Beverage consumers reluctant to substitute brands

Consumers are probably inclined to leave a store without buying anything if they can't find what they're looking for of it their preferred product--in this case, a beverage--is hard to find or is out of stock. This could signal a  trend to planning for shopping trips. "Twenty-three percent of beverage consumers won't substitute [another product] if they can't find the SKU they want," reports Bruce Miner, director of category management for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, during CSP's Cold Vault Summit in Las Vegas. "That number scares me."

And according to Kaumil Gajrawala, beverage analyst for UBS in New York, after years of spending and debt, people are starting to evaluate their spending habits. "Even folks who don't have debt are reconsidering spending. Keeping up with the Joneses has stopped."

Gina Bingham, senior category manager of convenience and grocery for Pepsi-Cola North America, Purchase, N.Y., says that energy drinks bring in some of the most fickle "cold-vault" customers. "They have the highest walkaway rate at 13 percent," she says in an April 2009 CSP article, citing Pepsi's 2008 Cooler Study. "The energy consumer has already made the purchase decision before going to the store." She adds that energy-drink consumers usually spend 12 seconds choosing a beverage and devote about 30 seconds to them before giving up on a purchase.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group's Miner adds: "Gas-trip shoppers buy more drinks and snacks than those that don't buy gas. That's good reason to try to get more gas buyers to come into our stores."

Source: Convenience Store/Petroleum (CSP)

Photo by Sondrea