The next BIG thing?

A radio personality recently remarked that the true sign of just how badly Americans diet is demonstrated by the constant parade of new diet books atop the bestseller lists. As he correctly pointed out, if the last diet book everyone bought had worked, the next one wouldn't be necessary.

But the truth is America's battle of the bulge goes on, leaving retailers to wonder what products will rise or fall in the near future depending on what craze is getting air time with Oprah or Dr. Phil. Many retailers say they see clear signs that the Atkins-fueled low carb craze is slowing down, just as more and more low carb products keep hitting the shelves.

Shopping for Health, FMI's annual joint study done with Prevention magazine, is coming out this month with some sense of what remains on the minds of the American shopper. It might not have the next big thing, but it certainly shows that healthy eating remains foremost for our shoppers.

Life's a Niche

When Model Ts started rolling out of Ford factories in 1908, mass marketing became an industrial mantra, the driving force behind a stream of new products and services. But fragmentation of the customer base has miniaturized the mass, driving the need for niche marketing and more detailed insights into consumer behavior.

But which niche to pitch? Do we abandon the homogeneous American family with 2.5 children and the minivan-driving soccer mom, in favor of ethnic shoppers, teens, seniors, baby boomers and other segments? Or, do we dig deeper to create new niches?

Years ago, McDonald's exploited the need for speed with fast food. Now, the busy consumer niche is being served by savvy marketers who have packaged yogurt in tubes and candy in cup holders. In Bergheim, Austria, Adeg is targeting seniors with its 50+ Markt, offering bigger parking spaces, large print price tags and carts with seats. The rapidly increasing Hispanic population in the U.S. has evolved from one monolithic group into many different segments based on nationality, acculturation, and other factors. And who has been more astute at niche marketing than Nike, which offers shoes and clothing for every conceivable sport and leisure activity?

ACNielsen's Homescan consumer panel has always uncovered hidden gems for niche marketers. Starting this month, we will begin delivering data from an expanded "Mega-Panel" consisting of 91,000 households, the largest longitudinal consumer panel in the consumer packaged goods industry, which will expand further next year. In this case, size does matter as it will enable us to develop specialty panels, such as households with babies, which will assist marketers with a better understanding of behavior within key consumer segments. We know that parents buy 4,000 diapers before the average child is toilet trained, along with lots of baby food, ointment, etc. By combining attitudinal insights with actual purchase behavior, additional marketing opportunities are certain to be uncovered.

This is already the case in other areas. Nearly one-quarter of households include someone with high cholesterol. The Homescan panel has quantified the degree to which such households over-index for purchasing cooking spray, sugar and salt substitutes, and other products that are reflective of their condition. Astute retailers are utilizing their pharmacies to steer specific ailment sufferers to appropriate food and other healthcare products in other parts of their stores.

In an ultra-competitive business climate, the ability to differentiate is an important key to success. Identifying and serving high-potential niches fosters that differentiation.