Nielsen IQ about the redistribution of demand, consumer trends and online trading

‘Consumers are still worried about health more than about anything else, but they also pay attention to the rising prices in FMCG – and more and more often! We, as consumers, are slowly returning to the pre-crisis time and paying more attention to everyday expenses,’ Svetlana Bobrova said

According to Nielsen IQ, the level of consumer purchases has almost recovered, but people are still being cautious and do not dare to spend actively. The consumer is torn between the desire to save and the desire to compensate for everything that he was deprived of for a year and a half – the latter contributes to the growth of the entertainment and HoReCa segment. 

Last year, almost all consumers who had not previously monitored the funds began to save money even more actively. Many FMCG managers (71%) are concerned about the decline in consumer incomes and believe that it is necessary to monitor the changes that this factor will cause.

Many countries are recovering or have recovered fr om the global crisis, but Russia is still lagging behind them. One of the reasons for the slow recovery is the shift in demand. Last year, it became possible to work from home, from the country, from any accessible and convenient point. The demand has also moved after the consumers themselves. There was an outflow of people from megacities to small cities. As a result, in Russia, an increase in demand was noticed in small settlements in the suburbs.

The second shift in demand is related to the availability of offline trading channels. During the pandemic, shoppers went to the nearest, convenient stores, which caused an increase in the popularity of discounters, minimarkets, convenience stores and online deliveries. This trend is global. At the same time, hypermarkets began to lose their popularity.

One of the most discussed topics was and remains the movement of the consumer online. 

‘27% of consumers worldwide stated that they made an online purchase of FMCG for the first time because of the pandemic,’ said Svetlana Bobrova.

Interest in online is growing: the number of requests, the frequency and the number of orders are growing, they are becoming part of daily consumption.

‘One of the interesting trends is that the pandemic has stimulated consumers to order fresh and ultrafresh products. Previously, the consumer did not trust the quality of these categories online. The dynamics of two years shows that interest in these categories is growing even in Russia, wh ere consumers are more conservative,’ commented the specialist of Nielsen IQ.

If we talk about the age of consumers who use online for shopping, we see that the e-commerce segment is replenished not only by the younger generation, but also due to the influx of an audience of 65+ years old, this age group is becoming one of the drivers not only in Russia, but also around the world. In Russia, this group currently accounts for 20% of the sales of large online retailers.

In Russia, over the past year and a half, the online segment has become really convenient, retail has adapted to new conditions and to the needs of consumers, which has become another factor that contributed to the popularization of e-commerce.

‘Another growth factor is convenience, its occurrence was due to the appearance of own brands in online trading. Interest in these brands remains in the food and non-food categories. The dynamics of own brands online shows manufacturers that it is possible and necessary to work with this category, it is developing and is in demand among consumers, and retailers, in turn, are interested in expanding their investment portfolio,’ Svetlana Bobrova emphasized.