• by David Kaplan , June 23, 2005

Grocery aisles need to think "youth" when it comes to attracting buyers to their shelves, as it's the young kids who influence purchasing decisions--and as they pass through high school and college, become harder to reach, a new study from Mediaedge:cia posits.

Slightly more than half of all shoppers still move through all the aisles in the grocery store, making them a perfect target for exposure to in-store media, MEC's Sensor study found. But most younger shoppers--ages 18-24--do not follow any specific patterns, making it a greater challenge to attract them, said Fran Kennish, an MEC senior partner and co-author of the study.

The study also found that more than a third of shoppers say that in-store ads influence them to purchase a new product or try a different brand than they usually use, with 64 percent of 18- to-44-year-old grocery store shoppers saying their children influence their brand decisions.

Furthermore, 44 percent of grocery store shoppers say they notice average in-store ads. The most noticed are end-aisle displays and store leaflets/magazines; the least noticed are shopping cart ads and in-store TV. Over 75 percent of those who notice the in-store ads are likely to purchase the advertised brand.

In looking at different age groups, different methods appeal to different demos. For example, product demonstrations are more effective among older shoppers (ages 55-64), while shelf signs are more effective among 25- to-44-year-olds.

BMRB International conducted a national telephone survey in November 2004, which made up the research the Sensor was based on.