What costs around £3,500 a minute?
No, it’s not Boris Johnson’s speaker fee or Erling Haaland’s salary per match.
It’s the price premium you have to pay in London to live near a train or tube station.
If you live 500 metres from the nearest station, you will pay an 8% premium compared to a similar property 1,500 metres from the station. That’s £42,700 more on average.
It is estimated that the average time it takes to walk 1,000 metres is about 12 minutes. So, the premium for every minute is around £3,500.
When it comes to house prices, location really matters.
Which means that for many people, accessibility to a station is a price worth paying.
Why are we talking about this? Winning in FMCG means winning with shoppers. To win with shoppers, categories and brands need a few big strengths.
We call them Shopper SUPERPOWERS.
There are 5 of them.
The first is ACCESSIBILITY. Being within arm’s reach.
It’s about being in the right stores and outlets. The ones that are most relevant for your category or brand. If you’re a snack, it’s being where snacks are bought. If you’re a drink, it’s being where drinks are bought.
Shoppers can only buy you if you’re available to buy.
It’s about being in the right locations in store. Locations that have high shopper traffic AND high shopper relevance. This means relevant to the other products around you. Think a wine display next to cheese or tapas style products. It means relevant to the decisions that shoppers are making at that point in their journey. Think sauces and marinades displays next to fresh meat.
Identify who your best friends are. Then get close to them.
It’s about getting in on the meal deal action. It could be a well-established meal deal. Think Lunch or Dine In deals. Costa Express has managed to make hot drinks part of some supermarket meal deals. Magnum have managed to get ice cream into those deals. It could be about creating new solutions and bundles. Snack + drink solutions. Pasta + pasta sauce. Detergent + fabric conditioner + scent booster.
There are hundreds of potential bundles. Find the most relevant one(s) for you.
It’s about being REALLY easy to find. Something that is important for all products but absolutely essential for new products. Telling shoppers what to look for – e.g. “look for the orange bottle” “look for the black can.” Telling them when to look for it – e.g. “coming on X date.” Telling them where to find it – e.g. “find us in X aisle” or “find us next to Y.”
Don’t hope shoppers stumble across your product. Direct them straight to it.
It’s about being REALLY easy to buy. Think subscriptions. Think one click ordering. Think ultra easy “add to basket” digital solutions. Think rapid delivery. Convenience is king. It’s why we’re all worried about the death of the high street but still shop on Amazon. It’s just too easy.
You need to put the effort in to make it effortless for shoppers.
To win with shoppers you need to be ACCESSIBLE.
The closer you are to shoppers, the better.
Just like houses and stations.
Feel free to forward. Have a great weekend. Speak to you next week.