Pizza has been bringing people together for generations. Whether it be meeting at a pizza parlor, having friends and family over for the big game, or simply hitting the freezer and making your own, it’s undeniable how popular pizza really is. Within the category management space, we have been able to collect some information on the Frozen Pizza category and how it behaves when compared to delivery pizza.
When thinking about the purchase process for frozen pizza, we learn that a lot of same “rules”apply that do within the delivery space. First of all, many customers have a preferred brand in mind. That’s right, 59% of people who planned to by the category said that they plan to buy a certain brand when they look for frozen pizza. That’s kind of like when you pick up the phone to call Papa Mario’s, and immediately get tackled by your linebacker cousin benny because he’d rather have Little Romeo’s. No? That’s just us? Oh okay maybe that was an overshare then. What’s even crazier is how brand planning is not the only way these two vastly different types of very similar food have customers behaving the same. Think frozen might spark a little taste bud variety when compared to delivery? NOPE, it sure doesn’t. In the same way that many people have a “usual” from their favorite late -night spot, frozen pizza customers are just as flavour focused. Nearly 40% of shoppers said they are looking for a very particular flavor in the aisle, and if they can’t find it… we’ve found that as many as 60% of shoppers will walk away without buying anything. That’s some preposterous pizza picking policies!
But when the right brand and flavor are available, what drives those shoppers to open the transparent wardrobe-freezer door to pizza Narnia? Good news, it’s not nearly as complicated as you think. It’s important to start with the fact that although a segment of the population plans this category before the store, nearly 40% of frozen pizza purchases are unplanned, ranking this category very highly at 14 out of 103. It also means that customers are making their decision at the shelf, and why? Price. It’s actually super simple. People like pizza…a lot, but people don’t want to pay for pizza…a lot. At one of Canada’s leading nation-wide grocers, frozen pizza ranked itself number 2 for people saying they made their decision to impulse buy at the shelf because of the price. Furthermore, of the shoppers who did purchase on a price promotion, (and this is the kicker) over 70% of them said that they only made their purchase because of the promotion. Ranking frozen pizza number 1 out of 103 categories when customers were asked why they made their promotional purchase. Holy Pizza Pie Price Promotion Prosperity! People love seeing pizza on a special. Do you hear that frozen pizza manufacturer X? Are you listening grocery retailer Y? ‘Cause you should be. This is good stuff we’re sharing out here.
But it’s not all the good stuff we have. If you’re interested in finding out more about any one of our 103 categories and obtaining a full report with details and data beyond your wildest analytical dreams, then we’ve got you covered. All you have to do is reach out in the form below. We’ll look forward to hearing from you.
by Tyler Erickson
Digital Marketing Manager, Shopper Intelligence North America
