Redefining trade and shopper marketing for a digital discovery world

The fundamentals of how people shop haven’t changed and, for grocery, today’s shopping journey is still most likely to end with a physical, in-store purchase. 

However, how and where we connect and intersect with consumers and influence them on the path to purchase has profoundly shifted. 

Digital is now the primary way that grocery shoppers discover brands and products, with 71% of UK grocery shoppers discovering food and beverage brands or products online, according to a Kantar study commissioned by Meta. The study also found that 66% of weekly consumers who typically discover new products online have come across them on Instagram or Facebook.

In fact, these moments of serendipitous discovery happen more on Meta platforms than any other digital destination. Among these online shoppers, 40% discovered a new product first on Facebook, and they were not actively shopping when they happened upon it, according to a survey by GFK, commissioned by Meta.  

Rather than people finding products, products now find people. It’s part of a wider consumer shift from ‘going shopping’ to ‘always shopping’, from viewing online shopping as an intent-based experience, to one that’s fluid and integrated into daily life. 

What does this mean for trade marketers at both brands and retailers? 

With shoppers discovering more products via digital channels, embracing social commerce, and experimenting with new brands and stores, how should brands and retail marketers reimagine their shopper marketing experiences to meet this new reality?

The capability to close the loop and drive online and offline conversion, i.e. the digital equivalent of tagged advertising, is crucial for both parties if they want to effectively prompt action whilst also optimising trade marketing spend and measuring incrementality across the  evolving consumer journey.  

Reimagining trade marketing 

To meet today’s consumers, we need trade marketing solutions as dynamic as the customer journey itself.

● Make your ads shoppable with Ads-to-Basket. A friction-free purchasing journey from discovery, with a user able to seamlessly add products straight into the basket on their preferred retailer’s website, through a targeted brand ad on either Facebook or Instagram.

● Replicate in-store print leaflets in an interactive and user friendly way with dynamic, personalised Instant Experiences. With print costs at an all time high, sustainability concerns and challenges of targeting and measuring the traditional paper-based leaflet, moving to digital has many advantages. Highly personalised, agile and flexible, slashing lead and production timelines, enabling rapid response to price drops or competitor activity and of course lowering the environmental footprint. When Lidl Ireland used Instant Experiences to digitise its printed leaflets, it resulted in a tenfold return on ad spend and a 2.3% increase in overall turnover at trial stores. Hear directly from them on how. 

● Close the loop and make it simple for retailers to empower brands to run performance marketing campaigns for their products, driving incremental traffic and sales via their website, mobile app or in-store footfall with Collaborative ads.

Over a one-year period, brands using these capabilities drove 5% of incremental online traffic to third party retail sites and incrementally drove 6% of online sales.

These ads help drive omni-channel sales through scale and targeting. The partnership between brands and retailers with this solution empowers brands to send high intent shoppers to a retailer’s site, app or store, while providing relevant offers and a seamless experience to shoppers.

One month after adding their first brand connection, retailers globally see a median increase of +12% attributed online traffic and +10% of attributed online conversions. And brands running Collaborative Ads with product catalog sales see a median 2.3-times return on ad spend.

Trade marketers’ next normal

Brand and retail marketers ready to capitalise on the new trade marketing ecosystem face enormous opportunity in an increasingly crowded and competitive market.

The opportunity here is to seamlessly integrate these digital capabilities into the rhythm of business and trade marketing playbooks – delivering value in terms of incremental transaction and customer growth for both brands and retailers.

And, most important of all, measure what matters – with total transparency and the ability to track the true ROI from trade marketing investments.

To find more advertising and retail solutions for frictionless omnichannel shopping, visit: https://www.facebook.com/business/industries/retail