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The challenge of negotiating the weekly food shop whilst accompanied by young children is a source of great dread to most parents and it is difficult to argue against the claim that supermarkets could do more to make the experience more enjoyable and interactive for both parent and child. This report will critique the supermarket sector’s response to the growing market, its response to developments in this area and the rising needs of parents with young children. Key research themes will then inform a communication strategy for a chosen supermarket with the aim to give it the opportunity to become the go-to supermarket for parents with young children.
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This section of the report will focus on the analysis of the current market situation in order to establish the suitability of each supermarket retailer to the suggested strategy.
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As the target sector of this report is supermarket retailers, there will be an analytical emphasis on the ‘big four’: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons as they account for 85% of all supermarket sales (Mercer, 2013). Firstly it is important to understand the relative performance of the ‘big four’. The graph opposite is based on 2013 sales confirming that each of the ‘big four’ supermarkets are making a considerable net profit. Therefore, the emphasis of this project is not to improve their current business models but rather to address the group of consumers whose needs are not currently being met.
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In an environment of intense competition and the constant desire to be “top dog�, supermarket chains seek to exploit any opportunity to gain even the slightest advantage over their competitors. Traditional marketing competition around price matching is evidently an important factor when choosing a supermarket (Reuben, 2011). However, as this report will investigate, there may still be an opportunity for one retailer to become the go-to supermarket for families with young children and establish a competitive advantage through clever use of child interaction..
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This section of the report will focus on critiquing the culture of current supermarket retailers, analysing recent developments and seeking undeveloped opportunities within this sector.
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It would be difficult to detect any major differences in visual impressions and surroundings provided by the supermarkets of 2014 with those of over a decade ago. Small changes in in-store visual merchandising and technological developments are at odds with the evolution of consumer needs over that same period of time (Winch, 2013). Some brands from different retail sectors have developed their stores in an attempt to meet the changing needs of the modern day consumer. A good example of this is the collaboration between Samsung and Build-a-bear workshop.
Research shows that some parents have seen developments in the way they shop, such as using scanners and paying for their goods at self-service tills, along with using smart phone apps to access in-store discounts and promotional sales. However, it would appear that very few, if any strategies with the aim of improving and simplifying a parent’s shopping journey through the store have been implemented. In fact 86% of mothers declared they are given no help or support by their chosen supermarket when shopping with their children. (See Appendix A)
In a survey conducted, it became apparent that interaction between supermarket retailers and young children has probably been overlooked. When asked about the issues they face when doing the food shop, the majority of parents were concerned about the need to entertain their children and distract them as they try to complete the food shop in as stress-free way as possible. (See Appendix A) Many responses also referred to children pestering their parents to buy unhealthy food. Parents’ concern about this particular issue is understandable since the provision of a healthy, well-balanced diet is an issue faced by many families (EarlyChildhoodEducation, 2014).
ANSWERS ABOUT UNHEALTHY FOOD It is not uncommon for children to develop anxieties about trying foods that appear to be adventurous or that they are unaccustomed to. This developmental stage is also known as the neophobic stage and can be recognised in children from as young as two years old (AnxietyUK, 2014). Positive effects on eating patterns and habits in adult life can be achieved if these anxieties are tackled at a young age (Pre-school Learning Alliance, 2014).
- VISUALS ABOUT POSITIVE EFFECTS
This section of the report will focus on critiquing the way in which supermarkets are targeting their different consumer bases. It will analyse how the ‘forgotten consumer’ is being dismissed and how this situation can be rectified.
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Aside from the usual stereotypes surrounding the chosen supermarkets for particular consumer groups it is undoubtedly important to have a thorough understanding of which type of consumer shops where. Each group of consumer has a different hierarchy of priorities when choosing their supermarket. An in-depth understanding of whether a consumer is motivated by price, location, brand interaction or other factors is crucial. This is especially important when deciding the focus of a particular retailer’s communication strategy.
When trying to engage young children, the consideration of the ageappropriateness of the activity is imperative as is the attraction of that activity to the parent. Ultimately the parent will decide what the child may or may not do and to give parents the perception that they are improving their child’s knowledge or skill base is an invaluable marketing tool.
SUITABILITY TO PARENT AND CHILD
Most supermarkets would claim to speak a language that parents understand but there is still room for development in this area. According to an online survey, there is clearly still an opportunity for a supermarket to exploit this underdeveloped area and gain a greater understanding of exactly what parents want from their shopping experience.
In recent years there has been a digital revolution amongst Generation Z, the children born from the Millennium up until the current day (Looper, 2014). Their lives are becoming increasingly virtual; even their education is heading in a digital direction (InteractiveSchools, 2014). App creators have started to develop basic educational concepts aimed at children from as young as two years of age. (Michael Cohen Group LLC, 2012). This digital shift should be taken into consideration when attempting to effect changes in behaviour patterns and mindsets of this generation. Retailers need to target them using media with which they are familiar and with which they enjoy interacting. To be successful in attracting Generation Z, brands will need to adapt their marketing strategies to incorporate the elements of games that those children engage with (Krashinsky, 2013). A good example of a brand that has aimed to influence a particular behaviour in children through the introduction of an app is Natwest.
Generation Z has grown up in a world with continual access to online entertainment providing seemingly constant enjoyment and stimulation. Whether through social media platforms or gaming activities on smart phone apps, the exploitation of this situation in a productive way could allow brands to connect with children from a very young age. Statistics show that connecting with children potentially provides the retailer with a loyal customer for life (Cooper, 2010). Children as young as two years old have unknowingly shown brand loyalties and by the time they attend school many are able to recognize hundreds of brand logos (MediaSmarts, 2014). Many people share a concern about the dangers of such young children spending too much time on electronic digital devices. However, after surveying parents of children this age, 86% confirmed that they would have no problem with allowing their children to use such devices provided that the app/game has an educational value. (See appendix A)
However, it is not the use of the device itself that provides educational value to young children; educationally based apps use navigation patterns in ways that are natural to young children: touch, repeat, trial and error. This process has to be kept simple in order to keep the child from getting bored with playing the game (MichaelCohenGroupLLC, 2012). Educational apps are able to sustain engagement in young children through sequential progression and leveling. Progression through levels of an app should be age appropriate in order to prevent alienating the user and to aid them when developing their skills (MichaelCohenGroupLLC, 2012). The table opposite shows each of the features that apps should display for each age group.
It is interesting to analyse the different attempts that supermarket retailers have made in order to communicate with the average UK family. With regards to the targeting of parents, supermarkets use promotions, self-service machines, apps to make the payment experience less complicated, recipe ideas for their families and social hubs.
Programmes like Sainsbury’s ‘Active Kids’ and ‘EatHappy’ for Tesco have been adopted in an attempt to engage children over five years old and who have therefore started school. However, there is still one family member that seems to have been overlooked and who is arguably the most influential member of the typical UK household; the 2-5 year old, also referred to in this report as ‘the forgotten consumer’.
With pester power being such an influential factor in product choice for children, it seems strange that supermarkets have not utilised this marketing strategy to benefit sales. If a retailer can entertain ‘the forgotten consumer’ and help them to enjoy being in their store, the shopping experience would naturally become less stressful for the parent in charge (Thomson, 2013).
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To conclude the findings of this research, key themes have been highlighted and thoughtfully selected to inform the implementation stage of this report. Firstly, after analysis of the ‘big four’ supermarkets, it has become evident which supermarket would benefit from expanding their communication to meet the needs of parents and young children in an improved way. Secondly, this is a sector that appears to be lacking in innovation and consumer engagement. There have been slight developments in certain areas but questions remain about the value to customers of current technological engagement methods. One of the key consumers shopping at supermarkets is the parent with young children, which begs the question as to why so little is being done to improve their shopping experience. There is an open opportunity here for a supermarket to become the go-to supermarket for families with young children.
It becomes clear throughout the research findings that interaction between supermarkets and young children has been neglected. We have seen communication strategies aimed at parents and even at children who have started school but little if anything for younger children who are perhaps the most influential of all. A distraction in a supermarket to allow parents to get on with shopping and to make the experience more enjoyable for the child would be appealing but the strategy needs to delve deeper. Parents want to know that the activities their children are engaging with have an educational value. To achieve maximum benefit any such activity should aid children to learn through play. Research also shows that the best way to engage children is through a medium they are familiar with and enjoy. The recent digital revolution amongst generation Z would suggest that a virtual platform would be the most appropriate mode of engagement.
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From the conclusion of research results collated in the first part of this report, there are many explanations as to why supermarkets would benefit from developing a strategy to engage with their younger, ‘forgotten’ consumer. The aim of this project is to improve the interaction between one of the ‘big four’ supermarkets and children aged between 2 and 5 years old.
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IMPORTANT bits... The main outcome of this report will be a smart phone app called ‘Happytite’ using augmented reality aimed at children aged between 2 and 5 years old.
There are four main purposes of this app:
The first purpose will be to improve the shopping experience for both parent and child. As stated earlier in the report, the current situation for families shopping in supermarkets is not ideal. Most parents do not have any choice but to take their children shopping with them but say that they face many problems as a result of their presence. The aim of this app will be to keep children engaged in activities throughout the shopping trip in order to allow parents to complete their food shop in as stress-free a way as possible.
The second purpose will be to increase young children’s awareness about the importance of a balanced diet, focusing solely on the evening meal and the importance of having the four main components of a balanced meal on their plate. As stated earlier in the report, parents are more likely to let their child use digital devices if the purpose of the activity has some form of educational value to them.
The third purpose will be to reposition one of the ‘big four’ supermarkets in a consumer’s mind as the go-to supermarket for families with young children. To be perceived as the supermarket that understands their children and cares about their child’s health and knowledge of a balanced diet will be very appealing to parents.
The fourth is to build a connection between the child and the store environment. This will be achieved through the augmented reality used in the app to help the child visualise and locate the aisle in which each component of their meal can be found.
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the LOOK After analysis of the most successful apps aimed at consumers of this age, visual development was greatly influenced by meaningful and current trends relevant to the target group. As the app uses augmented reality, the screen behind each game will replicate the view of the aisle that the trolley is moving along. The intention here is to familiarize the child with the layout of store.
the PLAYERS The players used in the app will be chosen by the child when they begin the game. There will be a female icon and a male icon to choose from, thus making the app appeal to both genders. Parents will have the opportunity to input their child’s name when they download the app so that when they are playing on the app, a voice-over will refer to them by name. The aim of this is to give the child a sense of personalization and engage them in the activity. The characters will personify Sainsbury’s within two cartoon icons keeping the link to the brand throughout the app. Their costumes will change throughout each stage depending on the level. Personifying Sainsbury’s as the app’s characters will also give each child the chance to build a bond with the brand and perceive them as a fun character that they associate with their game.
(Collaboration with Graphic designer Amelie Rose)
Each food group will be portrayed on the app as a different group of friends. The reasoning behind this is to help children understand which food group each item belongs to. It will also be a fun way for them to address the food when talking about it to their parents. According to popular TV series ‘Charlie and Lola’ rebranding vegetables and giving them exciting names is a fun way to get children to eat them. For example, on the program, peas are called ‘green drops’ and tomatoes are called ‘moonsquirters’ (Burge, 2014). Children aged 2-5 would find it difficult to understand and articulate words such as ‘carbohydrate’ and ‘protein’ so adopting names that they would find easier would be an important factor in the potential success of the app. When choosing the names of each food friendship group, there will be a focus on the benefit that particular food type has on the body. As the child passes the aisle that stocks the items from each friendly food group, arrows will appear in the corner of the screen explaining that’s where they live. This is to help them learn the in-store placing of each group. This is another example of how the app will embed information to simultaneously educate and provide enjoyment for the child user.
steps to becoming a HAPPYTITE CHAMPION...
Taking previous research into account, this app needs to have in-built increasing levels of difficulty in order to both develop knowledge and maintain interest (MichaelCohenGroupLLC, 2012). Each level has been designed to improve the child’s understanding of food groups and the constituents of a balanced diet. Influence has been taken from successful apps currently available to this aged consumer.
The first level will be named ‘FOOD PUZZLER� and the aim will be to teach the 2-3 year old about the perfectly balanced plate. There will be an introduction to the different food friendship groups and which foods belong in each. This is considered as an introduction to the app and the entertainment will lie in a jigsaw style game whereby the child has to drag and drop the foods into the correct section of the plate. As the app will be speaking to them through the headphones, the aim will be for them to gradually get to know which foods belong in each group and the importance of having all four on their evening dinner plate.
The second level will be named “FOOD NINJA” and the aim will be to improve the 3-4 year old’s knowledge about foods and their names whilst developing a further understanding of the perfect plate. An empty plate will appear in the corner of the screen; one member of each food gang will appear on the plate; the child then has to pop as many of those food items as possible as they fly onto the screen. When they fill each plate, a voice over will describe the meal that they have created and the level will gradually get quicker and harder to complete.
The third level will be named “FOOD DETECTIVE” and the aim of this level will be to improve further the 4-5 year old’s knowledge about food groups and making the perfect dinner plate. A plate will appear at the bottom of the screen and the challenge will be to move the plate by dragging it across the bottom of the screen and collecting the correct type of food for each plate. If a plate already contains a member of the ‘Boost group’ and a member of the ‘Fix group’, the task will then be to catch a member of the ‘Safe group’ and the ‘Strong’ group. By this stage, the aim is that they will have learnt all the food groups and should be able to spot which food items are missing from each plate.
Each of the levels will increase in difficulty, developing the child’s confidence with understanding the different food groups.
After analysis of the ‘big four’ supermarkets, the chosen supermarket for the implementation of this app will be Sainsbury’s.
There have been other schemes with parallels to this project. For example “Active Kids” whereby Sainsbury’s encourage children to be more active and healthy by running schemes in schools and through social clubs. This proves that Sainsbury’s already has an interest in helping children to learn about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle but has not yet targeted the pre-school group.
We have also seen the joint venture with Aimia to create the introduction of i2c that shows Sainsbury’s is looking at innovating consumers’ shopping experiences through new communication methods. As a brand, Sainsbury’s has shown that it is receptive to these kinds of technological advances by using Nectar insights. This suggests developments in the area of communication should not be overly ambitious for the brand.
With reference to Sainsbury’s business plan, this app would fall under the highlighted section suggesting that there is capacity for this kind of strategy.
After considering the relative popularity of each of the big four supermarkets, Sainsbury’s main competitor appears to be Tesco. The introduction of this app would give Sainsbury’s something new and innovative that Tesco does not have. The implementation of this app will aim to provide an incentive for the consumers with young children to convert to shopping at Sainsbury’s because they understand what they want and care about their children.
Finally, the middle to uppermiddle class Sainsbury’s consumer demographic would suggest that a greater proportion of its customers is likely to be attracted by such an app compared to those of its competitors. They enjoy going supermarket shopping because of the relaxed atmosphere in Sainsbury’s and the wide aisles throughout the store make for a more ‘luxurious’ experience. Their aim when shopping is not to get in and out as quickly as possible, it is to enjoy the experience and if their children behave well and learn about balanced diets at the same time, this is something this demographic is likely to invest time into.
As this app will be implemented into a Sainsbury’s store, the branding needs to be in keeping with the current brand identity. As we can see, Sainsbury’s has a history of using quite playful imagery. Adopting this style will allow the app to uphold the Sainsbury’s identity whilst retaining its appeal to the target consumer.
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HAPPYTITE
The launch of the app would provide an ideal opportunity to introduce a connecting product launch into Sainsbury’s stores. This would be a suitable time to introduce related products which families can use at home in their own kitchen as children get to know the app and its concepts. The first product will be a wall chart. It will be called “My meal maker” and it will consist of a big soft plate that will allow children to choose what they are having for dinner each day by creating their own balanced plate. They will be able to do this through the skills they have learnt on the app. Children will stick Velcro versions of the friendly food groups featured on the app onto the correct part of the plate in order to create a balanced meal.
The wall chart aims to introduce Sainsbury’s into the family home environment as parents and children interact with the brand every day. As children show their parents what they have learnt by using the app, positive connotations are brought to the brand showing that Sainsbury’s care about their children and their family’s health.
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As a route to the consumer, it is important to inform the current Sainsbury’s customer about the launch of the app but also those currently shopping at other supermarkets with the aim to encourage them to convert to Sainsbury’s. There will be communication strategies implemented through in-store, online and offline platforms in order to reach all potential target consumers. In the month leading up to the launch of the app, in-store promotion will take place. Trollies are the first point of consumer interaction before entering the store and are used right up until the customer leaves. In addition they will be the place where children use the Happytite app and so will take on a key role in its promotion. In addition to this, each receipt printed at the till will have an image of the logo of the app. There will also be a link to the ‘Happytite’ section on the Sainsbury’s website where parents and children can access information about the app along with clear instructions on how to download it for free. Children will be handed balloons and badges to wear. The intention of this will be to get the children excited and develop their curiosity about the friendly food group characters to be featured on the app. Each sales assistant’s uniform will change during the month leading up to the launch. They will wear t-shirts with imagery of the food friendship groups and the logo of the Happytite app. They will also all have extensive knowledge about how the app will work and how the parent can download it for their child so they are able to offer clear and helpful advice. All around the store there will be large posters whereby parents will be able to read about the new launch, the release date of the app and the educational benefits for their children. These posters will be positioned in specific places where parents are most likely to see them, the front doors of the store, the end of aisles and at the point of payment. At the end of the appropriate aisles, there will also be large cut outs of the friendly food groups. Along with creating excitement around the characters, this will allow children to place where each of the food groups is situated in the store and where they would find each constituent part of their meal, in preparation for when they use the app. This will also help parents to learn the new names of each group and what their child is learning about whilst on the app in order to help them to further understand it at home.
In order to attract the attention of consumers who do not currently shop at Sainsbury’s, an out-of store communication strategy will need to be implemented. The most effective way to do this will be to converse straight from the brand to consumer. This will be achieved by Sainsbury’s sending out exciting packs in the post to their target consumers explaining all about the new app and how it will be beneficial to parents with young children. This will act as a conversion strategy, trying to encourage parents currently using other retailers to come to try Sainsbury’s instead because they care about their family and about making their shopping experience easier and more enjoyable. When looking at competing supermarkets, this appears to be a popular way of communicating a direct message from retailer to consumer, a bullet-proof strategy posted straight through their letterbox. Through this method the news of the launch will spread via word of mouth. For example, one parent will receive the pack about new app and tell their friends about it. A consequence of this will be to spark curiosity for other parents to go online and learn about the new app for themselves.
visual explanation of mail drop with
h perforated edge
Sainsbury’s already have a ‘little ones’ section of their website which is a hub for mums.
At the time as the launch of the in-store promotion, the ‘Happytite’ section of the website will be updated. This is where all links will lead so that parents can visit and read all about what to expect from the new app and the steps they need to take in order to start using it.
Above is a mock up of where the launch date will be published on the Sainsbury’s website.
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Having launched the wall chart alongside the app, if successful, six months later Sainsbury’s will then extend their product range as an extension of the app and it’s concept.
EXTENSION OF PRODUCT RANG This new range will contain experimental plates with each food friendship group printed onto different segments of the plate. This will be to develop further the understanding of the balanced plate and which group each food type belongs to, thus adding a fun, yet educational element to the evening meal. There will also be a mix and match cutlery set incorporating the different characters so that children can pick their favourite foods to help them eat.
Eventually there will be a launch of the Happytite food range for children with ideal sized portions of the foods contained in exciting packaging. The idea of this is that children will be able to choose these products themselves using their newlygained knowledge of the food groups. Parents will be familiar with the concept of the app by this time and will trust that Sainsbury’s is helping to educate their children whilst simultaneously providing them with high quality and well balanced foods.
GE AND VISUAL INSPIRATION
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