Heading into the holiday season, the latest consumer research is telling U.S. grocery store operators that attempting to woo consumers with the traditional 'free turkey' for the holidays is likely not as effective as believed. 

Precima's nationwide survey of 1,201 American shoppers taken in October 2015 found that despite the fact that 90% of survey takers plan on preparing a traditional turkey meal, a free bird is seen as very important for only 24%, this compared to 40% who report to preferring savings off purchases on each shopping trip. 

Respondents also report to being incredibly fickle when it comes to their grocery store loyalty.  While 64% report to being loyal to an existing retailer, when asked, 90% of the same respondents confirm they either strongly agree or agree with the statement that they are open to visiting other grocery stores based on their promotions and incentives; nearly 1 in two shoppers (46%) admit to shopping at many stores, underscoring shoppers are open to exploring alternative holiday offers.  Perhaps most important for retailers, the findings confirm a heightened emphasis on both price and quality, with two thirds of shoppers reporting these factors are very important to them when selecting a store for holiday shopping.

"Retailers need to be very strategic in their approach to rewarding loyal customers and shoppers they would like to become more loyal. The tried and true isn't always what works best and some new thinking on how to best engage the customer is needed," says Graeme McVie, General Manager and Vice President of Business Development for Precima, the data analytics division of LoyaltyOne.

When it comes to longer-term loyalty 40% of shoppers report they prefer receiving discounts on purchases over loyalty program points or a gift basket.  Findings also indicate retailers must also be careful to not undermine loyalty post-holiday with non-tailored offers.  Two-thirds of the shoppers participating in existing loyalty programs report to never receiving follow-up offers or received offers that weren't relevant.

More than 80% of shoppers across the US want promotions that are tailored to their needs, with nearly half, 47% of survey respondents reporting relevant offers increase their loyalty. This finding was especially true among Millennials (88%) who seek personalized offers as compared to 75% of Baby Boomers.

"There are great opportunities that retailers are missing with the free turkey and similar promotions. It's important that retailers don't send the same offers to all generations and that they target and personalize their marketing and merchandising investments to meet the specific needs of their most valuable and loyal customers," McVie explains.

Other findings from the survey include:

• 95% consider quality and assortment the most important when selecting a primary grocery store

• 27% of millennials find receiving a free turkey important, vs. 66% of Gen X shoppers

• "Cherry pickers" who received subsequent offers and promotions don't become regular customers

McVie said the underlying conclusion from the survey is that data-driven programs that remove the guesswork from the retailer's efforts to retain and attract shoppers are most effective. The more relevant the offer, the higher level of loyalty exhibited to the store.  

"Analysis of data collected from holiday promotions enables retailers to determine optimal promotion, pricing and assortment strategies. For instance, effective data analysis can help increase the share of spend from loyal customers and convert "occasional shoppers" into more frequent shoppers," he confirms.