IRI is hosting its 2021 State of the Industry event for the FMCG sector online, tomorrow, Thursday, 25 November and to attend you must register first.
The event, which IRI says is “one of the most important initiatives to be delivered during COVID” will cover a range of topics and will:
- unveil a broad range of insights regarding the FMCG sector
- showcase insights into the way shoppers have responded
- identify key trends and insights
- outline the opportunities for growth
Alistair Leathwood, Chief Commercial Officer, for Australia and Asia Pacific, with IRI, said: “This year’s State of the Industry event is one of our most important initiatives for the FMCG industry since COVID hit. It will not only clarify how we have responded to the pandemic as a shopping community, it will also provide important information, insights, guidance and strategies for the sector to drive growth.
“The last two years have been dominated by VUCA, a term used to describe volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. IRI’s aim, through the event, is to shed light on these market characteristics and provide a clear pathway forward that supports the industry to translate them into opportunities for growth through powerful insights.”
At the event, IRI will reveal the ways in which consumer behaviours have evolved during the pandemic and identify key areas of opportunity for the industry. The FMCG sector played and continues to play a vital role in supporting Australians through and beyond COVID, as evidenced by IRI’s shopper panel continually recording grocery and retail liquor sales above pre-pandemic baselines. We also see clear circumstantial shifts in other channels as consumer mobility changes.
Leathwood added: “A lot of the data we have collected and analysed over the past year is demonstrating that Australians are extraordinarily resilient. They are now highly adjusted consumers who have routinely stockpiled to meet their elevated at-home consumption requirements. But higher spend per trip is very different to panic buying. While the recent lockdowns saw grocery sales again spike towards levels recorded in Xmas 2020, recent lockdowns have not resulted in the same sales spikes of March 2020.
“Shoppers remain more alert to hygiene and that’s especially apparent when 2021 sales data is compared with 2019. In fact we see that ongoing behavioral shift across many categories when that extended comparison is applied. But it’s not just buying more items; shoppers have also developed a strong sustainability mindset which is driving a shift in expectations and preferences. Easiness is now prominent in the minds of shoppers – they want convenience, easy solutions and indulgence all mixed into one for a fair price.
“Not surprisingly, online shopping is continuing to grow. Shoppers are wanting personalisation and becoming more attune to the value of functional foods in supporting overall health and wellness. The boredom of the pandemic and lockdown in some states also revived the fun and appeal of new novelties for shoppers.
“On the surface, a lot has changed and will continue to change across the FMCG sector however there are some headwinds which need to be navigated such as supply chain issues, cost of ocean freight and packaging and labour shortages.
“Our State of the Industry event will delve into all of these issues and importantly identify how shoppers have responded during the pandemic and what type of behaviour we can expect from them moving forward.”
IRI will host the virtual event for all retailers and manufacturers in the FMCG sector. It will be led by experts in the Australian market, including Leathwood, Chelsey Peace, IRI Marketing Director, Brooke Olliver-Burnside, Senior Consultant, Food and Grocery, IRI, and Paul Hinds, IRI Managing Director.
The event runs from 11am to 12.30pm tomorrow, and tickets are available at: https://campaign.iriworldwide.com.au/insideinsight-au/?dlv-emuid=efd3e49e-a300-4c27-b702-0401011e5749&dlv-mlid=42247585