10

Trends2019
We present results and analysis of our annual survey of consumer goods marketing executives
Have you worked with the digital ad platforms for Amazon, Walmart, Kroger and/or Target?
If so, please rate them in the following areas.
Amazon Targeting effectiveness Measurement capabilities ROI Data sharing
Excellent 30% 20% 12% 4%
60% Good 40% 42% 40% 24%
YES
Average 24% 30% 32% 44%
40% Poor 6% 8% 16% 28%
NO
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Walmart
Excellent 0% 11% 8% 11%
46% Good 34% 34% 29% 24%
YES
Average 53% 34% 50% 34%
54% 13% 21% 13% 32%
NO Poor
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Kroger
Excellent 37% 11% 7% 22%
32%
YES Good 30% 48% 26% 30%
Average 33% 33% 56% 26%
68% Poor 0% 7% 11% 22%
NO
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Target
Excellent 9% 9% 3% 6%
40% 42% 36% 15% 21%
YES Good
Average 39% 45% 61% 42%
60% Poor 9% 9% 21% 30%
NO
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Digital Ad Platforms – Amazon, Walmart, Kroger and Target

D
By Patrycja Malinowska
igital media plays an increasingly im-
portant role in how consumers are
discovering products, and as retailers
are evolving their own content and
advertising businesses, some brands
are taking advantage of this “new shelf space.”
In Shopper Marketing’s annual Trends sur-
vey, nearly two-thirds (60%) of respondents say
they are buying digital ads from Amazon, 46%
from Walmart, 40% from Target, and 32% from
Kroger and its relatively new platform.
Those who aren’t spending with retailers may
be “missing the boat,” says Brian Cohen, chief
operating officer at The Epsilon Agency. “It’s
surprising that there are so many who haven’t
made retailer platforms a meaningful part of
their shopper or media programs given the ben-
efits – shopper behaviors, enhanced relation-
ships, better attribution. This is not just a shop-
per marketing tool, it’s a media tool.”
Cohen makes his case particularly in terms
of Amazon: “More product searches start on
Amazon versus any other platform on the web,
Google included. Yet these numbers indicate
that the investment has yet to catch up. I’m sure
many of these same brands have robust search
budgets that have yet to include Amazon. Lever-
aging Amazon as a platform for your brand is so
much more than simply ‘winning’ on Amazon
through sales on the platform. It’s about brand
building, shopping experience and expectation
management.”
On the data-sharing front, Cohen agrees with
the 72% of respondents working with Amazon
who rated it as average or poor, though he un-
derstands that Amazon needs to retain its hold
on data to maintain a higher ground.
“Quite frankly, I’m surprised 24% of respon-
dents rated Amazon as good; sure they have
more than most, but they don’t share it, nor does
it make sense for them to do so,” Cohen says.
“That said, the data is why their ad platforms
are so big; they can create and reach audiences
better than most.”
Responses from those working with Target
were similar to Amazon, with a data-sharing
rating of average from 42%, poor from 30%,
good from 21% and excellent from 6%.
Walmart was more polarizing, with a full 11%
of those working with the retailer indicating it is
excellent at data sharing, but another 32% rating
the retailer as poor.
Kroger came out on top with 22% of respon-
dents rating the supermarket retailer as excel-
lent and 30% as good.
Turning the tables on consumer product man-
ufacturers, Cohen says it is CPGs that have a
wider lens and need to be able to bring data that
is complementary to the data set a retailer has.
“CPGs today should already have a meaning-
ful data program and roadmap, be it by invest-
ing in their own first-party data programs or
leveraging a suite of third-party inputs,” he says.
“This will be the best way to drive a more mean-
ingful value exchange with their retailer part-
ners, sharing influences and behaviors outside
their experiences at a given retailer.”
In terms of targeting effectiveness, Walmart
respondents gave the worst ratings (13% of re-
spondents rated the retailer as poor and 53% as
average), and Kroger took the lead with 37% of
respondents rating the retailer as excellent and
another 30% as good.
Walmart was also the straggler in terms of
measurement capabilities (21% of respondents
rated the retailer as poor and 34% as average),
while Amazon led the pack with 20% rating the
retailer as excellent and 42% as good.
Target fell to the back of the pack when it
came to ROI, with 21% of respondents rating the
retailer as poor and 61% as average.
JANUARY 2019 SHOPPER MARKETING TRENDS 2019 11

DIGITAL MEDIA/ADVERTISING

Working With Walmart’s Connected Partners

By Patrycja Malinowska
As digital content gains priority, Walmart is
relaunching its content provider program and
asking brands to work with select “connected
partners.”
Ahead of the program’s relaunch in 2019, the
majority of survey respondents (62%) indicated
that they “don’t know” if they plan to work with
the retailer’s partners.
These third-party partners scale and opti-
mize content from suppliers to retailers and are
investing in Walmart by maintaining an onsite
presence to ensure that technical issues and
business objectives are addressed efficiently.
The quarter of respondents who indicated
they would be (or already are) working with
Walmart’s partners cited various reasons, in-
cluding that the partners are “very good” and
will make publishing content to multiple retailer
websites easier and faster, and that they will
provide “insight into how Walmart works” as “We do what Walmart says because they own
well as a “better understanding of the shopper 34% of our sales.”
mindset online.” In the minority, respondents who are deci-
Some are aligning with Walmart’s priorities to sively opting out (14%) included those that have
“improve the perception that we are easier to do invested in their own content programs, and
business with” and to “get programs through for those who say they don’t do enough business
activation,” with one respondent simply stating: with the retailer to support digital spending.
62%
Brands working with Walmart are now encouraged DON’T KNOW
to work with one of 11 select digital content partners,
but they are not required to. Do you plan to work 25%
YES
with one of these 11 digital content partners in 2019?
14%
NO

40
Complete this What percentage of your digital media activity
sentence: In the next 35% is dedicated to the following objectives?
year, my company’s
investment in the Brand awareness/consideration 40%
30
Walmart Media Group
25% Sales in physical retail stores 30%
(formerly WMX) ad
22%
platform will . . . ? Sales on retailer websites 18%
20

16% Direct sales on brand's website 9%

Other 2%
10

0 10 20 30 40

2%
0
Grow Stay the Shrink Be Don’t
same nonexistent know

How familiar are you with Amazon letting advertisers 28%

Not likely
target related products by buying an ad on a How likely are you to use this 32%
Likely
competitor’s product detail page? method of advertising in 2019? 40%
Don’t know
Never heard of it 25%
10% NO
Heard of it, but never used it 53% 33%
Have any of your competitors YES
Have used it 22% used this method to advertise
57%
their products on your pages? Don’t know
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
12 TRENDS 2019 SHOPPER MARKETING JANUARY 2019

BUDGETS/SHOPPER MARKETING

How Departments Value Shopper Marketing

By Dan Ochwat
With a simple “yes” or “no,” survey respondents portive. Media buying pretty much split the vote. the planning process from the very beginning.
rated whether or not certain departments “value Christopher Brace, founder and CEO of Syn- “If shopper marketing is not changing how
shopper marketing,” and while nearly all depart- tegrate Consulting, feels shopper marketing has brands build strategy upstream, then being
ments fared positively, more than 60% felt those a bigger issue than being valued by the finance ‘valued’ isn’t enough,” he says, adding that the
in the finance department did not. department, saying he doesn’t believe shopper question to truly ask is: Does shopper marketing
As for their reasoning, some of the respon- teams are being given an equal seat at the larger change how brand teams build strategic growth
dents say the finance sector has a “lack of un- strategy table and that they need to be pulled into initiatives at the beginning of each year?
derstanding” of shopper marketing, they’re “not
directly involved” with the discipline, and they
“view it as more of a variable expense.” In your opinion, Brand marketing Category management Customer field teams Finance
The survey includes only those working at con- do each of the
sumer goods companies, and nearly a third of following areas of 89% 77% 89%
YES YES YES 63%
respondents work directly in shopper marketing your organization 37% NO
while another third work in brand management, value shopper 23% YES
marketing and promotions. So, the opinions NO
marketing?
heavily reflect those closest to shopper marketing. 11% NO 11% NO
The respondents rated the following depart-
ments: brand marketing, category management, Insights/research Media buying Sales force Upper management
customer field teams, finance, insights, media
83% 81%
buying, sales and upper management. YES YES 67%
54% YES
While most of the departments received high ap- 46% NO 33%
proval ratings (brand marketing and customer field 17% YES 19% NO
teams had the most “yes” votes – 89% each), ap- NO NO
proximately 63% said those in finance are not sup-

Thinking about all of the shopper marketing programs What are the top THREE benefits of shopper marketing
your organization works on, what percentage are . . . ? to your organization?

Increased retailer support 72%

Mostly/completely driven
by our own objectives
41% Mostly/completely driven Incremental sales 70%
by retailer objectives
33%
Brand awareness/equity 64%

A true collaboration Brand share 20%

26%
Category share 20%

Incremental volume 19%

In your opinion, what is the BEST training
approach for shopper marketers? Short-term ROI 15%

Formal internal training for

30%
Long-term ROI 12%
key functional areas/roles
Informal internal training
28%
Other 1%
(info sharing, case studies, etc.)

Informal external training 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

(conferences, agency presentations, etc.) 23%
Formal external training for
key functional areas/roles 19%
Compared to last year, is your company investing more
0 10 20 30 40
or less (money and/or attention) in the following areas?
Shopper marketing In-store marketing Consumer promotion Trade promotion
How do you predict your company’s shopper 42%
65% 54% 58%
marketing budget will change in 2019? MORE MORE MORE MORE
35% 46% 42% 58%
It will increase more than 5% 19% LESS LESS LESS LESS

It will increase, but less than 5% 17%

Mobile E-commerce content
Digital media (SMS, mobile app/ (PIM, DAM, delivery Traditional media
It will stay the same 43% (paid search, Internet ads, social) website advertising) packaging, etc.) (TV, print, etc.)

88% 65% 80% 23%

It will decrease less than 5% 10% MORE MORE MORE
MORE

It will decrease more than 5% 6% 35% 20% 77%

LESS LESS
LESS
0 10 20 30 40 12% LESS
14 TRENDS 2019 SHOPPER MARKETING JANUARY 2019

GENDER GAP

Q.
Women comprise half of entry-level
CPG/retail managers, but just 13% in
the c-suite. Why do you think that is?

The CPG/Retail Glass Ceiling

By Cyndi Loza

“CPG is an old-school mentality. A boys club with old-fashioned

‘relationships’ and favors.” … “Organizations prioritize confidence
over competency.” … “Women don’t want c-suite roles.”
These quotes were among the responses from
Trends 2019 survey participants who were
asked why women comprise half of entry-level/
manager positions in the CPG and retail indus-
tries but just 13% of the c-suite. Based on the
responses, the question clearly struck a nerve
with survey participants, all of whom work for
a consumer goods company.
We then chatted with Julie Quick, Shoptology
senior vice president, head of insights and strate-
gy, and Julie Jones, Procter & Gamble managing
director, grocery channel and home hardware,
to get their take on the survey responses. In Oc-
tober, Quick presented at the Path to Purchase
Institute’s “When Women Lead” symposium,
part of the Path to Purchase Expo. In November,
Jones gave a passionate presentation at Progres-
sive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery event.
“ We’re losing people to
other industries far more
than we’re losing people
to the ‘mommy’ track.”
The most typical answer for why women ap-
pear to be locked out of the top in CPG/retail
was the notion that women have family com-
mitments and take time off from their careers to
raise children. Quick said she had to park some
of these responses aside. “I realize that is a fac-
tor, but it doesn’t explain our industry’s specific
lag in senior leadership,” Quick said. “I know
hundreds of [women] in this industry – and
they are married and unmarried, and mom and
child-free – who are all leaving CPG/retail at a
faster pace. … And I think it’s because they’re
finding there’s more fulfilling work, there’s more
openness to what they bring to the table often
in other sectors. So we’re losing people to other
industries I think far more than we’re losing
people to the ‘mommy track.’”
Other respondents cited an “old school men-
tality” and “boys club” for reasons why women
do not advance. While Quick believes that these
types of behaviors are called out in a negative
way in the industry nowadays, she said CPG and
retail are mature businesses, and many of the old
paradigms – including dated views around what
makes a “great leader” – die hard. “If you look at
CPG and retail, women do really well right up
to that top level, and it’s because ours is a ‘doing’
industry overall,” Quick said. “There’s a lot of
projects and there’s a lot of things that have to
Here was the agenda from the Path to Purchase
execute and come to life, and I think the indus- Expo’s “When Women Lead” symposium, which
try rightfully trusts focused on women breaking barriers.
women very much
to deliver those kind positive experience and felt supported at P&G.
of executional results “If women don’t support each other how can
and we do.” we expect men to support us. … I think it’s
However, there are important for everyone to have a tribe of people
old paradigms and that they can count on – both women and men.”
biases that keep the
CPG/retail industry
from believing wom- SURVEY METHODOLOGY
en can deliver other In late October 2018, several thousand U.S.-based
kinds of results and
have qualities such
CPG marketing executives were emailed a question-
naire to be completed online. The names were drawn
Julie Quick, Shoptology as strategic vision from Shopper Marketing magazine subscription, Path
and financial acu- to Purchase Institute membership and EnsembleIQ
men, according to registration lists, with an emphasis on those with
Quick. “So they succeed really well at the doing, director, manager or senior executive titles.
delivering and executing, and then they’re ready From those emailings, 81 consumer goods market-
to make that step up the ladder and someone ing executives submitted completed surveys. Each
from the top says, ‘I don’t think they’re vision- respondent was entered into a drawing for an Apple
ary enough. I don’t think they’re leader enough. Watch Series 3, which was awarded to Marc Bennett
I don’t think they’re financially savvy enough. of Johnsonville. The survey was administered and the
… [There’s] that skill shift that isn’t necessarily data compiled by EnsembleIQ Research Solutions.
trusted in leadership.”
One response that stuck out to Jones is that FOR ALL CHARTS
women in leadership positions are holding other Respondents: Consumer product marketing execu-
women back. “Honestly, that makes me really tives. Please source all charts to: the Path to Purchase
sad,” said Jones, who added she’s always had a Institute/Shopper Marketing magazine.
16 TRENDS 2019 SHOPPER MARKETING JANUARY 2019

TECHNOLOGY

Expect Adoption to Rise for These Technologies

By Peter Breen
When it comes to potentially game-changing
consumer technologies, it appears as if many
shopper marketing organizations are still mov-
ing a little slowly to the starting line.
The relatively low numbers of respondents
already using or developing capabilities involv-
ing artificial intelligence (37%), voice-enabled
engagement (22%) and augmented reality (also
22%) are somewhat surprising, given the buzz
that these technologies have made over the last
few years.
These numbers should ramp up pretty quick-
ly, however, especially in the case of AI: Gartner
expects 85% of brand-consumer interaction to
be managed by AI-driven tools within two years.
And it’s happening for good reason: IDC Manu-
facturing Insights believes that AI adoption will
improve productivity by 30% and results by as
much as 20%. The potential benefits for improv-
ing both consumer engagement on the front line
and the consumer insights process internally are
too strong to avoid for much longer.
Voice commerce, too, should soon move
beyond the Alexa-inspired gimmick phase to
become a legitimate marketing tool: Online re-
searcher comScore Inc. predicts that 50% of all
searches will be conducted via voice by 2020.
And with “try on” apps already commonplace
in the cosmetics category (L’Oreal even took
the step of buying market-leading tech supplier
Modiface last spring), it shouldn’t be too long
before AR moves off the smartphone and onto
packaging and product displays, as the survey
results suggest.
In all three cases, companies are also learning
that these technologies can be implemented to
improve internal communication and workflow,
as well as external collaboration with service
providers and retailer partners.

Is your organization currently developing For which marketing vehicles is your organization currently
voice-enabled (conversational commerce) developing conversational commerce marketing tools?
marketing tools? 80
74%
70
44%
NO 60
22%
YES
50

33% 40
Don’t know
32%
30
26%
21%
20
16% 16% 16% 16%
11%
10

0%
0
Voice Social Brand Retailer Retailer On the On Brand Other Don’t know/
assistants media website website app primary product app not sure
(e.g., Alexa) networks shelf displays

22% 37%
YES YES
Is your organization Is your organization
currently developing 53% currently utilizing artificial
25% NO intelligence/machine learning?
augmented reality tools? 63%
Don’t know
NO

For which marketing vehicles are you currently In what ways is your organization utilizing
developing augmented reality tools? artificial intelligence/machine learning?
30 80
26% 26% 70 67%
25
21% 21% 21% 21% 60
20 50% 47%
16% 50
15 40 33%
30
10 17%
5% 5% 20
5 10
0 0
Brand Brand Retailer Retailer Social On the On product Other Don’t know/ Consumer insights Performance Media planning Direct consumer Other
website app website app media primary displays not sure analysis measurement engagement
networks shelf
JANUARY 2019 SHOPPER MARKETING TRENDS 2019 17

LOOKING AHEAD

Omnichannel Tools Lead Store of the Future

By Dan Ochwat
In the answers to a set of questions that look
at technology today and in the future, it’s clear
there is an excitement around retail, with vi-
sions of a “store of the future” that includes inter-
active displays, voice-based shopping platforms
and use of augmented reality.
However, when estimating the “practical val-
ue” of these tools in the coming year, respon-
dents in the survey expressed great caution.
When asked which tools will become estab-
lished parts of the “store of the future,” 77% of
respondents said interactive displays and just
shy of 70% said in-store access to offline buy-
ing. The two answers represent a view of a truly
omnichannel shopping experience.
“We are very enthusiastic about technology
and shoppers are helping us refine and define
the technologies that work best for retail,” says
Curt Munk, EVP, group strategic planning di-
rector, FCB/RED. “Omnichannel technologies
have been with us for some time and they con-
tinue to get better and better — we love what
Walmart and Sam’s Club are doing.”
Munk notes that with some technology like
voice-based shopping that has seen some disap-
pointing reports, marketers need to exhibit pa-
tience and get comfortable with the technology.
“Technology is a tool, not a strategy,” he says.
Respondents in the survey showed optimism in
both voice-based messaging and AR, nearly 60%
of respondents saw both tools being a standard
part of retail in the future. Conversely, when asked
which trends will provide the most practical value
in the coming year, only 2% of respondents picked
voice-enabled commerce and only 5% saw AR or
virtual reality providing value now. In addition,
artificial intelligence saw little support, with only
6% seeing it provide value in the coming year.
Leading the way, nearly a third of respondents
said influencer marketing would provide the
most practical value. Munk says that’s simply
the “reality of access to technology.” He adds:
“Influencers are popular short-term because they
are an existing consumer and shopper behavior,
so the adoption curve is already well established
compared to AI, AR, voice and subscriptions.”
In a question asking what trends or topics
would provide the “least practical value,” a third of
respondents said AR and VR, and 17% pegged AI.
If not practical in the short term, it doesn’t mean
CPGs aren’t looking to innovate. Looking closer at
what organizations are doing to address product
innovation, 52% of respondents said they’re both
increasing their existing internal activity around
innovation and also launching new capabilities
such as innovation centers of excellence and idea
labs. When isolating a view from the top, 61% of
those at a senior executive or director level said
their organizations would increase internal activ-
ity and 55% said launch new COEs or labs.
The increased focus on innovation is bright
for the industry but as Munk notes, “innovation
has to be intentional, supported, measured and
rewarded for it to take hold in almost any orga-
nization. It is hard to do, but each organization
has to find its own cadence for new ideas.”

Which of the following topics will be of MOST practical And which of these topics would be of LEAST practical
value to your organization in the coming year? value to your organization in the coming year?

Influencer marketing 30% Augmented reality/VR 30%

Health & Wellness 23% Artificial intelligence 17%
All-inclusive marketing 12% Voice-enabled commerce 11%
(pride/lifestyles)

Artificial intelligence 6% Subscription services 10%

5% All-inclusive marketing 9%
Augmented reality/VR (pride/lifestyles)

Emerging brands 5% Ethnic marketing 7%

Ethnic marketing 4% Health & Wellness 7%
Subscription services 4% Influencer marketing 2%

Sustainability 4% Sustainability 2%

Voice-enabled commerce 2% Emerging brands 2%

Transparency 1% Transparency 1%
Other 4% Other 1%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

In your opinion, which tools will be standard elements of What actions, if any, is your organization taking to
a brand’s marketing strategy in the “store of the future”? address the need to intensify product innovation?
Increased existing
Interactive displays 77% internal activity 52%
In-store access to offline buying 69% Launched new internal
capabilities (innovation centers of 52%
excellence, idea labs, etc.)
Voice-based messaging 58%
Acquired emerging brands 40%
Augmented reality 57%
Launched our own incubator
Text-based messaging for emerging brands/products 36%
(SMS or other)
52%
Invested in third-party
Traditional product displays 51% incubators 7%

Interactive packaging 44% Other 1%

Virtual reality 41% We haven't done 10%
much of anything
Facial recognition 25%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Other 1%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
18 TRENDS 2019 SHOPPER MARKETING JANUARY 2019

E-COMMERCE/SOCIAL MEDIA

Packaging Trend: Special Doorstep Delivery Packs

By Dan Ochwat
Approximately a quarter of our survey re-
spondents said they are already developing
and shipping specially branded e-commerce
packages directly to the consumer or through
an online retailer. Factor in that a third “have
looked into it,” and the trend seems to be facing
Does your company use special branded e-commerce
packaging for doorstep delivery?
Yes
No, but we’ve looked into it
No, and we haven’t looked into it
0 10
a positive turning point. e-commerce packaging so [consumers] really
Add in some of the qualitative remarks, and have an experience having it delivered and are
there seems to be real excitement around spe- fully attached to the product at that moment.”
cialty e-commerce packaging. One respondent Of the respondents not furthering this pack-
shared that “it’s been an effective marketing tac- aging trend, some shared that it’s simply because
tic for us.” Another said: “We use special branded their category isn’t applicable (like tires), or they
produce a product that contains hazardous ma-
terial and can’t be shipped, or they work in a
heavily regulated category like alcohol.
Knowing that shows that the positive results
could have been higher. But make no mistake, a
25% good portion of the negative respondents show
some brands are very far from this trend.
30% Some wrote that it’s too expensive or they do
zero direct-to-consumer selling. Many flat out
46% said they had no knowledge on the topic and
remain in the dark.
20 30 40 50

Who in your organization is most responsible

for e-commerce?
Sales 21%

Marketing 20%

E-commerce Center of Excellence 20%

It’s still a piecemeal operation 20%

Distinct e-commerce organization 16%

Other 4%

0 10 20 30 40 50

On which social media platform 45

has your organization had the 40%
40
most success? 35 40%
30
25
20
15
11%
10 7% 7%
5
0% 0% 1%
0
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