Shopper marketing: impact, insights and solutions

This has given way to the evolution of shopper marketing, Mark Davies, global business strategy director of Glendinning Management Consultants (UK), told delegates attending the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) annual retailing conference, ECR, at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg yesterday, Tuesday 30 October.

“Brand temptation is too much and every retailer is becoming famous, looking for a ‘little extra' and trying to restore innovation in order to create clear areas where they can develop new experiences for customers and provide efficient shoppers solutions.

“Furthermore, leading retailers' brands are taking a category approach that will link their products to a healthy lifestyle.”

“So, will the world collide as a result of these brands' clashes?” Davies asked.

Cultural shift

“A huge cultural shift is taking place globally to make a big bang for your bucks,” Davies explained.

“But the truth is, shopper marketing has got nothing to do with trading, operational efficiency, price, buying skills and traditional selling.

“Instead it has to do with nothing but marketing,” Davies added.

Mark Barnard, SVP customer development of Unilever Asia, also underlined the dynamics of shopper marketing.

In his presentation titled ‘Shopper Marketing – turning insights into shopper solutions', he said: “In this ever-changing media and marketing landscape, shopping has become a key moment of consumer receptivity.

“Let's create a new and different experience for shoppers and stop welcoming them with stores' messages that say for instance: ‘please don't steal'.”

'Less relevant'

Barnard said research conducted in the US found that 70% of women think most advertisers and marketers do not understand them and 68% of women believe retailers do not know what they want in a shopping experience.

“This can only mean one thing – the traditional marketing strategy is broken,” Barnard said. “As a result, our brands are becoming less relevant and somebody out there is busy getting our share of value.

“Let's combine these three: communication, shopping and usage.”

He said that even though one will never have all the right answers, he or she must have trust, not be scared to stand out because there are no sacred cows.

“After all, it is about breaking a few eggs to make an omelette. It is about shoppers, not about buyers or salesmen and it is about having some fun.

“This is not a sales trick. It is marketing, and make it look like a marriage between a shopper and a retailer.

“Is this the end of traditional marketing?” Barnard asked. “You answer this question and be the judge,” he concluded.

Close to 600 delegates from sectors such as wholesale and retail, manufacturing and logistics are currently attending the ECR Conference which is set to end on Wednesday 31 October.

Combined, the abovementioned sectors are worth close to R330 billion and provide an estimated 20% of South African GDP (gross domestic product), and employ more people more than any other sector, Jared Shippel of Lankon Consulting told Bizcommunity.com.
For more information, call the Consumer Goods Council of SA on tel +27 (0)11 789 5777 or go to www.cgcsa.co.za.

For more: Zoopy video of Mark Davies from Glendinning UK