How can FMCG brands win the omni-shopper?

The stage is set for accelerating growth for grocery eCommerce. Thus far retailer investment has been tentative, recognising that with the fulfilment burden on them, selling at a distance erodes margin.

Meanwhile, the shopper has been presented the brightest of futures, with shopping becoming ultra-convenient; accessible in the palm of their hand, and delivered at lightning speed. Often this expectation is set by retailers born in the digital age, who have led innovation and are not bound by the old-world business model.

The dynamics of online are arguably more different than any new channel to appear in the last hundred years. However, your commercial objectives are the same; justify listing and prominence to grow brand and category. An early understanding of what drives shopper decisions online is essential to maximise share.

There are many prevalent beliefs about how people shop online for groceries. One such belief is that the online shopper is the rational agent of economic theory; with eyes wide open they are armed with comparative prices and a steely resolve to resist impulsive moments. At GfK we have gathered the perspective of thousands of shoppers to shine a light on how people decide where to shop, giving you great insight into how to win their spend.

For example when we ask online shoppers to tell us about the advantages of shopping in this way, the top two answers are ‘saves time’ (89%) and ‘good at reminding me what I bought before’ (89%). The idea that online offers lower prices for the same items is commonly believed (72%), but this puts low price only 6th on the list of advantages. However, the ability to compare prices is a key advantage for online (88%), putting this driver at third place. Price transparency is therefore important to online shoppers, but this doesn’t mean that offering considerably lower prices will necessarily drive traffic and loyalty. In fact when we look at the drivers of retail choice across 19 categories low price doesn’t appear in the top 10. If you're interested inthis topic and would like to learn more, you can hear from us and meet us at the upcoming Online & Digital Grocery Summit next Tuesday 24th May at the Hilton Tower Bridge London. For more information or to register your place at the summit, visit the website here: www.mydigitalshelf.co.uk

Results based on a GfK survey of 1,135 online shoppers in May 2016.