Pulse on the Economy: Using Social Media to Understand Today’s Shopper Behaviour

Pulse on the Economy

As 2009 kicked off with the continuation of the most severe economic recession the United States economy had seen in 80 years, companies and consumers alike were faced with daunting challenges. Shoppers' core priorities and behaviors were fundamentally changing, and companies were forced to adapt and re-think the ways they did business. More than ever, a return to the basics was necessary - building and retaining a loyal customer base, understanding how customer mindsets and values were evolving, and relating to shoppers on both an emo-tional and practical level.

In this paper, we share how the convergence of two major influences - the economic recession and the "Social Media Revolution" - led to a research partnership between Kraft Foods and Cymfony, a Kantar Media company, to understand how the challenging economic climate affected consumers' attitudes and behaviours regarding grocery shopping.