Shoppers changed this holiday season

Marketing Week recently looked at how shoppers behaviors have changed from holiday shopping seasons past, as shoppers are now more conscious by making lists and sticking to them when they make their trips to the mall or grocery store. According to a recent survey, 68% of shoppers have increased their budget settings, 57% have increased the number of price comparisons they do across multiple stores, and 61% are using more coupons. Marketing Week credits shoppers with looking to the simple, and encourages stores to navigate that way. They use Apple and IKEA stores as great examples of keeping things simple while still meeting the customers needs. Read the full article here.

What are you doing in-store to cater to your customers who are now more budget conscious?

Kraft's iPhone App Draws Shoppers

According to RetailWire.com, The iFood Assistant from Kraft Foods now ranks among iPhone's top 100 paid apps, and number three in the lifestyle category. Consumers have to pay a one-time 99-cent fee for the app, sit through ads and even provide Kraft with real-time selling data. But Advertising Age said the app has clearly caught on because it's "actually useful."

"When we look at consumers, we think that they're busy and they're looking for food-planning tools that can make their lives easier," Ed Kaczmarek, director-innovation, new services at Kraft, told Advertising Age. "We developed iFood Assistant as a downloadable app so they can use it anytime and anywhere."

Have you tried this app? We'd like to hear your experiences.