E L S E VI E R

Intern. J. of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403

The changing consumer in Belgium
E i s Gi j s b r e c h t s a, *, Gi l b e r t S wi n n e n b, Wa l t e r v a n Wa t e r s c h o o t a
a University of Antwerp UFSIA (University Faculties St. Ignatius, Antwerp) Prinsstraat 13. 2000 Antwerp, Be!gi--,m.
b University Centre of Limburg, Universitaire Campus, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
Accepted September 1995
Abstract
Centrally located at the cross-roads of the main European Cultures that constitute its roots, Belgium can in many
respects be regarded as a miniature Europe. Indeed, most general economic and consumption tendencies that lmve a
grip over Europe, also reign the Belgian society.
Yet, Belgium' s macro marketing mix exhibits a number of particular characteristics. The remarkably devek~ixd
ret ai l apparat us and extensive product assortments are typical of a small but rich consumption society. At t he same
time, promot i onal e,~:penditures remai n modest, and price competition in major sectors is fierce.
In view of the future, the foregoing aspects characterize Belgium as a potentially attractive test market for
internationally ori ent ed firms. Conversely, it appears to be an interesting commercial arena only for market ers with
high cost efficiency, or with superi or targeting skills allowing t hem to cat er to the needs of small market segmems
wfth considerable purchasing power.
Keywords: Exwironmental changes; Belgium; Fut ure consumption; Macro marketing mix
1. Introduction
Bel gi um is one o f Eu r o p e ' s s mal l es t a nd mos t
cent r al l y l oc a t e d count r i es , b o u n d e d by t he
Ne t he r l a nds , Ge r ma n y , Luxe mbour g a nd Fr a nc e .
Dut c h- s pe a ki ng Fl e mi ngs o f Ge r ma n i c bl ood in
t he nor t he r n pa r t a nd Fr e nc h- s pe a ki ng Wa l l oons
wi t h La t i n t i es i n t he s out he r n pa r t ma ke up
Bel gi um' s ma i n e t hni c gr oups , t he f or me r r e pr e -
Fax: -t-32/3/220.47.99; e-math fle.gijsbrechts.e@alpha.
uf~ia.ac.be
s ent i ng a bout sixty a nd t he l a t t e r a bout f or t y p e r
cent of t he popul a t i on. A t i ny mi nor i t y of nat i ve
Bel gi ans l i vi ng ne a r t he e a s t e r n b o r d e r s pe a k
Ge r ma n . De s pi t e t wo oc c upa t i ons in t he t went i -
et h cent ur y, Bel gi um has bui l t up a d e v e | o p e d
ma r ke t economy, whi ch is l ar gel y ba s e d on s er -
vi ces, l i ght a nd heawj i ndus t r i es , as wel l as on
i nt e r na t i ona l t r a de . I t s c e nt r a l l ocat i on a n d pr ox-
i mi t y t o ma i n Eu r o p e a n ci t i es a nd ri vers, t oged~er
wi t h i t s cul t ur al a nd pol i t i cal ope nne s s , have ma d e
it a na t ur a l t r a di ng cent r e. Bel gi um' s c ur r e nt
e c onomi c na t ur e a nd s t at us l eave no doubt as t o
t he over al l i mpor t a nc e of ma r ke t i ng pr act i ce, bot h
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390
Table 1
Economic varmbles
E. Gijsbrechts et ai. /Intern. Z of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403
Var'ia~e 1980 1983 1986 1989 1991 1992 1993
]~flat~'~ ~.ret~,~ price % i~:reaso on previous year) 6.6 7.7 1.3
C~m~er exper~tures (at 1985 prices, in bilfions of BEF.) 3051 2997 3158
T~ v,~d'orce (thousam~) 4143.8 4151.4 4417 a
Unemployment rate 8.9 14.2 11.7 a
b 1890.4 2651.3 3066.6
b 2037.6 2736.1 2969.8
1.6 3.2 2.4 2.4
3513 3681 3850 3815
4875 5727 5781 5848
8.6 7.5 8.2 9.4
3943.1 4023.4 3969.8 N.A.
3767.1 3993.0 3902.0 N.A.
Source: var=~aus sources; RVA. NIS.
a A change in the series took place (harmonized EG definition was used from here on).
b For the BLEU, FOB, at current prices, in billions of BEF.
Ln.side t he count ry and i n .its cnnt act s with ot her
nat i ons. Ai m its consumpt i on goods market i ng
plays an ~laportam economi c and social role, t he
peculiarities of which may well be wort h bei ng
summari zed - an endeavour to which the present
article hopes to cont n' but e t. It describes maj or
envi ronment al devel opment s first, before concen-
t rat i ng on shifting accents concerni ng market i ng
decision variables. Finally, some expected fut ure
ev~ut i ons are discussed.
2. The eeonomie envi r onmeat
Z L E mt d o y me m
Over the last decades, t he Belgian unempl oy-
mere rate has followed a pat t ern, resul t i ng from
t he economi c cycle and t he slightly upward evolu-
t i on of the active popul at i on. By the end of 1994,
unempl oyment has stabilized at a level of about
10% 2, a level more or less comparabl e to the
average of t he Eur opean Uni on. Whi l e the male
activity rate ha~ steadily decl i ned over t he last
decades - i n 1991, Bel gi um exhibited t he lowest
mal e act Mt y rat e among EU countries, namel y
72.8% - this evol ut i on was more t han offset by
females massively ent eri ng the l abour market,
account i ng for t he bul k of d.~e increase in the
total workforce. By 1991, the female activity rate
reached a level of 53.2%. The impact of this
evolution on consumpt i on pat t erns is less dra-
matic t han could be expected though, as women
oft en occupy part time j obs(women account for
89.3% of part time work, which itself represent s
11.8% of total empl oyment in 1991), and female
unempl oyment in Belgium is more t han doubl e
male unempl oyment figures (Table 1).
ZZ I nf l at i on
Infl at i on in Belgium, over the last decades,
reached its peak in 1983 (where a level of 7.7%
was noted), and t hen fell back to a mi ni mum level
of 1.2% in 1988. Since t hen, a gradual increase in
the inflation rate was witnessed, which from 1992
on has stabilized. Wi t h an inflation rate of 2.8%
by the end of 1993, Belgium positioned itself
among the "st ronger" count ri es of the EU, where
the average 1993 inflation rate still amount ed to
4.1%.
2.3. I n c o me
Though Belgium accounts for a relatively small
number of poor 3 in the EU, the wage income
distribution in Belgium is nevertheless rat her skew
For more entens~'e and detailed tabular information, see
Gij~brechts el al. (1995).
2 Source: RijL~lienst voor Arbeidsvoorziening (RVA), Har-
mc, nLzcd EU definitkm.
3 In 19S5, 1.2% of the poor in the EU were living in
Belgium, compared to a 3.1% share of Belgium in the total
EU l~opulation. 'Poor' are defined here as people with less
than 50% of equivalent average national spending levels
(Eurostat, Sociaal Portret van Europa, 1991).
E. Gijsbrechts et al. / Intern. Z of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403
Table 2
Main Belgian demographic characteri.~:ties
391
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2025
Population (in millions) 9.80 9.85 9.86 9.97 10.03 10.08 9.91
Annual growth rate (%) 0.29 0.01 0.13 0.21 0.13 0.I 1 - 0.07
Birth rate 12.2 12.6 11.6 12.2 12.1 a N.A. N.A.
Mortality rate 12.2 11.5 11.2 10.6 10.6 b N.A. N.A.
% Population < 15 22.1 20.1 19.0 18.2 18.3 17.8 N.A.
% Population 15-64 64.9 65.5 67.3 67.4 66.7 65.8 N.A.
% Population > 65 13.0 14.4 13.7 14A 15.0 16.4 N.A.
Marriage rate 7.5 6.7 5.8 6.6 5.8 b N.A. N.A.
Divorce rate 1.1 1.5 1.9 2.0 2.2 b N.A. N..A_
Househo:d size 3.16 2.95 2.73 2.70 2.70 b N.A. N.A.
a 1993 figure; b 1992 figure.
Source: Euromonitor 1976-1977, 1977-1978, 1995.
- t he medi an level is al most twice as hi gh as t he
aver age val ue i n 1991 (Bel gi sch Comi t 6 voor de
Di st ri but i e, 1994, p. 16) - , and exhibits i mpor t ant
r egi onal di fferences, t he nor t her n and cent r al
r egi on bei ng mor e " wel l - t o- do" t han t he sout h.
I n r ecent years, gover nment act i ons have exer t ed
a domi nant i nfl uence on avai l abl e i ncome. The
so-cal l ed " wa ge st op", whi ch is par t o f t he gen-
eral r ecover y pl an i ni t i at ed by t he gover nment ,
has caus ed a slight decl i ne (0. 3%) in real avail-
abl e i ncome per capi t a in 1994, and will cer t ai nl y
mode r a t e t he real i ncome i ncr ease (i f any is ob-
served) f r om 1995 onwar ds.
3. De mogr a phy
3.1. Popul at i on densi t y
Bel gi um' s small geogr aphi c size c ompa r e d wi t h
its appr oxi mat el y 10 mi l l i on i nhabi t ant s, resul t s i n
a ver y hi gh popul at i on densi t y (331 i nha bi t a nt s /
kin2), whi ch equal s J a pa n' s el evat ed fi gure ( Eur o-
star, 1992, p. 9) and amount s t o al most twice t he
EU 4 average. The count r y' s hi gh popul at i on
4Throughout the whole t ext the expression European
Union (EU) will be used, also when earlier stages are con-
cerned. The year of reference will inform the reader about
this.
densi t y resul t s in an ext r emel y hi gh u ~ mi s a t k m,
as i ndi cat ed by t he fact t hat al most 96% o f
popul at i on lives i n an ur bani sed ar ea.
some geogr aphi c concent r at i on is u n ~
pr es ent in Bel gi um, no pr edomi nant conceu~-a-
t i on occur s i n a single city, t he mor e s o as a
year l ong depopul at i on t endency o f maj or cities
still cont i nues. Wi t h onl y 10% o f its i nhabi t ant s
r esi di ng in its l argest city, Bel gi um t ur ns out t o be
one o f t he l east concent r at ed E U count r i es ( Ta-
bl e 2).
3.2. Popul at i on growt h
Bel gi um' s hi ghl y dens e and ur bani sed popul a-
t i on is har dl y gr owi ng any l onger. The p o p ~ a t ~ a
size as well as its evol ut i on is mar kedl y h~quenced
by mi gr at i on and mor e in par t i cul ar by net i mmi -
gr at i on. Th e maj ori t y o f f or ei gner s have c ome
f r om wi t hi n t he EU. Ori gi nal l y I t al i ans r epr e-
s ent ed t he maj or i t y o f t hese peopl e. Nowadays
t he pr es ence o f Fr enchmen, Dut c hme n and
Spani ar ds causes a mor e bal anced pi ct ur e. I n
cont r ast wi t h t he rel at i vel y hi gh numbe r o f fot' -
ei gners comi ng f r om inside t he EU, t he rel at i ve
numbe r o f peopl e comi ng f r om out si de t he EU
har dl y exceeds t he EU average. Al t hough t he
ori gi ns o f t he l at t er t ype o f peopl e wer e qui t e
mi xed, a shift can be obser ved f r om ma i ~ y citi-
zens o f Eur ope a n non- me mbe r st at es like Pol and
t o ci t i zens o f Magr eb count ri es. For ei gn r esi dent s
392 E. Gijsbrechts et al. / Intern. J. of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403
are mainly concentrated in major cities and more
in particular in Belgium's capital BitJssels, where
they represent almost one-third of the popula-
tion. Over time, however, net immigration has
strongly diminished, forming the principal reason
for Belgium' s stagnating population growth
(KredietbanL 1994a, p. 3). The Belgian birth rate
comes quite close to the EU average, which itself
is low according to world standards and is ex-
pected to further decrease, mainly due to the
relatively smaller number of women in the fertile
age group. Also the increasing female employ-
ment supposedly explains this tendency, together
with the continuous postponement of marriage
and consequently of the birth of the first child
(Kredietbank, 1994b, p. 3). The country' s mortal-
ivy rate stayed rather stable in the past decades,
but is expected to increase slightly. The relatively
high mortality rate does not result from a low life
expectancy since in this respect Belgium meets
the high EU standards, but rather follows from
its ageing population. In the early nineties Bel-
gium' s population was slightly older than the EU' s
- according to world standards already aged -
population, as can be judged from the age struc-
ture. A projection for the year 2,000 indicates a
further ageing. By the year 2025 Belgium's dense,
degreening, greying and therefore hardly growing
population is even expected to decline.
3.3. Household size
In the early nineties the Belgian average
household size almost equalled the EU average.
Over time this number is diminishing as a result
of a moderate decrease in 2, 3 and 4 person
households, a more marked decrease in 5, 6 and
more person households, but mainly a strong
increase in I person households. The latter devel-
opment is mainly explained by the growing life
expectancy of in particular women, resulting in a
large percentage of aged widows. An additional
explanation is to be fo~lnd in the evolving mar-
riage and divorce habits. These are not compen-
sated by other registered forms of living together,
like Living Apart Together, which by their very
nature are difficult to grasp in .~atistical terms.
4. Socio-cultural environment
4.1. The role of women
Before 1955, several laws discouraged women
from joining the workforce. Since then, attitudes
have gradually changed and, especially in the
seventies and eighties, several st~ps were taken to
remove discriminating labour regulations. As a
consequence of the growing emancipation move-
ment, more women have joined the workforce (cf.
supra). To illustrate, between 1976 and 1985 the
number of two-earner-families increased from
37% to 54% (Van Dongen, 1993). This evolution
is expected to continue. As a result, three types
of "traditional families" prevail, namely those
where the woman (1) is the housewife, (2) is
professionally active or (3) is looking for a job.
Between these family types, there appear to be
significant differences with regard to consump-
tion patterns, saving and time use. Surveys, how-
ever, indicate that there is no significant change
in the way household tasks are divided among
men and women, and that the "housework gap"
between the two sexes still continues to exist
(Van Dongen, 1993 and De Neve and Remy,
1994). Also with respect to shopping there seems
to be no change in the "traditional" role of
women in the family.
4.2. Materialism, health and education
Based on the Eurobarometer 5 of the Euro-
pean Commission (Commission of the European
Communities, 1992), a large part (58%) of the
Belgian population seems to have no clear prefer-
ence for either materialism or post-materialism,
while 30% can be classified as materialistic and
12% as post-materialistic - that is, put more
emphasis on personal freedom, basic democracy
5 The Eurobarometer is a valuable instrument for research
on norms, values and attitudes in society, policy and Euro-
pean matters. In all countries of the E.U. a similar survey
study is made. For Belgium, the survey is taken twice a year
from a sample of about one thousand people of 15 years or
older.
E. Gi j sbrecht s e t al. / I n t e r n . J . o f Research i n Mar k e t i ng 12 (1995) 3 8 9 - 4 0 3 393
Tabl e 3
Evol ut i on of educat i on level in Bel gi um
1970 1981 1991
Tot al pr i mar y school 73.0% 54.7% 47.0%
lower secondar y 12.6 20.5 15.1
hi gher secondar y 7.6 15.3 23.0
hi gher educat i on 4.9 6.6 10.1
university 1.9 2.9 4.8
Source: N.I.S. Cens us dat a.
and ethics r at her t han money. According to t he
bar omet er , Belgians are mor e materialistically
ori ent ed t han ot her Eur opean citizens. In gen-
eral, younger peopl e score higher on t he post-
materialistic scale, especially unmar r i ed young-
sters living al er e or with t hei r part ner.
Toget her with a growing individualism peopl e
find t hei r own life and heal t h to be t he most
i mpor t ant valv~:s t o strive for (Commission of t he
Eur opean Communi t i es, 1992). Thi s evolution is
refl ect ed in t he growing i mport ance of heal t h
rel at ed issues in the choice of product s and ser-
vices.
Fr om Tabl e 3 we can conclude t hat t he educa-
tion level has strongly i mproved in t he last two
decades. At t he same time, t here remai ns an
i mport ant lag bet ween men and women. Despi t e
heavy government investment, however, a sub-
stantial proport i on of peopl e still P~ve
r eached a hi gher secondary degree and t her ef or e
have a lower income and e m~ n t r at e
( OECD, 1993).
4.3. European minded
Since Belgium is a small count ry with an open
economy and a cultural diversity with t hr ee offi-
cial l anguages and 9% immigrants, i t / s co~e~v-
able t hat its citizens are mor e Eur ope- mi nde~
t han t he average Eur opean (Co~m, nission of t he
Eur opean Communi t i es, 1992). They ar e mor e in
favour of a common Eur opean dechkm authec/ty
in several domai ns like economi c policy, defense,
immigration, medi a, t hi rd world and envi ronmen-
tal probl ems, except for pr obl ems of heal t h, cu| -
t ure and education.
5. Consumption
5.1. General trends
Consumpt i on expendi t ures in Belgium re-
mai ned fairly stable bet ween 1980 and 1985, and
t hen systematically i ncreased till 1992. In recent
years, this upward t rend was again pat t o a h ~ ,
Tabl e 4
Expendi t ur es in % ,~f total pri vat e cons umpt i on
Pr oduct s 1981 19,~-7 1993 Services 1981 1987 1993
Food 18.22 18,'i9 17.47 Domest i c s t af f 1.70 1.46 1.25
Al cohol i c dr i nks 3.44 3.09 2.73 Mai nt enance servi ces 1.59 1.54 1.61
Non-al cohol i c dri nks 0.88 1.00 1.16 Per sonal car e 1.71 1.4t 1.29
Tobacco 1.82 1.49 1.08 Medi cal servi ces 9.28 9.54 9.59
Cl ot hi ng 5.56 5.02 5.09 Car oper at i ng cost s 6.65 6.45 6.73
Foot wear l . ! 1 1.10 0.92 Bus, met r o, t r am 0.35 0.26 0.22
Jewel s & accessori es 1.35 1.06 0.95 Rai l t r anspor t 0.47 0.39 0.36
Hous i ng 11.15 11.64 11.71 Ot he r t r anspor t (taxi, boat , pl ane) 0.36 0.35 0.33
Ener gy 7.19 6.72 6.27 Phone, fax, telex 0.88 0.97 1.17
Dur abl e hous ehol d goods 8.99 9.07 9.87 Hot el , r est aur ant , care 4.38 4.49 4.65
Non- dur . hous ehol d goods 0.92 0.88 0.76 Lei sur e activities 4.65 4.81 4.96
Tot zl pr oduct s 64.97 64.44 63.72 Fi nanci al servi ces 2.15 2.91 2.88
Ot he r (law, travel,..) 0.86 0.97 !. 28
Tot al servi ces 35.03 35.56 36.28
Source: Comput e d from N.I.S. - Nation-'.~ Account s.
394 E. Gijsbrechts et aL / IntenL Z o f Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403
and even r ever t ed t o a slight consumpt i on de-
c ~ e . Yet , w/th a level of $13,613 per capi t a in
1993 (Euromorfitor, 1995, p. 273), Belgium still
r eaches one of t he h/ghest expendi t ure figures of
t he ELI. Tabl e 4 provi des i nformat i on on t he
al l ocat i on of consumer budget s across pr oduct
cat egori es. Not wi t hst and/ ng t he overall similarity
bet ween Belg/an and aver age Eur opean budget
repaxtitions, some mar ked idiosyncrasies can be
not ed. Belgians spend relatively little money on
t obacco, and leisure activities. Expendi t ures in
~ e heal t h sect or are, on t he contrary, out st and-
ingly high in relative and absol ut e t erms. A
favom' / t e spendi ng cat egory of t he Belgian family
is ~ts home. When it comes t o buying househol d
goods and serv/ces, Belgium breaks all Eur opean
records in absol ut e t er ms 6: t he Belgian expeadi -
t ur es ar e about 70% hi gher t han t he EU average.
The fact t hat Belgium is a count ry with a high
per cent age of self-owned single family houses 7 _
"Ever y Belgian is bor n with a brick in his st om-
a c h " - may at l east part l y explain why peopl e ar e
willing t o invest mor e in househol d equi pment
and decorat i on. The previously descn' bed con-
sumpt i on pat t er n seems t o pi ct ure t he Belgian
pogmlation as health-conscious persons, who work
har d and spend t hei r leisure t i me in t he privacy
of t he/ r well equi pped and nicely decor at ed
homes. I nf or mat i on on hot el and r est aur ant ex-
pendi t ures, t hough, confi rms t he clich6 t hat Bel-
gians aLso have a "Br eughel i an" side t o t hem and
h/ghly appr eci at e "cosi ness" and pl easant com-
pany, bot h in- and out doors. Consi deri ng t he
evo| ufi on of consumer demand over time, Bel-
gi um seems t o compl y with t he rules t hat have a
gri p over Eur ope. While leisure t akes an ever
mor e i mpor t ant position, food expendi t ures in
6 Together with Luxembourg, where comparably high levels
are found.
7 Based on the population counts of 1981-1982, Belgium
a large percentage of single family houses (70%, which is
clearb' above the European average of +58%), while 59.3%
of ",he fam/ l ~ own the house they live in (ELI average being
53.8%) (So~rce: Eurostat, 1991).
t he early 90' s t end t o capt ur e a shrinking port i on
of t he househol d budget . Within t he food budget ,
conveni ence items - like ready-t o-eat meals, and
cl eaned and cut veget abl es - undeni abl y gain
way. Overall, t he consumpt i on of services has
grown: expendi t ures for services r epr esent about
35% of total pri vat e househol d consumpt i on. The
evolution in t i me shows an i ncrease especially in
aut omot i ve, heal t h and financial services. Aut o-
mot i ve services have i ncreased as peopl e pr ef er
to use t hei r own car i nst ead of public t r anspor t a-
tion means, while consumpt i on of medical ser-
vices is st i mul at ed by t he growing i nt erest in
health, by less restrictive r ei mbur sement pract i ces
in nat i onal heal t h insurance, and t he increasing
number of elderly peopl e.
5.2. Consumer expectations
Consumer expect at i ons can provi de an addi-
tional means of pi npoi nt i ng t rend changes and of
establishing forecast s of purchase intentions. I n
compari son with t he average Eur opean, t he Bel-
gian consumer was mor e pessimistic duri ng t he
recession peri od of t he early eighties, probabl y as
a resul t of high unempl oyment levels and govern-
ment debt in Belgium. In t he years before 1993,
on t he ot her hand, t he opt i mi sm of looking for-
ward t o t he realization of t he i nt ernal mar ket
seemed t o be high (Commi ssi on of t he Eur or e a n
Communi t i es, Di r ect or at e- Gener al for Econc,mic
and Financial Affairs, 1991).
5.3. Consumer credit
The evolution of consumer credi t is det er-
mi ned by many factors. In t he years following
1975, t he increase was a resul t of relaxing credi t
terms. I n t he eighties, changes in t he use of
consumer credi t refl ect ed changes in t he eco-
nomi c climate, i nt erest rat es and consumer ex-
pect at i ons. Apar t f r om t hese factors, t he pr open-
sity t o save and t he need for credi t are r el at ed t o
changes of a mor e structural nat ure. I n Belgium,
t he increase in t he number of peopl e in t he
20- 40 age f r om t he early seventies up t o 1988,
may part l y explain t he increase of consumer credi t
in t hat period. The l at t er is also caused by t he
E. Gijsbrechts et al. /Intern. I. of Research in Marketing 12 (199"3) 389-403 395
rise in newer forms of credit, rel at ed t o t he use of
bank and credit cards.
6. The macro marketing mix
This section discusses t he evolving characteris-
tics of marketing decision variables. As these
variables are summarized under t he form of ag-
gregate measures like overall Belgian advertising
expeaditures, t hey are labelled "macr o marketing
mix" el ement s - a t erm coi ned by Leeflang and
van Raaij (1993). In succession t he evolution is
pictured of product and price elements, advertis-
ing, sales promotion, distribution and direct mar-
keting. Marketing research - which provides
preparat i on for and follow up of t he marketing
mix - is also t r eat ed under this heading.
6.1. Product
The evolutions in consumer demand sketched
above obviously affect t he supply for a number of
product categories. Within t he grocery budget ,
products like meat , oil, coffee, tea, tobacco, beer
and ot her alcoholic drinks clearly lose ground,
which is in line with t he t endency towards in-
creased health consciousness. Suppliers of these
product categories t end t o widen or rest ruct ure
t hei r assortments in an at t empt t o consolidate
t hei r market positions and viability. Ot her prod-
uct categories - like fresh and frozen foods -
have witnessed an "i nvasi on" of convenience
items t hat make life easier on the bachelor, t he
working mot her and - not least - t he traditional
housewife. Increased consumption of health and
financial services went hand in hand with impor-
t ant changes in t hei r supply. The upward move-
ment in t he size of t he health market coincides
with t he use of new, improved and more expen-
sive equi pment and methods. The banking sector
has improved its services by providing ATMs,
POS terminals and networks, plastic cards, branch
automation components, national and interna-
tional EFT, and electronic home banking facili-
ties. As a consequence of automation, banks are
using t hei r dense network of branches t o offer
ot her services (e.g. insurance) t o clients.
6. 2 Pri ce
6.2.1. Pri ce levels
Over t he last decade, prices in Be| gimn have
remai ned fairly stable in abso| ute as well as in
relative terms. While health and non-fc~d prod-
uct prices have gone down relative t o t he average
consumer price index, price levels of services and
house rentals have slightly increased. Services
have become relatively more e ~ i v e due m
smaller productivity growth in this sect or com-
par ed t o industrial environments, where aut oma-
tion has been much more pr onounced ( Tr emor -
roans, 1989a,b). Food prices in Belgium have de-
creased relative t o overall consumption prices.
This evolution probably originates from t he struc-
tural shifts and increased competition in t he ( I ~b
gian) food retail sector. A large scale anat ~i s by
t he Consumer Uni on reveals t hat even within a
small count ry like Belgium, regional price differ-
ences nevertheless exist, probably as a resuR of
differing local competitive forces (Test aankoop,
1994, pp. 4-13). The study also encompassed a
(national) price comparison bet ween di fferent su-
permarket chains, and reveals t hat while f or man-
ufact urer brands, price differences bet ween su-
permarket s remain remarkably limited, t he prices
of t he "cheapest of f er " for a number of pr od~' t
categories are substantially di fferent acrom su-
permarkets. Large traditional chains, t hough, like
GI B and Delhaize, exh~i t "cheapest of f er " pri ce
levels comparabl e t o those of discounters
Aldi and Colruyt, probably thanks t o t he pres-
ence of distributor brands, and especially of
generics.
6. ZZ Pri ce knowl edge and pri ce sensi t i vi t y
Marketing literature reveals that, for grocery
products, consumers in genera| have very little
knowledge of the prices of individual items
bought . Belgian studies confi rm this phe-
nomenon. To illustrate: an in-store survey re-
vealed t hat less t han 40% of consumers are able
t o state t he correct price of a j ar of mayonna/se
immediately aft er purchase, more t han 20% hav-
ing no idea at all of the price charged (Dek-ax~
and Mahleux, 1992). At t he same time, t her e is a
general bel i ef that for t hei r grocery purchases,
396 E. Gijsbrechts et aL / Intern. J. of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403
Table 5
Belgian retail character[s~'s
Retail character:slk,-'s 1980 1985 1990 1993
~e r a t l rmmber of retail outlets(thousands) 116.3 119.4 126.7 131.0
Number of retai! outlets Nielsen (thou.~ands) 19.0 15.6 13,8 N.A.
Overall number of retail outlets/10,O~) inhabitants 118 121 127 131
% Wage and salary earners 64.0 61.6 62.7 62.7
Tarm~er enterprise (Nielsen/deflated figures in million BEF) 14.5 19.8 24.2 27.0
Number of sales scanning stores Nielsen 6 201 I, 177 2,250
Fkmr space m z self-service/kin 2 N.A. N.A. N. ~. 97
Nura['~er of h)permarkets/10.O00 inhabitants 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.11
Market share top 2% outlets Nielsen 51 33 45 39
Market share top i0% outlets Nielsen 75 79 83 80
Market share retail brands Nielsen N.A. N.A. 17.6 19.8
Source: Belgian C~mmittee on Distribution, Euromonitor, Nielsen, N.I.S., Matthijs and Bosscher (1991), Eurostat.
c ons ume r s have be c ome mo r e pr i ce sensi t i ve, o r
at l eas t t r y t o obt a i n mo r e " v a l u e f or mone y" .
Th e i nc r e a s e d success of di s c ount s t or es i n Bel -
gi um c onf i r ms t hi s ge ne r a l pa t t e r n. Tr a d i t i o n a l
Bel gi an r e t a i l e r s l i ke De l ha i z e a nd GI B have
a t t e mp t e d t o i mpr ove t he i r pr i ce i mage a nd con-
s ol i da t e t he i r ma r k e t pos i t i on by l ower i ng t he i r
pr i c e s f or a l ar ge n u mb e r o f s t oc kke e pi ng uni t s
( sku' s) , pl a c i ng mo r e e mpha s i s on di s t r i but or
br a nds , Lnt r oduci ng loyalty, car ds , a nd of f er i ng
s ubs t ant i al pr i ce pr omot i ons .
6.3. Distribution
Bel gi um pos s es s es a hi gh r e t a i l densi t y, si gni fi -
cant l y above t he EU aver age. Wi t hi n t he c ount r y
i t sel f , t hi s density, t ur ns out t o be r e ma r k a b l y
evenl y s p r e a d out over t he di f f e r e nt r egi ons , at
l eas t whe n me a s u r e d r el at i ve t o t he n u mb e r o f
i nha bi t a nt s ( Ta bl e 5). Al t hough t he n u mb e r o f
out l e t s i n f ast movi ng c o n s u me r goods ( Ni el s en,
1980, t 985, 1990, 1993, 1994) ke pt de c r e a s i ng
a f t e r a s pe c t a c ul a r s ha ke - out i n t he si xt i es, t he
over al l n u mb e r o f r e t a i l out l e t s i nc r e a s e d over
t he l as t t wo de c a de s , even caus i ng a r i se i n t he
over al l r e t a i l densi t y! On aver age Bel gi an di st r i -
but i on e nt e r pr i s e s ( bot h r e t a i l a nd whcAesal e) a r e
r a t h e r smal l . Me a s u r e d by t he n u mb e r of wage
a n d s al ar y e a r n e r s as a p e r c e n t a g e of al l t he
p e o p l e act i ve i n r et ai l i ng, Bel gi um r e ma i n s be l ow
t he E U aver age. Th e s a me hol ds f or t he t ur nove r
p e r r e t a i l e nt e r pr i s e . Th e mode r ni t y o f Be l gi um' s
r e t a i l t r a de , however , is c ompa r a bl e t o t ha t o f
a dva nc e d r et ai l i ng count r i es . Th e p e r c e n t a g e o f
Bel gi an gr ocer y sal es f or exampl e, as me a s u r e d
by Ni el s en ( 1994) 8, occur r i ng vi a " s c a nni ng
s t or e s " ( 80%) l ar gel y excee' l s t he Eu r o p e a n aver -
age ( 59%) . As t o t he p e n e t r a t i o n of s el f ser vi ce,
Bel gi um has t he hi ghes t s qua r e me t r e s of f l oor
s pace ( Ni el s en, 1994) o f t he EU (97 m2), over
t wi ce as hi gh as t he EU aver age (41 m2). An o t h e r
i ndi cat or unde r l i ni ng Bel gi um' s r el at i vel y devel -
o p e d r et ai l i ng s t at us is gi ven by i t s hi gh hyper -
ma r ke t densi t y. To g e t h e r wi t h i t s mode r ni t y Bel -
gi um s ha r e s t he pl ur i f or mi t y of r et ai l f or ma t s t hat
t ypi f i es economi cal l y a dva nc e d count r i es . Al s o
" s c r a mbl i ng" - whi ch car r i es r e t a i l e r s i nt o much
mor e di ver s e a nd u n r e l a t e d pr oduc t l i nes 9 _
c ha r a c t e r i z e s t hi s evol ut i on, s ome t i me s ma ki ng
t he pl ur i f or mi t y l ess vi si bl e f or t he publ i c. The
var i at i on i n r et ai l f or ma t s oc c ur r e d r a t he r s ud-
de nl y a nd massi vel y a f t e r 1961, t he ye a r i n whi ch
t he s o- cal l ed Pa dl oc k Law was l i f t ed. Thi s l aw
f or ba de t he e s t a bl i s hme nt of l ar ge scal e out l e t s
a nd c r e a t e d an ar t i f i ci al me a ns o f survi val f e r
ma ny unpr oduc t i ve , ext r emel y smal l scal e r et ai l -
er s. I n t he d e c a d e s a f t e r wa r ds a ma r k e d evol u-
8 Nielsen exclude a number of retail formats like butchers,
poulterers, fish shops, bakeries, confectioners, mail order and
market vendors.
9 Stern and EI-Ansary (1988, p. 49).
E. Gtysbrechts et aL ~I nt e r n. I. o f Research m Mar ket i ng 12 (1995) 3 8 9 - 4 0 3
Ta bl e 6
Mar ke t s har e e vol ut i on o f s o me di st ri but i on f ormat s in Be l g i um b e t we e n 1960 and 1993
397
FOOD RETAILING 1960 1970 1980 1985 1990 . 199"2 1993
1. I ntegrated retailing 11.9 17.4 31.0 30.3 32.4 33.7 33.9
a.o. Chain stores 2.8 9.9 25.1 23.6 21.8 23.5 23.6
a.o. De p t . s t o r e s 4.2 4.3 4.9 13.4 10.5 10.2 IO.l
2. Associ ated i ndependent commerce 12.1 16.1 14.4 17.2 17.5 17.0 N.A.
2.1. Re t a i l c o o p . 0.9 1.3 4.2 4.7 3.8 3.7 N.A.
2.2. Vo l unt a r y c ha i ns 8.6 12.0 4.6 4.8 7.0 6.7 N.A.
2.3. Franchise 2.6 2.8 5.6 7.7 6.7 6.6 N.A.
3. Non-assoc. i ndependent commerce 76.0 6,6.5 54.6 45.4 50.1 49.3 N.A.
NON-FOOD RETAILING
1. I ntegrated retailing 12.4 13.6 12.9 15.5 16.6 16.1 16.6
a.o. Chai n s t o r e s - 3.7 5.1 7.2 9.5 9.7 10.0
a.o. De p t . s t o r e s 9.9 7.4 6.1 6.4 5.3 4.9 5.1
2. Associ ated i ndependent commerce 1.9 1.6 3.0 6.7 5.1 4.8 N. A.
2.1. Re t ai l c o o p . - - 1.0 1.0 1.3 1.2 N.A.
2.2. Vo l unt a r y c hai ns - 0.3 0 1 - N.A.
2.3. Franchise 1.9 1.6 1.7 5.6 3.8 3.6 N.A.
3. Non-assoc. i ndependent commerce 85.7 84.8 84.1 77.7 78.3 79.1 N.A.
Source: Be l g i a n Co mmi t t e e o n Di s t ri but i on.
t i on t ook pl ace in favour o f di stri buti on forms
t hat i nt egrat ed bot h retail and whol es al e activi-
t i es i n o ne l egal enti ty. A prime exampl e o f t hi s
i nt egrat i on t endency was t he success o f chai n
stores ( Tabl e 6). No t onl y i nt egrat i on, however,
but al so an associ at i on t endency - e. g. by means
o f franchi si ng cont ract s - became apparent after
1961. As a c ons e que nc e o f bot h i nt egrat i on and
associ at i on t endenci es , ful l y i nde pe nde nt retail-
i ng si gni fi cantl y fel l back, mai nl y i n f ood distribu-
t i on. The previ ous devel opment s made Bel gi an
retai l i ng be c ome far more concent rat ed t han be-
fore. In t he earl y ni net i es it may be cal l ed rather
strongl y concent rat ed. As a resul t, large scal e
di stri buti on pl ays an i mportant and powerf ul rol e
i n t he Bel gi an economy. Thi s is al so i ndi cat ed by
t he market share obt ai ne d by distributors' brands,
whi ch is markedly hi gher t han t he EU average.
The absence o f major growt h possi bi l i ti es, t o-
get her wi t h hi gh rent and l and prices, an agei ng
and rather demandi ng popul at i on and new regu-
l ati ons, however, have made Bel gi um' s largest
retailers search for growth possi bi l i ti es i n f orei gn
count ri es ( Tabl e 7).
6. 4. D i r e c t m a r k e t i n g
Des pi t e a number o f structural factors l/ke
growi ng i ndi vi dual i sm, hi gher femal e empl oy-
ment , a fast t echnol ogi cal evol ut i on and al so t he
rising power o f retail traders, direct marketi ng
has hardly gai ned mome nt um i n Bel gi um over
ti me. From 1960 on, mai l order repres ent ed about
1.2% o f no n- f o o d retail sales. In t he early ei ght / es
thi s share mo unt e d t o 1.8% in a f ew ~ears, t o
Ta bl e 7
Evol ut i on o f f ast movi ng c o n s u me r g o o d s ret ai l ers in Bc l g / um
I nt e g r a t e d I nt e g r a t e d No n- i nt e g . Small
mi ddl e - s i z e mi ddl e - s i z e ret ai l i ng mass
ret ai l i ng ret ai l i ng ret ai l i ng
1980 46.9 6.8 19.9 26.4
1985 45.9 12.3 22.9 18.9
1990 46.8 13.7 25,3 14.2
1991 47.5 13.6 25.4 13.5
1992 48.3 !4.1 24.8 12.8
1993 48.3 13.5 25.8 12.4
Source: Nielsen.
398 E. G#sbrechts et at. /Intern. J. of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403
Tabte 8
Manet shares in % of Be|g~an advertising media (1980-1994)
1~0 19~ 1990 1~1 1992 1993 1994
D~y newspapers 27.1 25.2
R ~ magazL~ 9.2 10.2
Fame- ~ s 15.4 13.1
Womea's magaz/nes 14.1 13.5
Other weeHy magazines 1.2 1.0
Other pergod~'als 3.7 6.3
Outdoor advertLsing 14.0 13.3
T e ~ a 12.8 14.5
C:ll~l~h~ 1.2 1.5
Rad/o 1.3 1.4
T o ~ media expenditures (1980 = 100) 100 180
18.3 18.0 18.8 19.6 19.7
8.1 8.4 8.2 8.6 7.3
9.3 9.5 8.3 7.6 7.5
7.0 6.4 6.1 5.3 4.8
0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3
6.8 6.4 5.8 5.8 5.1
13.8 13.3 13.6 12.7 12.6
32.9 31.0 30.6 30.7 33.0
1.4 1.2 1.1 1.2 0.8
2.2 5.6 7.4 8.4 8.9
317 336 371 3 ~ 411
Source: Mediamark.
a ga i n r e ma i n s t a bl e af t er war ds . The ma i n expl a-
na t i on f or t l fi s r el at i vel y mi nor r ol e, mus t be
s ought i n t he avai l abi l i t y o f a ver y de ns e , mo d e r n
a n d d i f f e r e n t i a t e d s et o f r e t a i l out l et s . Mo r e
mo d e m f or ms o f di r e c t ma r k e t i n g a r e not pa r t i c -
ul a r l y successf ul e i t he r , pr e s uma bl y f or t he s a me
r eas ons . Di r e c t mar l e xpe ndi t ur e s e xpr e s s e d p e r
c a pi t a , as wel l as t e l e ma r ke t i ng a n d ma r k e t i n g vi a
e l e c t r oni c meal / a, ha r dl y r e a c h ha l f t he EU aver -
a ge ~0. Th e s e l ow f i gur es a r e even mo r e r e ma r k -
a bl e i n vi ew o f t he a dva nc e d s t a t us o f Bel gi um i n
al l ki nds o f ne t wor ks a n d t he hi gh s p r e a d o f
e l e c t r on/ c me di a . Onl y di r e c t r e s pons e adver t i s -
/rig e xpe ndi t ur e s c ome r a t h e r cl ose t o t he Eur o-
p e a n a ve r a ge .
6. 5. Ad c e r t i s i n g
Th e me d i a l a nds c a pe i n Bel gi um has b e e n
c ha ngi ng f ast over t he l ast f ew year s , es peci al l y as
a r e s ul t o f t he i nt r oduc t i on o f adver t i s i ng on
r a d i o a n d "I V a n d t he b r e a k t h r o u g h o f c o mme r -
d a l a n d r e gi ona l r a di o a n d t el ev/ s i on s t at i ons . I n
Du t c h - s p e a k i n g Fl a n d e r s , t he f i r st c omme r c i a l TV
s t a t i on ( VTM) ha s b e e n on t he a i r si nce 1989.
VTM enj oys a n e a r - mo n o p o l y pos i t i on be c a us e
adver t i s i ng on publ i c ~ r v i c e t el evi s i on i s st i l l ver y
r es t r i ct ed. Thi s s i t uat i on is a bout t o c ha nge as a
s e c ond br oa dc a s t i ng s t s t e m s t ar t s i t s ope r a t i ons
i n 1995. I n Fr e nc h- s pe a ki ng Wa l l oni a , t el evi si on
adver t i s i ng s t a r t e d on RTL ( " Ra d i o T616vision
Luxe mbour g" ) as ear l y as t he be gi nni ng o f t he
ei ght i es. Th e s o- cal l ed " c a bl e l aw", whi ch r e-
qui r es f or ei gn TV s t at i ons t o br oa dc a s t i n t he
l a ngua ge o f t he count r y of or i gi n, pos e d no pr ob-
l ems t o t he Fr e n c h s pe a ki ng co~mnerci al s t at i on
t o t r a ns mi t TV pr ogr a ms f r om Luxembour g. To a
l ar ge par t , t he evol ut i on in br oa dc a s t adver t i s i ng
was e n a b l e d by t he pr e s e nc e of a de ns e cabl e
net wor k. Bel gi um has t he bi ghes t cabl e dens i t y i n
t he wor l d, t el evi si on cabl e r e a c hi ng 95% o f al l
Bel gi an f ami l i es, al l owi ng t he m t o r ecei ve a bout
27 di f f er ent TV st at i ons. Th e cabl e dens i t y i s an
i mpor t a nt f a c t or t hat may, i n t he n e a r f ut ur e, at
l eas t pot ent i al l y, l e a d t o new t e l e c ommuni c a t i on
a ppl i c a t i ons wi t h a c ons i de r a bl e i mpa c t on ma r -
ket i ng pr act i ce. F l o m Ta bl e 8, i t can b e con-
c l ude d t ha t t he t ot al adver t i s i ng budge t is i ncr eas-
i ng a nd t ha t c omme r c i a l t el evi si on has c a p t u r e d a
l ar ge s ha r e o f t he adver t i s i ng mar ket . Al s o, r a di o
adver t i s i ng is on t he r i se si nce 1990. F o r news pa-
pe r s a nd magazi nes , t he r e was a si gni f i cant dr op
i n ma r k e t s ha r e n. Fa mi l y magazi nes and, mor e
par t i cul ar l y, wome n' s ma ga z i ne s s e e m t o be t he
~o Direct mail expenses in Belgium amount to 810
BEF/capim in 1992 (EU average = 1.604 BEF), while Tele-
ar~J Etec:_ronic Marketing reach a level of 205 BEF (ELI
~erag~. ~ 524 BEF). and direct response advertising reaches
an expenditure of 771 BEF (EU average = 822 BEF).
~ In order to secure the continuity of print media, newspa-
per and magazine editors were allowed to participate in
commercial televisiGn. As a consequence, the negative impact
of the transfer of advertising income from print to audiovisual
media could be avoided for participating editors.
E. Gijsbrechts et al. /Intern. J. of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403 399
greatest victims of advertising on radio and televi-
sion, the reason being that both media attract the
same kind of advertisers. Outdoor advertising was
the most stable medium in the past 15 years.
Among all European countries, Belgium scores
highest on outdoor advertising, accounting for
about 13.5% of total advertising expenditures.
Producers of cars, tobacco and drinks spend most
heavily on outdoor advertising. Given the legal
restrictions that will be imposed on advertising
for tobacco and drinks, outdoor advertising firms
will be challenged to explore other sectors.
6.6. Sal es pr omot i on
For many years sales promotion expenditures
were a constant blank spot on the commercial
map of Belgium, leaving essential elements to
guess. In 1990 a first major study (Belgisch Comit6
voor de Distributie, 1991) revealed an overall
sales promotion expenditure level of 62 billion
BEF in 1990 12. This figure can be interpreted, by
comparing it with the Belgian amount of 43 bil-
lion BEF spent on advertising that same year.
This 60/ 40 proportion confirms the more general
European observation of a reversion of the 40/ 60
proportion, that was still considered to be e rule
of thumb in the early seventies. Growing price
sensitivity of end consumers for many product
categories, weakened brand loyalty, together with
increased power of retail traders seem to be the
main explanations ,or this conversion.
6. 7. Research
Belgium has a rather concentrated market re-
search sector in which 16 bureaus account for
about 90% of sector activities on ad hoc research
(De Pelsmacker and Van Kenhove, 1994). The
amount of money spent on external marketing
iz of which 36 billion BEF are spent on consumer promo-
tions, 23 on distributor promotions, and 3 on sales force
promotions.
research in Belgium t3 is in line whh the ~.~-n~ry's
overall position in the European Union. In 1990,
Belgian research firms still aczounted for 3% of
the Union' s external research budgeL% wb~h /s
exactly the same as the country' s poplatkm share,
and share of Gross Domestic Product. About
22% of the return of research companies comes
from qualitative research, a fair|y h/gh figure ac-
cording to European standards. Qua nt a / r e re-
search constitutes the "bulk" of research act h~
ties and most often invoIves conducting su~-eys.
Though surveys are largely based on pe r ~
interviews - about 64% of survey tn~Jge~s go
this medium - the telephone is increasingIs" used
for interviews. With a budget share of 26% for
telephone interviewing, Belgium reaches a fa/r~
high percentage in the EU. Th/s fact may be
linked to the density of its telephone ne~or k.
External marketing research in Belgium h stY!
mainly carried out for large, and in marry cases
multinational, companies. Belgian research com-
panies indeed exhibit a strong international ori-
entation: about 75% of the companies engage/ n
international projects. At the same time, the sec-
tor realizes 75% of its return domesticah'y. Th/ s/ s
explained by the fact that Belgian trareaus are
often subcontractors only, for parts of a large
international project. Insights into the cos~ of
conducting a market survey in Belgium are ob-
tained from an ESOMAR (1993) study, wh/ch
solicited bids for a number of ad hoc projects
from research companies in 10 EU countr/es t4.
The study reveals striking price differences be-
tween these countries, Belgium being one of the
cheapest locations with a price index of 65 com-
pared to a country average of 100. The contrast
with neighbour countries France (index 140) and
the Netherlands (index 117) -- where the same
t3 The information in this section is mainly based on Spru~
and De Pelsmacker (1992). De Ridder (1993), De Pehmacker
and Van Kenhove (1994), and ESOMAR Newsbr/ef (1993).
t4The study covered Portugal, Greece, the Nctherian~g.
Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Raly, Be|giurn
France. In some of these countries, only a few market re-
search bureaus participated in the study, so that the results
are only indicative at best.
E. Gijsbrechts et al. /Intern. J. of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403
l anguages are spoken as in South and Nor t h
Belgium, respectively - is remarkabl e.
7. Future trends and ~ t l o a s
Z L Economy
Exper t s believe that, at least in t he short run,
t he fut ure emgl oyment situation looks relatively
bri ght , t hanks t o i mprovement s in the general
economi c situation and to t he gover nment ' s con-
t i nued effort s t o keep unempl oyment at a reason-
able level. I n t he long run, t he growth in t he size
of t he t ot al workforce is expect ed t o slow down
considerably. A mor e al armi ng devel opment con-
cerns t he age composi t i on of this workforce: by
t he year 2010, over 44% of per sons of working
age will be ol der t han 56 (Kredi et bank, 1994c, pp.
1-12) (cf. infra). Expect at i ons are t hat t he Bel-
gian i ngat i on in t he years t o come will r emai n
under control, and will not exceed a level of 3%,
s~-nne sources even poi nt t o f ur t her decreases t o a
level of 2.1% (IG-edietbank, 1994c, p. 8). As f ar as
h~nnne evolutions are concerned, government ac-
tions will cont i nue t o strongly rest rai n real wage
increases. At t he same time, however, t he in-
crease in empl oyment (stabilization of unempl oy-
ment ) will no doubt have a positive i mpact on
family i ncomes in t he short run.
Z2. Demography
Belgium bel ongs to t he nations t hat will be
most strongly typified by a demogr aphi c evolu-
tion, which in t he medi um and long t er m implies
t r emendous dangers. The count ry' s fertility rat e
f or exampl e fell f ar below t he r epl acement rat e -
a devel opment difficult t o cure - t her eby aggra-
vat i ng t he pr obl em of a degreeni ng and greying
society, which will become critical in t he first
decades of t he t went i et h cent ury (Kredi et bank,
1994a, p. 1). Despi t e some recent restrictions,
Belgian st at e pensi ons are still largely pr opor -
tional t o t he wages ear ned duri ng peopl e' s pro-
fessional career. Thi s syst em will become fully
unt enabl e, due t o t he diminishing number of
active peopl e in rel at i on t o t he number of ret i red
peopl e. In 1990 t here was still a rat i o of 2 t o 1 in
F!anders, which is Bel gi um' s strongest regi on in
demographi c t erms. By t he ye~.r 2030, however,
the same rat i o will have dr opped t o a mer e 1 t o 1
proport i on (Lest haeghe, 1991, p. 8). Thi s evolu-
tion will st rengt hen t he duality aspects of t he
Belgian consumpt i on society. At an individual
level many - oft en (very) elde:Jy - peopl e will
experi ence a stringent budget restriction, t hat will
urge t hem to carefully appl y a pri ce-ori ent ed type
of shoppi ng and buying, based on utility, effi-
ciency and val ue-for-money for a maj or par t of
t hei r purchases. The necessi,W, of cost-efficiency
will bring al ong a mor e wi despread availability of
l arger scale and mor e st andardi sed living and
consuming possibilities, combi ned with at least
some individualism, like service flats. Society it-
self also will have a mor e pr onounced dual char-
act er t han today. To begi n with t here will be a
gr eat er distinction bet ween active and non-active
peopl e in general. Wages will have t o remai n
relatively high so as to leave enough net -i ncome
aft er deduct i on of social contributions, t o mot i -
vate younger peopl e to remai n professionally ac-
tive. Thei r consumpt i on pat t er n may di ffer
markedl y from t he non-actives. Also du,,iity oc-
curring within demogr aphi c groups will become
mor e visible t han today. The mor e rare well-to-do
elderly for exampl e may cont rast sharply with t he
majority of strongly economizing survivors.
Z3. Consumption
From 1995 on, domest i c expendi t ures are ex-
pect ed to increase, despite the absence of an
i mport ant rise in incomes. Rest or ed consumer
confidence, and a r educed t endency to save, will
probabl y imply a real yearly consumpt i on growth
of 2 to 2.5% in the short run (Kredi et bank, 1994a,
p. 8). The upswing in consumer confi dence in
1995 may be seen as a pr el ude of mor e l ong-t erm
economi c recovery. However, for a real economi c
recovery t o t ake place, consumer expect at i ons
still have t o be t ransl at ed into a hi gher propensi t y
to consume. Next t o consumer expectations, de-
mographi c shifts will clearly affect t he long run
evolutions and composi t i on of Belgian consumer
expenditures, as outlined above. Ecological con-
E. Gijsbrechts et al. /Intern. L of Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389-403
401
cerns will become a mor e i mport ant considera-
tion det ermi ni ng consumer behavi our in years t o
come. Partly as a result of eco-taxes ~s consumers
are expect ed t o shift to reusable, refillable and
recyclable products.
8. Marketing management in the nineties
8.1. Product and price
As suggested before, t he overall Belgian con-
sumpt i on pat t er n clearly exhibits paradoxical
characteristics typical of "dual consumpt i on be-
havi our" (Van Wat erschoot and Del eeck, 1992, p.
629). Peopl e ~re at the same time looking for
"val ue for money" and striving for personal
growth (Helleboseh, 1994). While they ". . . t end t e
clip coupons for buying toilet paper on ' speci al
offer' ", they t urn out t o be big spender s duri ng
t hei r spare time. Switching to low fat yoghurt for
t hei r daily breakfast , they do not hesi t at e t o allo-
cate a large port i on of t hei r budget t o "eat i ng
out " 16 These ' dual ' t endenci es are expect ed t o
become even mor e pr onounced in t he future.
Moreover, t he economi c and demographi c evolu-
tions out l i ned above lead to a highly f r agment ed
mar ket with a mul t i t ude of segment s and con-
sumpt i on pat t erns: a "Mosai c Society" where dif-
ferences in age, purchasi ng power, social status,
ideology, life style, family type and ethnic back-
ground imply a wide range of consumpt i on habits.
Mor e t han ever, fut ure mar ket er s will confront
t he challenge of supplying wide assort ment s of
al most "t ai l or made" product s t o precisely tar-
get ed consumers. ,also, compl ex pricing met hods
mi ght be called for, which t ake advant age of t he
di fferences in price sensitivity and willingness t o
pay across pr oduct cat egori es and consumer seg-
ment s. Envi ronment al concerns will gain momen-
t um and affect product and packagi ng strategies.
An increasing number of product s will carry an
~s Eco-taxes represent a fiscal contribution for polluting
products with less harmful alternatives, such as disl~sable
razors and cameras.
16 Freely translated from Hellebosch {i~4).
ecolabel, t o suppor t t hei r claim t o be gr een a | ~r -
natives. To overcome nat knm| differences~ a k~ h~
expect ed from a st andardi zed EU ec.o-L~eL based
on a t horough analysis of t he ecok~Jcal i mpact of
t he pr oduct " f r om cradl e-t o-grave" ( F ~
or Life Cycle Analysis). Thi s appr oach is pr e-
ferred by environmentalists, who claim t hat mar -
ket ers t oo oft en use t he i ncrement al appr oach,
where any envi ronment al i mprovement is c o m~
er ed t o be a valid ar gument f or d c ~ mg t hei r
product s as green or environmentaJly f f i e r ~ ' .
With regard to product packagi ng Lh~' e will be
an increasing pressure t o reduce t he amourg of
packaging waste. In Belgium, l o s t g,%~s is t he
organisation, fi nanced by industry, t hat wilt
up the legal responsibility t o gat her, so~, and
recycle used packaging.
8.2. Distribution
Ther e are some indications t hat (Belg;,an) re-
tailers b,~come mor e and mor e research ori ent ed,
and at t empt t o get mor e systematic insights fl ora
t he i nformat i on "r eadi l y" st ored in t hei r comput -
ers from the checkout counters. LoyaRy cards
provide ret ai l ers with pot ent i al census dat a on
t hei r clientele, t he insights f r om which are pri ce-
less. As purchase decisions for low i nvoi vemem
product s are increasingly made within t he sl gg~,
retailers find t hemsel ves in charge of highly val-
ued "r esear ch l aborat ori es" (t hei r st ore) t hat
mar ket research bur eaus or manuf act ur er s my
be keen on experi ment i ng in. In Belgium, d/ s u~
but i on also seems to be t ouched by t he environ-
ment al moves, as is witnessed by a remarkab~ee
private initiative of the national retail firm Cob
ruyt, which i nt roduced a separ at e " Gr e e n LLrm'"
of 700 product s in 1993.
8.3. Advert i si ng
In compari son with ot her Eur opean count ri es
advertising expendi t ures per capi t a in Bei #um
are very low (Euromoni t or, 1995). Tbey will con-
tinue, however, to represent an ever increasing
par t of GNP (0.53% in 1985 and 0.67% in 1991).
Espec~'~ally television advertising is expect ed t o be
even mor e prosperous in the future, as a result of
402 E. Gijsbrechts et al. / InterrL J. o f Research in Marketing 12 (1995) 389- 403
the er~arged supply of commercial TV and radio
stations, together with a probable decrease in
rates and a further relaxation of restrictions in
the perspect~,'e of the European Union. Print
media will continue their present strategy of try-
ing to differentiate from audiovisual media and of
kapr-~':~'lg their offer by using new technologies
and by Iooldng for scale advantages through con-
centrat~on and cooperation. Within the context of
a so~eml marketing concept firms are expected
to increasingly use environmental issues in adver-
tiskag messages. They have to be cautious, how-
ever, since such claims should conform to the
ethical code of advertising practice. Following
this code, businesses must not promote their
products as being superior to competitors' , on the
basis of environmental arguments. Furthermore,
a firm should he able to have its claim substanti-
ated by an official research institute.
8. 4. Marketing research
Technological evolutions, and the resulting in-
crease in availability of large amounts of data,
suggest that in the future, larger company bud-
gets will be spent on continuous research in the
form of scanner and scanner panel data analysis.
In Belgium, such data have only just become
available to companies. Whether analysis of scan-
ner and scanner panel data will be carried out
haternally (by manufacturers who bought the data)
or externa!iy (by the research firms that provide
them), and the relative importance of these con-
tinuous studies compared to other types of re-
search, will depend on many factors such as the
iri-company human expertise and computer facili-
ties; the speed with which these data will become
available, but also their quality, cost and ease of
access; apd the services offered by professional
research companies themselves.
9. Co n c l u s i o n
Belgium is an affh,ent, sr,lall country with a
dense, ageing ana ethnically rather diverse popu-
lation, centrally located at the cross-roads of the
main European cultures from which it has origi-
nated. In many respects it can be considered a
miniature Europe in itself, which makes it a can-
didate test market for finns with European ambi-
tions. Its consumption habits as well as the corre-
sponding marketing approaches indeed are close
to EU average, although with some peculiarities.
Its retail apparatus for example is remarkably
dense, concentrated, diversified and modern. Also
the range of products and services offered for
sale and consumption no doubt typifies a small,
but rich consumption society. At the same time,
despite the ample availability of all kinds of vehi-
cles and technical facilities, its advertising level
remains far below the EU level. Also the fierce
price competition in major sectors like food,
clothing and consumer electronics indicates the
undeniable presence of strong market mecha-
nisms, which together with its small size might
make the country not the most attractive one for
marketers, except as a test market. In the future
Belgium will only be a feasible prospect for ex-
tremely cost-efficient marketers or else for those,
who by their proximity or superior segmentation
and targeting skills are able to profitably serve
small but lucrative segments of z highly frag-
mented market at opportune moments of time.
Ac kno wl e dg e me nt s
The authors wish to thank: Toon Deleeck
(Nielsen), Myriam Schamps (UFSIA) for their
help in the data collection; Marc Logrnan
(UFSIA) for the integration of distinct text frag-
ments and constructive criticism; Geert Jacobs
(UFSIA) for his revision of the English.
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