Dive Brief:
- A new report on shopper marketing from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) outlines how the discipline, which was once based on in-store, point-of-purchase, and end-of-aisle tactics, has now become an omnichannel exercise due to the rise of digital marketing.
- The report found a fundamental shift in shopper marketing from short-term sales to a more holistic approach aimed at motivating shopper behavior.
- Another key finding in the report is that mobile has become an important part of shopper marketing, from attracting shoppers pre-visit to engaging shoppers in-store and extending the connection post-visit.
Dive Insight:
Digital technology is reshaping all types of marketing. While shopper marketing used to be about seeking immediate results at the cash register, the practice has evolved into a combination of short and long-term goals, including driving shopper conversion, motivating shopper behavior beyond price, and finding solutions to shopper challenges and purchase barriers, according to the report from the ANA.
Retail in particular has been undergoing a transformational shift: More consumers than ever before are purchasing products online and, increasingly, on mobile devices. Shopper journeys are now more complex than before, and involve multiple touchpoints across offline and online channels.
“The point of purchase is no longer just in-store, and shopper marketers are struggling to reach consumers across the right touchpoints at the right time,” said ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice in a release. “Our research shows that the new goal of shopper marketing campaigns is to make brick-and-mortar visits mirror the effectiveness of the online environment while delivering a seamless shopper experience.”
Retailers today are struggling to keep up with consumers' expectations for omnichannel shopping, with many blaming an absence of quality customer insights—a finding that the ANA report reinforces. About 40% of respondents to the survey reported that their organizations aren’t investing enough in shopper insights.
51% of respondents said that having a dedicated shopper marketing team is a competitive advantage, with 55% stating it reflects the “convergence of brands, shoppers and retailers.” Shopper marketing has become more strategic and is more highly valued in organizations where it reports to the marketing team rather than the sales team, a move that is making shopper marketing more focused on the customer rather than the retailer's sales.
“There is little consistency in how (shopper marketing) is defined and what the best practices should be,” Liodice said. “We conducted research to help bring clarity to the current state of the category and make predictions about where it’s headed. We also aimed to uncover the role shopper marketers play within their organizations, and the strategies needed for shopper marketing success.”