Out-of-Home Beverage Market Bubbles

August 26, 2010

This article is included in these additional categories:

Analytics, Automated & MarTech | CPG & FMCG | Data-driven | Food & Restaurants | Pharma & Healthcare | Retail & E-Commerce

Nine in 10 US consumers purchased a non-alcoholic beverage away from home in the last month, according to a new survey from Technomic.

Consumers Drink Beverages Away from Home
As mentioned above, the Technomic Beverage Consumer Trends Report indicates 86% of US consumers purchased a beverage away from home in the last month. Of those, 24% purchase a beverage away from home on a daily basis.

Price, Convenience Most Important Factors for Selecting a Purchase Place
When asked to rate the importance of different factors influencing their decision on where to purchase a beverage, 66% of consumers rated price extremely important or important, as did 63% of consumers for location.

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More than half (55%) cited the importance of portability and speed of service, which along with the high percentage citing location indicates that convenience is a top influencing factor along with price. Considering this general focus on convenience, it is somewhat surprising that only about one-third (35%) of consumers mentioned drive-through service as an important factor.

Interest in Health Wanes
Consumers appear less interested in consuming healthy beverages today than they were two years ago. In 2010, 39% of consumers agreed or agreed completely that restaurants should offer healthier beverages, compared to 56% in 2008.

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A smaller dropoff occurred in the percentage of consumers agreeing or completely agreeing that it’s important to know the nutritional content of beverages between 2008 (37%) and 2010 (31%).

Technomic analysis suggests this may mean consumers are less health-conscious today, but may also indicate consumers are more satisfied with the nutrition of beverages today or are purchasing fewer beverages and therefore not as worried about their health impact.

Taste, Quality Trump Other Beverage Aspects
The most important aspects of a beverage for consumers are taste (76%) and quality (73%). These two aspects attract interest from significantly more consumers than other aspects such as premium (43%) and healthy (42%).

Other Findings

  • On average, consumers drink about seven types of beverages per month, and purchase an average of three varieties away from home.
  • The number of consumers making beverage-only purchases at fast-food restaurants is increasing. About a third of consumers (36%) say they have visited a fast-food establishment in the last month and bought only a beverage, up from 24% in 2008.
  • Convenience stores are an important channel for beverages. Two out of five convenience store customers (42%) say they have made four or more beverage-only purchases there in the last month.
  • Tea is growing in prevalence as a beverage option on restaurant menus.

Environmental Concerns Affect Packaged Beverage Decisions
Consumer environmental concerns are having an increasing impact on their packaged beverage buying behavior, according to a new study from BeveragePulse.com. Ninety-four percent of consumers are very or somewhat concerned about environmental issues, with 49% considering themselves very concerned.

About the Data: Technomic surveyed 1,500 US consumers on non-alcoholic beverage preferences, attitudes and purchasing behavior in June 2010.

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