Introduction to the Retail Map
Introduction
Many garden centres are managed at a local area and as such have
difficulty in relating national market information and consumer trends to
their own business. Now this is set to change, as the HTA have joined
up with Experian to develop a product that will allow garden retailers to
have market information tailored to their local area.
The HTA’s GIM retail MAP for the first time allows garden retailers to build up
a comprehensive picture of garden consumers within their catchment area. It
combines the power of Experian’s Mosaic consumer classification and
mapping tool with the HTA’s Garden Industry Monitor consumer spending
data, to give the industry a unique insight into the local consumer market for
garden products. Retailers are now able to analyse consumers within a
defined drive-time from their store and identify the spending potential of each
type of consumer. This enables them to target high spenders or tailor their
offer to meet the particular needs of consumers within their catchment area. It
is also possible to estimate the proportion of total garden retail spend that
each consumer group will be responsible for.
As well as providing a detailed analysis of expenditure within the catchment
areas, retailers can go one step further and obtain the names and addresses
of target customers, which they can then use for targeted direct marketing.
This targeting can go down to household level, enabling retailers to maximise
the impact of direct marketing by only contacting households with a high
propensity to spend on garden products.
How does it work?
There are two key elements of the GIM Retail MAP. The first is Experian’s
Mosaic consumer classification system. Mosaic classifies all consumers in the
UK into one of 61 types, which fall into 11 groups. This is achieved through
analysis of 400 different data variables, around half of which are obtained
from the 2001 census and the remainder from a comprehensive database of
all 46 million adults and 26 million households within the UK. This quantitative
data is supported by extensive qualitative research, which validates the
quantitative data and enables Experian to ‘build a rich picture of the sociocultural diversity of the nation’s neighbourhoods’. The result is that every
household in the country is given a Mosaic code and this data can be
analysed at a national, regional or local area; through the use of postcodes,
analysis can be mapped and tailored to any catchment area.
The HTA’s GIM Consumer panel is a representative sample of 6000
households across GB where all garden-related purchases are recorded. By
analysing this data by the household’s Mosaic code, we can combine our data
with Mosaic data to model garden-related expenditure for any catchment area.
So for the first time, the HTA can tailor GIM analysis to tell retailers about
consumer spend in their own store’s catchment area.
How will this help your business?
Understand the consumers within your catchment area – The HTA, in
conjunction with Experian, have developed a unique household spend
classification for GB which classifies households into one of five types,
dependent on their propensity to spend on garden products. Categories range
from platinum households, which spend more than twice the average amount
on their garden, through to iron households, which spend less than half the
average on their gardens. The analysis will tell you how many of each
household type you have within your catchment and the proportion of total
spend each group will account for. You will also have a profile of each group,
their lifestyle, income, interests, lifestage, the types of houses they live in and
much more - all information you can use to tailor your offer to your target
customers.
More effective marketing – For example, nationally platinum households
represent 4% of households and account for 8% of expenditure; targeting
these households in your catchment area with a direct marketing campaign
will ensure that you maximise the return from your marketing budget.
Increase footfall - Knowing about the consumers within your catchment area
will enable you to identify those consumers who have the greatest potential for
your business. You will be in a position to develop a marketing strategy to
target those specific consumers. One approach may be to develop a direct
mail campaign where you can source addresses or postcodes where those
target groups live. Alternatively, you may wish to tailor a specific offer that
may be particularly attractive to key target groups.
Increase spend - An understanding of the behaviour of your customers will
help you develop a product range to suit the needs and desires of your target
customers. You will also be able to identify the potential for additional lines,
which may not be garden related but are likely to be of interest to your target
customers.
Better understanding of existing customers – Existing customer
information, whether from a loyalty card scheme or other customer records
you may have, can be analysed by Mosaic to give you a profile of these
customers, which can then be compared against the population within the
catchment area. A fuller understanding of your customers will enable you to
tailor your communication with specific customer groups to maximise footfall
and spend from them. You will not need to resort to a ‘one promotion fits all’
approach. Additionally, the Mosaic analysis will give you a better
understanding of where your customers travel from, information that can be
used to tailor your drive-time catchment area radius.
How can you access the data?
The HTA have developed a product alongside Experian which enables HTA
members to access this data at a discounted rate. Two core products have
been developed, which we feel will meet the needs of all our members.
HTA Retail MAP: Basic Pack – This product is designed for smaller garden
centres that have had no previous experience in using this type of marketing
tool. It provides a basic overview of the key consumers within the catchment
area of your garden centre, analysing consumers by the HTA’s unique
household spend categories. You will be given a map of your catchment area
– usually based upon a 20-minute drive time - showing the location of the
platinum, gold and silver households, together with a report detailing the
breakdown of all five household types. This report will compare your
catchment against the national picture and provide an estimate of the share of
total garden expenditure within your catchment area that each group will
account for.
This product is designed to be simple to order and simple to use. It is priced to
give garden centres a low-cost entry point for this product. You will be given
an assessment of the consumers within your catchment to enable you to
identify which consumers you should be targeting and where they are. You
will also have the benefit of an overview of the key characteristics of your
catchment from one of the HTA’s marketing consultants, who will draw your
attention to key points in the report. From there, they can develop a cost
effective strategy to target those key customers. If required, we can also
provide guidance on obtaining contact details for those target customers,
ensuring that any direct marketing you undertake has the greatest chance of
success.
HTA Retail MAP: Full Pack – This product gives a much more detailed
analysis of the consumers within the catchment area. As well as providing you
with an analysis based upon household spend types, it gives you a detailed
breakdown by the 61 Mosaic types. This detailed understanding of consumers
gives you the opportunity to undertake even more precise targeting. As well
as getting a map plotting the key household types, you will also get a map
plotting the households by the 11 Mosaic groups.
Additionally, we will take your customer’s full postcodes- whether it is from a
loyalty scheme, postcode survey undertaken at the till or even competition
entries - and provide you with a detailed analysis of those customers. This will
include a drive-time analysis of your customers and an assessment of how
successful you are at attracting the key household types. Again, this analysis
will be by both household spend and Mosaic types and you will also receive
two maps plotting your customers by both breakdowns. You will also have the
benefit of a report from a HTA consultant highlighting the key findings and
presenting possible strategies to consider.
The full pack also allows garden centres to have every customer on their
database given a Mosaic code so that you can tailor you customer
relationship management at an appropriate level for each customer type.
Additional services
Experian are able to provide targeted contact lists to help you achieve your
marketing strategy, whether for direct mail, email or telephone contact. We
are also able to undertake a more detailed analysis and consultancy service
which is tailored to meet your individual needs and help you to achieve
specific outcomes.
For further information on the HTA GIM Retail Map contact the HTA
Business Development Department
Tel: 0118 930 8940
Email: info@the-hta.org.uk