Introduction
In 2024, trends reveal a significant shift in the consumption habits of French consumers.
In this article, we offer a few insights to help you understand these new expectations, along with some solutions to address them.
Beyond the underlying trend driven by inflation and the perceived decline in purchasing power in France, we have identified 3 key trends that are taking shape under one overarching "umbrella" trend: environmental commitment.
Environmental commitment has become an essential purchasing criterion, with growing awareness of ecological issues and a desire to support brands and retailers that adopt sustainable practices from production to distribution. In fact, 78% of French consumers are taking action toward more sustainable consumption and adopting better practices for eco-responsible consumption in 2024 (PropulseByCA). This trend is supported by an increase in purchases of sustainable, eco-friendly products, with a clear preference for quality over quantity.
The dormant locavore wakes up
Consumers favor products and services from their own region or country, thereby supporting short supply chains and the local economy.
On this point, every retailer now has a program to showcase its local producers. This includes centralized chains like Carrefour, which give their stores enough leeway to source locally. A few examples:
- Producteurs d'Ici by Intermarché, within a 70-kilometer radius
- Alliances Locales by Leclerc
- Carrefour des Producteurs by Carrefour
Ever closer, ever stronger
Directly linked to this idea of short supply chains, store proximity is also a key factor. Beyond the ongoing disaffection with hypermarkets and their overwhelming assortments, consumers are looking for accessible, convenient shopping solutions that simplify their daily lives, which favors convenience store formats and fast delivery services. They prioritize proximity over breadth of assortment, even if it means shopping more often.
Case in point: Intermarché plans to open 300 convenience stores, mainly in urban areas, by 2030, with an ambitious goal: €1.5 billion in revenue within two years (LSA).
Lifting the veil: the need for transparency
The Origine-Info project led by Olivia Grégoire, the French Minister for Consumer Affairs, confirms a trend that is already well underway. Worth noting here are the high-profile media efforts on the subject by retail maverick Olivier Dauvers and his slogan "balance ton origine" ("call out your origin"). The verdict is in: consumers want more transparency about the origin of the products they buy, especially processed products, and naturally want to buy local as much as possible.
On this front, no retailer has yet taken any notable initiative. That is a real shame. Since private-label specifications are directly in retailers' hands, it would take very little for them to require full transparency from their suppliers. As a result, lawmakers are taking up the issue, following a modest attempt to regulate certain products under the Egalim 1 & 2 laws
A marketer's headache
As we illustrated in a previous article: retailers are facing an ever-growing number of consumer profiles. Urban or rural, young or senior, each population segment now follows varied shopping journeys, often far removed from those observed just a few years ago. This transformation calls for adaptive strategies that can meet the specific needs and changing expectations of these different audiences. Add to that the trends toward short supply chains, greater transparency and healthier products… a real headache.
There are solutions for testing products and customer journeys.
We know this topic well: Retail VR regularly works with several renowned research institutes. ENOV, which specializes in "human-centered" marketing research, has worked on online shopper studies. We have also worked with Action Plus Shopper Research, an expert in consumer behavior research. By virtualizing customer journeys, we provide these institutes with research tools that are easy to set up and just as effective as in vivo studies. You can read the testimonial to learn more about our partnership.
Watch the webinar we held with Enov in January 2024 to learn more about shopper studies and the benefits you can gain from them, whether you are a manufacturer or a retailer, for your product launches or for designing customer journeys tailored to this hyper-segmentation.
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