Market research

US consumers look for taste, flavour and utility in their confectionery buys

By Anthony Myers

- Last updated on GMT

Chocolate lovers in the US are becoming more choosey about their purchases. Pic: Cooltrack
Chocolate lovers in the US are becoming more choosey about their purchases. Pic: Cooltrack

Related tags Chocolate

Taste and flavour are the product characteristics highly desired by chocolate consumers in North America when buying chocolates, according to the latest research by Clootrack.

New findings from its AI-driven real-time customer experience platform have uncovered deep and valuable insights into consumers’ preferences across categories such as white, dark, and milk chocolate and all price bands. 

Research was based on an analysis of 12,964 customer conversations discovered in March 2022 on major US eCommerce platforms.

The report covers changing dynamics in the chocolate industry and presents opportunities for brands to enhance customer experience and sustain category growth.

Price factor

In addition, customers accord high value to utility (gifting, snacking, treats, & deserts) purpose and are sensitive about the price factor, highlighting the importance of value for money for the perceived chocolate quality and price.

Another significant customer experience finding is that delivery, shipping, packaging, and wrapping gain prominence as price increases, according to the report published by Clootrack​, deciphered by its proprietary deep learning algorithms.

The report offers a complete picture of the happiness and pain points of customer experiences of chocolate purchases, explores the logistics and delivery challenges, and provides a sneak peek into the authentic voices of individual customers.

The chocolate industry has witnessed many new customer experience trends and customer expectations fluctuations. In this era of multi-channel online shopping, these findings highlight the need to redesign and revamp eCommerce platforms' packaging & delivery operations to eliminate defective delivery of melted and broken chocolates​,” said the report’s authors.

Studies say that if brands still think only a consistent taste and texture is enough to satisfy customers, it’s not enough!  The shipping, packaging, and wrapping of chocolates play a vital role in the customer experience of chocolates, a key message for brands​.

The consumers’ online buying trend has brought a drastic shift in various aspects of the customer experience in the chocolate industry. Consumers across different price bands have different expectations. Personalization is the key.”

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