it (access to their offline or online
accounts) and is it the best price. This
makes consumers better shoppers.
How do marketers and retailers make
use of this experience?
It is important to note that this is
not about e-commerce - there is a
buzz about e-commerce but globally
e-commerce hasn’t broken 10% in
any sector. Even in countries with
a high level of online shopping like
the USA, 90% of retail shopping still
occurs in the brick and mortar stores.
The story about the convergence
of the retail store and mobile
technology is much bigger than just
e-commerce - even companies that
were traditionally in e-commerce
like Amazon are now setting up
physical stores.
Tech companies have taken on the
challenge of helping retailers and
marketers bridge the gap between
digital and physical commerce
through features ranging from Wi-Fi
based beacons that collect data on
shopper behavior, to in-store sensors
to track foot traffic and shopper
behavior, to augmented reality
displays.
Online/digital insights, in store
technology, and mobile money have
become critical players in giving a
3600 view of the shopper.
Pioneering companies are creating
value by meeting changing shopper
and consumer expectations with
new business models, products, and
services. All the local retailers are
in the process of launching new
business models driven by these
developments.
Outside of technology, a key driver
of the future of shopper marketing
is the Millennials. Millennials
are currently the largest living
generation in the world and they are
shaping the future for many sectors
including retail.
‘‘ Shoppers make products available
to consume. In consumer marketing,
the focus is on how to make the
consumer use the brand more, in
shopper marketing, the focus is on
how to make the shopper buy my
brand. Effectively, the consumer is
the brand’s second moment of truth,
while the shopper is the brand’s first
moment of truth!’’
It is not in question that they are
digital natives and though their
disposable income is still growing,
their expectation is a 21st Century
expectation, and both marketers and
retailers must meet this expectation
with a 21st Century experience.
This requires immediacy and
convenience in one package – the
brick and mortar stores must have
technology integrated into them.
Conclusion
To unleash shopper marketing’s
full potential and amplify the
effectiveness of the rest of the
company’s marketing, it must be
integrated and coordinated. The key
is building organizational capabilities,
not just running programs.
Shopper marketers will need to work
seamlessly with insight developers,
new technologies, brand and category
marketers as well as sales and trade
promotions teams to deliver fully
integrated programs that meet the
needs of the manufacturer, and
retailer – this is the only way to
deliver on topline growth.
Note: Shopper Marketing not restricted to
Consumer Packaged Goods
Whilst consumer packaged goods
have been fundamental to the growth
and evolution of Shopper marketing,
the discipline of shopper marketing
looks at the shopper in totality,
including of shoppers of services
(financial, technology, etc) and other
consumables like clothing, white
goods and fresh groceries.
The path to purchase for these
categories may vary, but the same
principles of shopper marketing apply
– “understand how shoppers really
behave, prioritize the right channels
and find the activities that count.”
Shopper marketing for services and
other consumable goods is also an
area that requires extensive focus,
albeit separately.
Sources: Shopper Marketing
Expo 2015, (P2P Institute); Effie
Awards 2016; Shopper Marketing
– Capturing A Shopper’s Mind
Hears And Wallet & Delivering The
Promise Of Shopper Marketing –
GMA/Deloitte; GeoPoll , Jan 2016.
Nelly Kanja is a consultant on Shopper
Marketing. You can reach her via mail
on this or related issues at Nelly.Kanja@
retail-connections.biz