Promotional checkmate

In the 90 grocery categories audited by Nielsen 43 forints from every 100 were spent on products in promotion in 2012. This average increased to 45 forints in 2013. As for household chemicals and cosmetics, promotions’ share increased from 49 to 55 forints from every 100 spent. 66 percent of consumers choose from 2-4 stores before going shopping, influenced by the quality and quantity of promotional activities. Shoppers keep an eye on leaflets and in-store activities and because of this an outstanding 51 percent of FMCG buyers not only know the prices of most products, but also react quickly to even small changes in price. Recently more Nielsen partners have become interested in measuring the efficiency of their promotions. It is important for manufacturers to optimise their promotion budgets, while retailers’ priority is to do promotions that generate the highest turnover possible in the individual categories. Nielsen’s ScanTrack service can answer the questions of sales and marketing managers relevant to this problem. In the long run it is a fundamental goal to retain brand equity, which can be eroded by too many promotions. Finding the right strategy is key and Nielsen can help in this. n