4 shopper engagement trends on a CPG marketer’s radar

What trends did marketing executives in the consumer product manufacturing industry focus on last year and what are they prioritizing in 2023? A newly released report conducted by the Path to Purchase Institute (P2PI), “2023 P2PI Annual Trends Study” provided numerous insights. Here are 4 key takeaways from the report: 

Retail media networks (RMN) ranked #1 in strategies and tactics that survey respondents considered the most important to their organizations in 2022, followed closely by e-commerce content, according to the study, which was conducted between October and November 2022. In fact, retail media networks rose 18 points over the last year.  

The importance of measurable performance and reaching customers where they are (i.e., omnichannel shoppers) were among the reasons respondents gave for their focus on retail media networks and e-commerce. “Consumers’ shifting buying habits to beginning their shopping journey online and relying more on click-and-collect/delivery. We need to shift more dollars and resource to support RMNs and e-commerce content,” a senior management executive in packaged household items told P2PI.  

As marketers take a hard look at their budgets, the need to prove the value of advertising campaigns is critical. Powered by Kroger’s popular loyalty card program and 84.51° data science, Kroger Precision Marketing’s measurement capability, for instance, connects advertising exposure to in-store and online product sales. Control groups are designed to mirror campaign audiences – and attribute only the incremental impact of advertising.

Indeed, Kroger Precision Marketing topped the list of retail media networks rated as “excellent/very good” for measurement capabilities in the P2PI study. With shaky economic activity and volatile markets continuing into 2023, effective and transparent ad spend will continue to be a priority.  

Collaborative retailer-manufacturer relationships are increasingly important as both sides face increased costs, greater customer expectations and many other pressures. And in today’s data-driven world, sharing data insights to provide the personalized experience that customers expect is critical. It’s therefore unsurprising that the study rated retailers on their ability to share shopper data with consumer product manufacturers. Kroger (and its data analytics arm 84.51°) were viewed as one of the best at sharing actionable shopper data to drive more effective marketing, according to respondents.

While the majority of respondents (61%) indicated that their organization was incorporating social commerce into their omnichannel marketing budgets, this was down 17 points year-over-year, which may suggest that expectations for social commerce are leveling off.

Meanwhile, 25% of respondents’ organizations have begun, or are planning to, activate in the metaverse. A manager of a beer/wine/liquor company responded that their company was “creating digital universes for people to explore and buy NFTs” while other companies were experimenting with social campaigns and advertising platforms aimed at the metaverse.  

As the report demonstrates, marketing executives are increasingly focused on meeting omnichannel consumers where they are with personalized experiences throughout an ever-evolving purchase journey.