What the future has ‘in store’

BELLEVUE, Wash. —The Hartman Group is teaming up with GfK Custom Research North America on the launch of a new syndicated study, called Future Buy, to depict what retailing strategy will look like in the future as American shoppers emerge on the other side of the current economic crisis.

The overarching goal of the Future Buy Shopper Innovation study is to define the new meaning of “value” and determine what broad cultural values now influence and impact the way people live, shop and use products. “There are some obvious components of value [around which] consumers have historically defined [value],” Michelle Barry, SVP of The Hartman Group, explained to Drug Store News. “Quality, quantity and price—that’s the triumvirate that’s been predominant as consumers think about what value means across categories.”

The premise behind the Future Buy report is to ascertain whether that traditional definition of value has expanded or shifted within consumer minds by tracking their purchase patterns.

As of press time, the Hartman Group and GfK were only a few weeks into the project. But some of the early learnings included that, regardless of actual income, consumers are more and more becoming thrifty shoppers.

Additionally, consumers are not necessarily open to trying new products or brands these days, instead relying on products and brands they know will deliver a good experience.

The study will be available July 2009, Hartman Group and GfK reported.