Agri-food sector digitization consumer needs and challenges
Laura Fernández Celemín
Director General, EUFIC
1
Food facts for
healthy choices
www.eufic.org
Eufic mission
Communicate science-based information
on food and health,
to help consumers to be better informed
when choosing a well-balanced,
safe and healthful diet
EUFIC was established in 1995
2
www.eufic.org
Consumer needs and challenges
in the era of digitisation
3
www.eufic.org
The digital revolution
• One of three major social revolutions in human history
– Neolithic revolution
– Industrial revolution
– Digital revolution
• The Digital Revolution
– Change from mechanical and analogue electronic technology to digital. Start late
1950s to late 1970s with digital computers.
– Changes brought about by digital computing and communication technology
during (and after) the latter half of the 20th century.
4
[source: Wikipedia]
www.eufic.org
Exponential growth …
Hotmail
AOL instant
messenger
Social
networking
LinkedIn
Skype
Blogger
Napster
YouTube
“Unfriend”
added to
Oxford
dictionary
Google +
Social
media
virtually
accessible
from
anywhere
1997 1999
2005
2003
2009 2011
1991 1998
2010
2012
2004 2006
2001
WWW
550M on
Facebook
400M
Google
searches
70M
computers
on Internet
350M on
Facebook
Google
search
engine
iPods
Wikipedia
Facebook
Podcasting
Flickr
56M on
Twitter
1.7B+ on
Facebook
695+M
on
Twitter
Twitter
Bing
Pinterest
5
2016
2.4B on
Internet
6B mobile
subscriptions
www.eufic.org
Information journey no longer linear
Downloads
app
Likes brand
on FB
Search
Consumer
Compares
sites
Watches
YouTube
Buys item
Views
print ad
Reads
blog
6
[source: Whirlpool]
Shops on
website
Views
actual
product in
shop
Watches
tutorial
Reads
review
www.eufic.org
Internet of Things
Big
data
AI
e-health
7
[source: http://intel.com/content/www/us/en/internet-of-things/infographics/guide-to-iot.html]
www.eufic.org
The impact of the digital revolution
• Consumers are less tolerant
Faster to complain and harder to satisfy.
• Consumer-to-consumer dialogue has grown
Social media - huge potential both to build and destroy brands (driven by
opinions of ‘friends’,‘followers’).
• Consumers are more informed
Information and opinions are a click away.
• All consumers are becoming multichannel users
Consumers – not businesses – decide which communication methods will
be most used.
8
www.eufic.org
The impact of the digital revolution
• Consumers are less loyal
No longer accept poor standards of service, want value for money,
demand quality and are willing to pay for it.
• Consumers no longer compare companies only with competitors
Company performance compared broadly (with insurance company,
supermarket, etc).
• Consumers no longer accept branding and marketing from
organisations
Widespread distrust of mainstream information channels, plus strong
legislation against direct marketing and a growing technical ability to
screen out advertising.
9
[source: http://paconsulting.com/our-thinking/how-the-digital-revolution-is-changing-consumer-behaviour/]
www.eufic.org
The impact of the digital revolution
• Additional power to consumer
(more information & choice)
• Increased complexity of making decisions
(‘tyranny of choice’)
• Available tools & devices (shift power between consumers and
businesses)
10
www.eufic.org
Challenges for consumer protection
EMERGING
ISSUES
11
[source: Consumers International]
By 2010,
4bn online,
50bn
connected
devices
EXISTING
ISSUES
www.eufic.org
Thank you
12
www.eufic.org