These days, the CPG landscape is more competitive than ever. It’s not enough to differentiate based on taste and packaging alone, and dozens of innovative brands are popping up in every category. Even marketing strategies that were once considered innovative, such as social media marketing, or in person activations, are now commonplace.
Digital shopper marketing represents an exciting and critical opportunity for CPG brands to increase their sales velocity. The retailer sales that occur over e-commerce sites have tripled over the past decade, underscoring the need for digital retail media advertising. Furthermore, the digital shelf is hyper-competitive – while a shopper may see 100 SKUs on a traditional shelf, a digital web page will likely display around 30 SKUs, and a mobile page will show only 10-12. Thus, the brands who can execute an effective retail media strategy will dominate in this crowded space, and other brands will struggle to keep up.
To succeed in today’s market, your brand needs to look beyond basic tactics and adopt a holistic digital shopper marketing strategy that drives return overall, not just for a specific campaign or product. Executing a successful retail media strategy will result in high velocity (pace of sales) on the shelf and online. This will further indicate to retailers that your brand has successful and resonant products worth investing in & offering placement to. A successful CPG shopper marketing strategy targets consumers at all stages of the purchase path, from brand unaware to brand loyalist, and converts shoppers to buyers. Thus, understanding the wide variety of digital shopper marketing levers you can activate, and what outcome each will help achieve, is key to increasing your CPG sales velocity.
What Are Shopper Marketing Strategies?
High Level Strategies:
Often, when discussing retail media, the first thing that comes to mind is targeted ads, such as search ads or other measures that drive a final purchase. However, understanding the opportunity that exists to use retail media networks to run campaigns that drive brand awareness & consideration (in addition to using targeted ads to drive conversion) is key to a thorough & successful strategy. Let’s discuss some of the most popular and successful high-level shopper marketing strategies.
Offsite display:
Offsite display is a type of shopper marketing where retail media platforms display your retail media ad in different locations than their own website. For example, they might play your audio ad on the radio, or push your newest brand ad on Facebook. The reason that these offsite ads differ from traditional media/advertising is that retailers can use their shopper data to more effectively target these ads to consumers. Furthermore, you more accurately attribute/track sales and spending with these platforms. Most leading retail media platforms, including Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), Walmart Connect, Instacart, and Target Roundel, offer offsite display ads.
Brand Banners / Brand Activations:
The online retail environment is incredibly search-driven – some say that 70-80% of users go straight to the search bar when shopping online. However, brands can still bring in new buyers on site, using display ads. These ads can grab shoppers’ attention at various points on the site – either on the home page, or when they’re deeper into their search. These ads also offer more creative flexibility than most types of retail media ads. You can use a brand banner to highlight seasonal products or create more high-level brand media.
Email Marketing:
Targeting shoppers through email is a great way to reach shoppers offsite, in a familiar channel. Furthermore, Kroger precision marketing offers a variety of options for email marketing campaigns, including standalone email ads, as well as inclusion in email circulars or seasonal campaigns. Other retailers also offer a variety of email marketing campaign options.
Brand Stores:
Similar to brand banners, a brand store can create increased interest in your products, for shoppers at various points in their journey. If a shopper is curious about a product they discovered through search, or clicks on a brand banner ad, they will likely be taken to your brand store. Here, you can highlight top products (and further increase velocity for these products), share brand messaging, and highlight your brands’ top features or differentiators. Strong creative is important in a brand store – shoppers in your brand store are eager to learn more and be inspired, and compelling visuals and copy are key to doing so.
Targeted Strategies:
While driving brand and product awareness is critical, running targeted ads is where you can truly harness the power of retail marketing technology, and leverage the valuable shopper data that retailers collect. Targeted retail media allows you to win shoppers considering other brands and items in your category – ultimately driving velocity and gaining share from competitors.
Search Ads:
The vast majority of retail media ads are search-driven. In 2024, 61% of retail media dollars went to search ads. As mentioned, the digital shelf is a crowded space, and search ads give your product a much higher chance of entering the consideration set – while some shoppers may scroll past sponsored search results, many buyers will only consider the top 4 or 8 products, which, on many sites, are sponsored slots. Often, search ad campaigns also offer the most ability for optimization & customization, allowing you to drive increased return on ad spend.
Onsite offers:
For shoppers at the final stage of consideration, onsite offers, such as coupons or cash back offers, can help entice them to pull the trigger. Retail media networks allow you to monitor, customize, and measure onsite offers, to ensure they truly drive velocity. Ibotta is a key partner for onsite offers – they reach 91% of American consumers and are partnered with popular retailers outside of traditional retail media networks such as Walmart, Dollar General, Stop and Shop, Publix, and more. However, you can also use traditional retail media networks for onsite offers.
Retargeting Ads:
Retargeting ads are an effective way to re-engage shoppers who have previously visited your site but did not make a purchase. By tracking user behavior, you can display ads to these potential customers as they browse other sites or social media platforms. This keeps your brand top-of-mind and encourages them to return and complete their purchase. Retargeting ads can be personalized based on campaign goals, such as showing the specific products they viewed, or products with higher velocity, further increasing their power.
By adopting a holistic approach that targets consumers at all stages of the purchase path, brands can drive consistent returns and ensure their products stand out. Utilizing various digital shopper marketing techniques, from offsite displays to retargeting ads, can lead to higher sales velocity and greater retailer confidence in your brand’s potential.
