The high inflation rate has depleted shoppers ’ ability and freedom to buy whatever they need , wherever they need and however they need it . It has deprived customers the happiness that comes with incredible shopping experience in pursuit of value . essential needs as opposed to meeting their tertiary needs . They all seem to look at bargain deals from the different brands and retailers which leads to a decrease in the demand for goods and services . With a decrease in demand , businesses need to get better in understanding how to satisfy each and every customer in a way that will be relevant to him or her . Understanding shopper behavior , getting insights from the shopper and working backwards to ensure that a brand satisfies the needs of the shopper seems to be the only way businesses will survive .
BUYER DECISIONS
Impact Of Inflation On Purchasing Power
By Daicy Munee
The shopper basket is declining in size day in , day out . The product mix in the shopper ’ s basket is getting more defined than it was a while ago . Shoppers seem to have a very clear idea of what they are looking for at each specific time in each specific retailer . Don ’ t be surprised to find people buying different items from different stores just to be able to save a shilling .
Gone are the days when people used to have shopping lists to help them stick to the budget and save some money or to help them save time and energy while doing shopping . Gone are the days when having a well written shopping list would help one remember all the items they needed for their household and probably help one manage the mental stress of not buying all the items they had purposed to buy .
Who needs a shopping list when they are going to buy the same things , they purchase month in month out ? Who needs a shopping list to help them save a few shillings when they have nothing to save ? Or rather , when what they have isn ’ t enough to cater for their daily needs ? Who needs to remember what they need from the store when they don ’ t have enough money to buy it even if they did ?
The high inflation rate has depleted shoppers ’ ability and freedom to buy whatever they need , wherever they need and however they need it . It has deprived customers the happiness that comes with incredible shopping experience in pursuit of value . Inflation has taken away the liberty of shoppers to choose their brands of choice and left them with what seems to be the only choice , “ buying what saves a shilling ”. It is no longer a quality or value conversation but a pricing conversation . It is no longer a conversation of what serves the customers better but what saves them better .
Inflation , which is a result of supply shocks caused by an imbalance between demand and supply has led to the aggressive increase in prices . When consumers demand for more goods and services than what the economy can supply at the desirable prices , inflation tends to increase . This in turn leads to an increase in prices for goods and services which in turn reduces the value of a currency thus reducing the shoppers purchasing power .
With the rise in prices as a result of inflation , shoppers are left with less disposable income . As a result , more shoppers are focused on meeting their
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The high inflation rate has depleted shoppers ’ ability and freedom to buy whatever they need , wherever they need and however they need it . It has deprived customers the happiness that comes with incredible shopping experience in pursuit of value . essential needs as opposed to meeting their tertiary needs . They all seem to look at bargain deals from the different brands and retailers which leads to a decrease in the demand for goods and services . With a decrease in demand , businesses need to get better in understanding how to satisfy each and every customer in a way that will be relevant to him or her . Understanding shopper behavior , getting insights from the shopper and working backwards to ensure that a brand satisfies the needs of the shopper seems to be the only way businesses will survive .
With everyone trying to save , pricing seems to be the only strategy that will keep shoppers hooked to brands . It seems to be the only thing that shoppers are looking for when deciding which product , they are going to purchase . Gone are the days when shoppers had the specific brand they were going to buy on top of their minds . Gone are the days shoppers would be more than willing to purchase new products for sampling purposes .
Here are the days where everything is about saving a shilling to utilize it in the next purchase . To remain afloat , businesses need to find a way to minimize their costs whether it is through keen demand planning and forecasting , better sourcing of raw materials , better inventory management or having a better shopper understanding in order to minimize prices for maximum customer acquisition .
Daicy Munee is an MBA finalist student at Kenyatta University majoring in Strategic Management , currently working at Capwell Industries Limited as a Key Accounts Manager . You can communicate with her via mail at : Muneedaisy @ gmail . com .
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