Digital collaboration needed to sway CPG shoppers

Influencing the shopper’s decision to buy at the point of selection represents a time-honored, traditional partnership opportunity between retailer and supplier. Shelf talkers, power wings, corrugated cardboard displays — these have all been used to great success in promoting sales at the shelf or in the aisle. But as more and more consumers walk those aisles with a smartphone or tablet in hand, or shop the store from the convenience of their desktop, digital collaboration between retailer and supplier may represent an extremely lucrative method to sway that in-store purchase on top of traditional POP.



Digital collaboration between retailers and consumer packaged goods companies help amplify sales by making the best use of shelf space and trade promotion funds, according to a recently released Accenture research study. CPG heads of sales surveyed by Forrester on behalf of Accenture cited several potential benefits, including increasing the chances of consumers trading up (87%), reducing the cost of reaching those consumers (84%) and boosting conversion ratio and marketbasket (77%).



Today, through digital collaboration, two-thirds of CPG companies can identify online the stores that normally stock their merchandise, and half can confirm current availability by store using digital channels, according to sales leaders.



And 50% of CPG heads of sales reported collaborating with retailers on targeted incentives for consumers buying in-store. That could include such initiatives as iBeacon technology, which engages consumers on their smartphones as they approach a particular display in-store. Menasha Packaging and Shelfbucks recently finalized an agreement to innovate and redefine in-store product merchandising in early 2015 with the launch of POP displays that incorporate iBeacon technology to actively engage with shoppers.



“The addition of Shelfbucks technology to POP displays instantly provides CPG manufacturers and retailers with access to millions of new data points for measuring the impact of merchandising on local, regional and national levels, as well as historically unavailable indicators for determining product performance,” said Will Phillips, director of retail insights and innovation for Menasha Packaging. “And because we can now provide near real-time performance data, brands and retailers can rapidly adjust in-store campaigns based on timely information on shopper behavior.”



The Accenture study found that digital technology also has the potential to help consumer brands pool actionable insights to increase consumer loyalty, share of wallet and the lifetime value of their products. However, a large majority (70%) of CPG heads of sales believe this potential may not be realized because there is a lack of consistent, shared consumer data to improve decision making. Six-in-10 of these respondents find it too difficult to deliver relevant and personalized content to engage consumers effectively through digital channels.



And just 16% of companies currently use digital technologies to maintain the in-store and online relationship with the consumer to drive repeat purchases in the store. Furthermore, only 38% of all survey respondents say their companies use digital channels to drive planogram compliance, and 30% say their companies use digital channels to drive perfect order and perfect delivery programs with retail partners.



“Although most CPG companies acknowledge that the primary value of analytics revolves around obtaining a better view of the shopper to optimize assortment, pricing and promotions, they continue to struggle with the quality and consistency of the data available,” said Koen Van Bockstaele, managing director, consumer goods and services, Accenture.