FMCG brand growth, purchase habits, returns: 5 interesting stats to start the week

British consumers among least nationalist in purchase habits

Consumers in Great Britain are among some of the least nationalist in terms of favouring their own country’s products over others.

Just over half (54%) of British consumers say they are more likely to buy a product if they know it’s made in Britain. The global average for consumers saying they prefer to buy from their own country versus others is 60%.

Only Hong Kong (50%) and Singapore (44%) have a lower number of consumers preferring to buy from their own country. Nations including Australia (74%), India (72%) and France (68%) all have significantly higher figures.

Britons are also the second least likely to think products made in their own country are of superior quality to those made abroad. Less than one third (31%) of British consumers believe this, versus a 46% global average.

Italian and Australian (both 61%) consumers are the most likely to think products made in their own country are generally of a superior quality versus those made elsewhere.

Source: YouGov

Convenience beats environmental impact for consumers returning goods

More than four out of five (81%) UK online shoppers have serious concerns about the environmental impact of ordering multiple items of clothing online in different sizes to try on at home.

Despite widespread understanding of the environmental implications, many indicate it’s something they intend to continue doing.

The research finds 42% of UK consumers would continue with a purchase even if the retailer flagged the harmful environmental impact of ordering multiple items knowing most would be returned.

Previous research found around 23 million items of returned fashion were sent to landfill or incinerated in the UK in 2022. Returns are also costly to the retailer, with online returns costing them an average of £20 for every returned package.

“It is clear to see UK consumers are in a dilemma between sustainability and convenience,” says Shingo Tsukamoto, president of Makip, the company behind the research.

Source: Makip

Less than half of FMCG brands grew in 2022

Just under half (48%) of FMCG brands globally grew in 2022 in terms of value versus 2021. Of those growing brands, almost nine in 10 (88%) have grown with higher improved penetration.

Over half (51%) of brands growing in terms of value did so with both higher penetration and frequency, with 37% achieving growth with just higher penetration, according to figures from Kantar.

Sprite made the biggest gains in terms of household penetration in 2022, adding 34 million households in 2022 versus the year prior.

Unilever’s Sunsilk and Dove came second and sixth in terms of the biggest penetration gains in 2022, Nestlé’s Nescafe came third and PepsiCo’s Lay’s fourth.

Coca-Cola was eighth on the list of penetration gains in the year, adding 25 million households according to the research. It also topped Kantar “most chosen” brand list for 2022.

The most chosen list is compiled based on a metric known as Consumer Reach Points (CRPs), which is a measure of the brand’s strength in terms of the number of times it is chosen by shoppers. The metric combines population (number of households), penetration (percentage of households buying your product) and consumer choice (number of interactions with your brand). Colgate and noodle brand Maggi round out the top three.

Source: Kantar

UK ad market has declined by 2% in year so far

The UK ad market declined by 2% between January to May this year. This actually marks an improvement from the figures recorded in the second half of 2022, when the UK ad market declined by 4%, according to the data from Guideline.

The ad market in the UK also outperformed other major English-speaking markets, including North America, which declined by 3%, and Oceania, which declined by 4%.

The positive driving force in the UK’s ad market was digital, which grew by 6%. Digital represents 55% of the UK ad market. Outdoor advertising also saw growth of 8% in the year to date.

All other media types declined in the period. Within the TV category, linear TV ad spend declined by 16% in the period; however, broadcast video on demand (BVOD) grew by 7%.

Within digital, the sub-category of programmatic saw the biggest growth. It grew by 13% year over year, while social was up 8% and search up 3%.

In terms of product categories for advertisers, the apparel and accessories category grew 22% in the January to May period. The second highest growth category being was automotive, up 20%.

Source: Guideline

Almost half of consumers disappointed with purchase from influencers

Around half of consumers (48%) who have bought a product after seeing an influencer advertise it, report having been disappointed.

While most (55%) consumers say they are more likely to buy from a brand if an influencer they follow is advertising it, there is clearly a need to build trust for influencers’ services in marketing products.

Less than half (48%) of those who follow influencers on social media say they trust them (‘somewhat’ or ‘a lot’) to market goods and services.

Among the top reasons for not trusting influencers, was the false image influencers can sometimes portray. Around four in 10 consumers say they do not trust influencers because they can mislead consumers through things like promoting beauty products when they’ve had cosmetic surgery, or using photos which have been edited.

A similar proportion (38%) say they do not trust influencers who promote quantity over quantity. Over one in three (37%) say they do not like how influencers portray an unattainable or unrealistic life on social media.

Source: Capterra