A New Breed of Shopper?

On 9 October, the Ipsos MORI Retail team hosted an event where they shared exclusive insight into the underlying socio & economic trends that have shaped the British shopper and challenged whether these developments have created a tougher new breed better equipped to deal with the threat of recession. Have we seen a change in shopper attitudes and behaviours in terms of environmental priorities, trust in retailer recommendation and channel switching?  

Brian Gosschalk from Ipsos MORI kicked the event off with a short welcome speech and introductions.

Ben Page, Chairman of Ipsos MORI's Social Research Institute, then provided a barometer of the most current economic and social economic issues facing the British Public in 2008 as a context to shopping behaviour.

Stephen Robertson, Director General of British Retail Consortium, followed Ben by providing an in-depth view into the UK Retail industry - and highlighted some of the issues facing the UK shopping industry in the current economic climate.

Finally, Susanne Goller and Nathan Bartlett, both Directors from Ipsos MORI Retail, highlighted 4 trends which emerged following a recent online study by Ipsos MORI:

• Smart Shopper: Have consumers become less brand conscious?
• Savvy Shopper: Have consumers become cleverer at seeking out the best deals?
• Naïve Shopper: Are shoppers naïve by placing trust in website reviews provided by complete strangers?
• Conscientious Shopper: Have ethical trends grown since the last recession and will green trends therefore survive?