Golden churn

Shoppers are leaving their favoured supermarkets.

Customer defections have increased by some 38% between 2005 -2007.
This ‘Churn’ where consumers switch from one brand of supermarket to another was highest in Britain .

The Retail Bulletin points to; not being recognised as a valuable customer, unhelpful staff, and ineffective call centres as major reasons for customers leaving a favorite.

However another really useful indicator of Churn rates is Price. There is a downward migration in retail as budgets are squeezed and a lot more families will be discovering Primark and Morrison's. The rising share prices of the discounters will be in contrast to the shrinking disposable income of consumers.

2008 will almost certainly see an increase in this movement to the budget brands and possibly the first cracks in Tesco’s domination of the grocery market as customers really don’t have the cash to spare on anything that is non essential and move lower down the food chain, as it were. Shopping basket switching is actually a very successful way of saving money, unlike utility or transportation ’choice’

The other upside is a lot less television programs being made about buying or rearing “happy poultry”

We may well all become too poor for guilt.

BQ