Global market research organisation Nielsen has launched the first Australian ShopperLAB research facility, which has been installed in the Company’s Sydney head office. Nielsen said the lab, which will be announced this week at the Consumer 360 conference in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, will enable manufacturers and retailers to better understand shopping behaviour and test concepts through “observation, interviews, eye tracking and neuroscience”. Aimed primarily at marketers, category... ...Read more »

Convenience stores globally are likely to move more towards stocking more ‘fresh food’, according to Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert. In Australia, independent grocery and convenience store supplier Metcash, has proposed Australian convenience stores focus more on fresh food and new product lines, in order to compete with larger supermarket retailers. In February 2013, Metcash launched ‘new concept’ in fruit, vegetable and fresh food retailing, opening three new stores in New South Wales under... ...Read more »

Despite an increase in food prices worldwide, fresh foods remain an important part of the weekly shop globally, according to research published earlier this month by global market researcher Nielsen. The Nielsen Global Survey of Fresh Foods, which surveyed more than 29,000 respondents in 58 countries, found that consumers globally now spend between 30 and 60 per cent of their total food, grocery and personal care funds on fresh foods. The research found that consumers globally shop for fresh foods... ...Read more »

Barcode company GS1 is about to launch its GoScan app. With the support of a range of food industry partners – including the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), major supermarkets and food manufacturers – the new GS1 GoScan iPhone application will be launched in Sydney next week. GS1 says the GoScan iPhone application will allow consumers to rapidly and easily access trusted product information from their mobile phone, whether they are at home, at a store or ‘on-the-go’. App users... ...Read more »

Sixty percent of global consumers prefer to buy new products from a familiar brand rather than switch to a new brand, according to a new study from global research firm Nielsen. The Nielsen Global Survey of New Product Purchase Sentiment surveyed more than 29,000 Internet respondents in 58 countries and found that brand familiarity is one of several key characteristics that resonate strongly with consumers worldwide. Rob Wengel, senior vice president Nielsen Innovation Analytics said that Nielsen... ...Read more »

International marketing of two of Australia’s biggest export sectors – wine and tourism – is about to be bolstered by a new three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Tourism Australia and Wine Australia, announced this week. Collectively, wine and tourism contribute around $140 billion annually in economic value to Australia.   Wine is the fourth biggest agricultural export sector in Australia, while tourism is Australia’s largest services export sector.  The new... ...Read more »

Brands and retailers should be investing time into social media according to latest research by global market research company Nielsen, which found that social media usage continued to grow 37 per cent from 2011 to 2012. According to Nielsen, the rapidly growing social media market still lead by Facebook, has been “offering global consumers new and meaningful ways to engage with the people, events and brands that matter to them.” Nielsen’s Social Media Report 2012 highlighted that US consumers... ...Read more »

According to a recent report by consumer research company Nielsen, the US digital shopping industry is estimated to continue to grow at 25 percent through 2015. The report says that multi-channel platforms are of importance, but e-commerce is unlikely to take over “bricks and mortar” shopping in the United States food sector. The report said that digital shopping only accounted for two per cent of US consumer packaged goods (CPG) sales in 2011. The report also said that product category is a... ...Read more »

Sales of ‘home brand’ groceries by supermarkets have fallen 0.7 per cent since this time last year, the first drop in five years. The research which appeared in the annual Retail and Shopper Trends report by market research firm, Nielsen, indicates that ‘big brand’ products are claiming priority again in Coles and Woolworths. Nielsen reported that ‘household penetration’ of the supermarket’s own ‘home brands’ have dropped to 94.8 per cent  in 2012, formerly 95.5 per cent at this... ...Read more »

Despite record numbers of Australians using the internet to seek product reviews, specials and grocery coupons, the number of consumers purchasing groceries online lags significantly behind the UK signaling even greater growth is to come, according to a new study from Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy. When comparing Australian rates of consumer online shopping with other global markets, Nielsen found 35 percent of Australians had bought... ...Read more »