 mobile-related titles, Ryan says. If Top Up is successful Ryan hopes to replicate the idea elsewhere in Europe.
