Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

The run-up in gas prices this year had many marketers, including restaurant operators, worried. A survey by AlixPartners, taken earlier this year, revealed that 28% of consumers said fuel costs were contributing to their concerns about the economy. Now that prices have fallen back a bit, consumers may return to more of a typical summertime pattern for eating out.

As consumers continue to cut back their consumption of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), they are turning to a variety of beverages. Manufacturers and retailers are both reporting a huge interest in teas and ready-to-drink (RTD) teas. In addition, manufacturers are picking up on the growing demand for organic teas and have started launching and marketing new product lines.

Consumer interest in locally-based food continues to grow along with the worry about the safety of the supply chain. This trend may explain the rising sales of certified products. Both conventional grocers and natural food stores can boost sales even higher by promoting items that carry the Fair Trade, Whole Grains Council and non-GRM project verified labels.

In the past decade, fortunes have been lost as entrepreneurs tried to convince large numbers of consumers to pay for online grocery shopping and home delivery. For most grocers, the online part of revenue is limited to a small number of consumers. Everyone else remains convinced that they are paying too much for the service or that they’re not getting exactly what they want and so they continue to drive to the store. But consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are set to exploit the online market in new ways.

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Beer/Wine Wholesalers. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

The restaurant industry is still struggling to return to pre-recession business levels. The one segment which has fared better than all others is fast casual. With the total number of units growing again, operators are marketing new menu offerings to get consumers to come through the door, or at least place an order with their smartphone.