A new Consumer Pre*View study from ACNielsen suggests half of all heads of household are too tired to put much time or effort into cooking dinner, and two-thirds are looking for faster ways to accomplish basic household chores.
Implicit in these results is the notion that manufacturers and retailers able to help these exhausted consumers create for themselves a differential advantage that will have resonance in the marketplace.
Our own Phil Lempert, who serves as spokesperson for the ACNielsen Consumer Pre*View service, said, “Several CPG manufacturers are successfully serving today’s time-starved consumer. However, many retailers are still trying to figure out how to do so. The challenge of providing a freshly prepared great-tasting meal at a reasonable price and with a maximum of convenience has yet to be solved. For those who come up with a good solution, there’s tremendous upside potential. I don’t see consumers slowing down anytime soon, and meal preparation is a key area where consumers are looking to save time.”
Implicit in these results is the notion that manufacturers and retailers able to help these exhausted consumers create for themselves a differential advantage that will have resonance in the marketplace.
Our own Phil Lempert, who serves as spokesperson for the ACNielsen Consumer Pre*View service, said, “Several CPG manufacturers are successfully serving today’s time-starved consumer. However, many retailers are still trying to figure out how to do so. The challenge of providing a freshly prepared great-tasting meal at a reasonable price and with a maximum of convenience has yet to be solved. For those who come up with a good solution, there’s tremendous upside potential. I don’t see consumers slowing down anytime soon, and meal preparation is a key area where consumers are looking to save time.”
- KC's View:
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All we could think of when reading these findings was that great scene in “Blazing Saddles” when Lilly von Schtupp (the fabulous Madeline Kahn) sings, “I’m tired…Tired of playing the game…Ain't it a cwying shame…
I'm so tired.”
Though she wasn’t singing about housework, this song could be the anthem for an exhausted baby boomer generation.
We have to admit that we read these results with a certain sense of shame. We’re hardly the first generation of people to be exhausted by responsibilities. It’s just that previous generations didn’t whine about it; they weren’t even asked if they were tired. It was a fact of life.
That’s not to suggest that this isn’t a legitimate business opportunity or that this isn’t a very real cultural phenomenon. It’s just that we think that sometimes as a generation we ought to shut up, suck it up, and do what needs to be done.
Then again, that could be the caffeine speaking...
