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Shopper Marketing for CPG Brands: Bridging Your E-Commerce and Retail Sales Channels

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Let me guess. 

 

You have an amazing store on Lazada and Shopee.  

 

You’re enjoying the sales.  

 

But are you collecting customer data in the process? You should be.  

 

Unfortunately, these e-commerce behemoths keep the customer data. Not you. 

 

And you don’t have leverage for them to share that customer data with you.  

 

This limits your ability to form direct relationships with your shoppers.  

 

This article articulates the need and the effective solutions available for your brand in collecting customer data both on your online and offline retail sales channels.  

 

No More Linear Path to Purchase 

 

Ecommerce is expected to continue its upward growth trajectory. eMarketer projects that online commerce in 2025 will represent 20% of total retail sales in the US, 40% in UK, and more than 50% in China.  

 

There is no more linear path to purchase. Some start online while some begin in-store. 

 

This is critical because today’s consumers are omnichannel shoppers. They want the convenience of shopping online but their pre-pandemic habits of shopping in your retail outlets are still firmly established. 

(Photo by Andy Hermawan on Unsplash)  

 

This means your brand should be able to identify clearly your shoppers both online and offline and seamlessly connect their data points wherever they choose to interact with your brand. 

 

But there’s a quick way around it because with simple tools like WhatsApp, you can get the critical first-party customer data and still drive your e-commerce sales. 

 

Before directing them to your Lazada or Shopee store, your shoppers first give their key contact information like name, email and cellphone number. After which, they get a promo code they can use in your e-commerce store.  

This Whatsapp Chatbot is your direct 1:1 link with each and every shopper. Partnered with technologies like Smart Receipts, your shoppers get rewarded with discounts and other incentives each time they upload a receipt. Receipts are tremendous sources of transaction data that your brand can collect and analyze.  

 

Don’t neglect post-purchase 

 

A lot of brands are just focused on people making their first purchase. They neglect the opportunity to have repeat sales and to engage buyers in the post-purchase phase.  

 

This is a lost opportunity because getting new customers is much more difficult and expensive compared to having repeat and loyal shoppers.  

 

Focusing primarily on the first purchase is short sighted and goes against the thesis of shopper marketing which is to be present across the entire customer journey.  

 

 

Using the latest technologies like gamification and simple tools like digital vouchers can allow your brand to engage with your shoppers past the first purchase and turn them into loyal customers.  

 

Your shoppers want good deals, and this is where digital vouchers and gamification truly shine as your in-store promotions can now be digitized and will surely incentivize them to visit your offline stores.  

 

By gamifying the process of shopping, you ensure repeated engagement with your brand until they eventually become your loyal patrons. Don’t underestimate simple games like spin and win and digital scratch cards to give that dopamine boost that your shoppers crave for.  

 

A Gallup study reports that engaged customers represent a 23% higher share in profitability, revenue and relationship growth. 

 

This is critical because shoppers are known to be fickle minded and brand loyalty is fragile at best, especially in this high inflationary environment 

 

CPG brands must continuously communicate their value proposition so that they remain top of mind for their target market across the entire shopper journey.  

 

The following visual below from IRi shows that the digital and physical touchpoints interconnect throughout the shopper journey highlighting the need for CPG brands to stop treating their in-store and digital sales channels as separate silos.  

 

CPG brands need to create multiple touchpoints across the digital and in-store channels and the only way to do that is by using marketing solutions that engage and make them feel truly valued through rewards and personalized offers.  

 

Understanding fully this key point will be a gamechanger for your brand.  

Source: Information Resources (IRi 

 

Data enables post-purchase engagement 

 

The great enabler for the post-purchase phase is data.  

 

There is a wealth of information created in transactions, but it is not captured and owned by CPG brands.  

 

This information includes the shopper’s name, email, and cellphone number as well as the specific details of their purchases. 

 

How can you engage your shoppers post-purchase when you don’t have this critical information?  

 

The marketing team of every CPG brand wants to unmask their shoppers. 

 

They want to know the answers to the following questions: 

  • Who is buying our products? 
  • Which products are in greatest demand?  
  • Why is the demand for some products declining?  
  • Which marketing channels can help boost our customer base?  
  • Which discounts and special offers resonate with our shoppers?  

 

The task therefore of shopper marketing is to create that perfect yet evolving marketing mix that is driven by customer insights.  

 

 

Without collecting customer data, e.g., through receipts or digital vouchers, then your shoppers will remain faceless, and you’ll have to either rely on buying expensive and outdated information from third party market research firms or whatever limited information your retailers choose to provide. 

 

Online influences in-store shopping 

 

A great online experience will influence your shoppers positively to shop in your offline retail stores. If you’re able to deliver targeted, creative online campaigns, your brick-and-mortar stores will also benefit tremendously from it.  

 

That’s why unmasking your shoppers right at the onset when they engage with your online sales channels will benefit your offline stores significantly.  

And the truth is that it is not complicated to collect customer data. With shoppers using their cellphones primarily to do e-commerce, frictionless tools like digital vouchers can kickstart the data collection.  

 

You then add newer technologies like smart receipts and gamification modules to further enhance the shopping experience through rewards and incentives.  

 

With Smart Receipts, there is no need to hire manpower to manually verify receipts. SKALE uses an advanced receipt scanning technology that removes the manual aspect of receipt verification. Your customers simply upload the receipt using the Whatsapp Chatbot and boom, you can automate the incentives and rewards based on their total amount spent. Your marketing team will surely appreciate this for all the time saved and the efficiency it offers.  

 

Research shows that gamification, through the power of incentives, is key to repeat purchases and can create new buying habits. We are all creatures of habits and shopper marketing is tasked to facilitate habitual changes in consumer behavior.  

 

Research suggests that 40% of a store’s revenue is driven by repeat customers 

 

Imagine losing 4 out of 10 potential customers to your rivals just because you were not using the effective tools you can use today to get to know your shoppers better and reward them for their loyalty.   

 

A holistic view is essential 

 

If you’d like your CPG brand to remain competitive in this cutthroat environment, you need to have a holistic view of your online and offline channels.  

 

While they remain distinct, there is a need to connect them, and data is that bridging link.  

CPG brands need to start using marketing technologies that streamline their sales process across the online and offline space.  

 

These technologies allow CPG brands to practice true shopper marketing as they are able to have a long-term perspective and not just focus on the pre-purchase and purchase phase.  

 

The truth remains that loyal customers are created in the post-purchase phase and streamlining the entire customer journey in both the online and offline space will be key to creating lifelong brand advocates.  

 

The time to merge shopper marketing and e-commerce marketing is now. 

 

The opportunity and the technology are aligned and available right at this very moment.  

 

It’s time to take advantage and begin building that competitive edge against your rivals.  

 

 

 

The FMCG Marketer's Guide to First-party Data Collection

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