This is the maximum time the average consumer takes before deciding whether to buy a product, even when it comes to organic fruit and vegetables
The average time a consumer spends in front of the shelves is surprisingly short: between 4 and 20 seconds. This was revealed by Professor Vincenzo Russo, an expert in neuromarketing and consumer psychology at the IULM University in Milan, during the event Organic Fruit and Vegetables and Neuromarketing: Understanding Consumers in a Changing World organised by CSO Italy. This highlights how quick and instinctive purchase decisions are, driven mainly by emotion rather than rationality.
‘The consumer does not choose rationally - it is emotion that is the main lever in purchasing decisions, decisions that take place in a fraction of milliseconds,’ Professor Russo explained. The speed with which this choice is made makes it crucial that the product is able to communicate its values effectively, before the decision is based solely on price or habit, thus risking diminishing the perceived value of organic products.
The importance of emotional involvement also emerges from the correlation between memory and emotion. Russo emphasized how the amygdala, which is responsible for managing emotions, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for the formation of long-term memories, work together to create memorable shopping experiences. ‘It is this overlap between emotion and memory that has crucial implications for influencing our ability to remember a product, a brand, and, therefore, to choose it again in the future,’ the lecturer concluded.
Despite the challenge of the short exposure time of products on the shelves, the consumption figures for organic fruit and vegetables presented by CSO Italy during the event bode well for the future. In Italy, organic fruit and vegetables are back on the tables: in 2023, 80% of Italians consumed at least one portion of organic fruit and vegetables, a result that demonstrates the growing interest of consumers in healthy and sustainable food.
Although there was a slight drop of 8% compared to the previous year, with 500,000 tonnes purchased, the outlook for 2024 is promising: figures for the first half of the year show an increase in volume of 5% and expenditure of 7%. ‘The loosening of the grip of inflation has allowed a new rapprochement of families to the purchase of organic fruit and vegetables,’ said Sarah Bellentani of CSO Italy. ‘It will be interesting to observe whether the positive trend will continue in the second half of the year, further consolidating the organic component.’
The organic sector, therefore, still has ample room for growth, with 20 per cent of Italian households representing a potential market to be conquered. How to conquer this portion of the market and further consolidate organic success? On stage, together with Professor Russo, Vincenzo Finelli General Manager of Orogel Fresco, Mauro Laghi General Manager of the Alegra Group and Paolo Pari Director of Almaverde Bio discussed the need to structure new marketing strategies that consider the emotional levers and therefore capable of capturing attention in those few crucial seconds when the consumer is in front of the shelf.
The event Organic Fruit and Vegetables and Neuromarketing is part of the Made in Nature project, the programme for the promotion and information of organic fruit and vegetables in Italy, France, Germany and Denmark, developed by CSO Italy and financed by the European Union, with the contribution of leading Italian companies such as Brio, Canova, Ceradini, Conserve Italia, Orogel and Veritas Biofrutta.
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