53 minute read
P2PI Member Spotlight:
from P2PIQ-0921
by ensembleiq
Member Spotlight
Foodspace
A Q&A with Ayo Oshinaike, CEO and co-founder of the machine learning and AI technology company
How does Foodspace utilize AI in its work?
OSHINAIKE: Foodspace uses Vision AI to digitize package label information and matches it to shopper-centric attributes for CPG brands to use for digital shelf discovery. Our in-house nutrition team has trained our AI with a rules-based approach using established nutrition theory and biochemical knowledge to create meaningful attributes.
Why is product data so important these days?
OSHINAIKE: Product data is what allows CPG products to show up as they are intended to and everywhere they should. Today’s online grocery shoppers are exposed to an omnichannel experience, meaning their journey to getting products in a cart can start anywhere in a cart can start anywhere digitally. What’s more, digitally. What’s more, shoppers are complex and shoppers are complex and have a wide variety of have a wide variety of needs and preferences. needs and preferences. In order for CPG In order for CPG brands, retailers and brands, retailers and marketplaces to retain marketplaces to retain loyal customers, they’ll need loyal customers, they’ll need complete, accurate a complete, accurate a nd rich product data. nd rich product data. This will ensure This will ensure that all these that all these organizations’ organizations’ products can products can be found wherever shoppers are shopping are shopping online. We’re looking forward to diving into timely thought leadership produced by P2PI. Our team has a channel on instant-messaging platform Slack called #goodreads, where we share recent industry news. P2PI’s resources allow us to go deeper into the issues the industry is facing, but also stay in lockstep with where innovation is headed. Although we identify
How does your company plan to use its P2PI membership resources?
OSHINAIKE: We’re looking forward to diving into timely thought leadership produced by P2PI. Our team has a channel on instant-messaging platform Slack called #goodreads, where we share recent industry news. P2PI’s resources allow us to go deeper into the issues the industry is facing, but also stay in lockstep with where innovation is headed. Although we identify as a data company, at the end of the day we want to ensure that the services we provide will propel the CPG industry forward. IQ
MEMBER UPDATE
Path to Purchase Institute is delighted to welcome the following new members to our community: DecoPac, Fetch Rewards, Google and Simmons Pet Food
Join the hundreds of companies that benefi t from P2PI every day with strategies and best practices on succeeding in today’s chaotic omnicommerce environment. For more information, contact Katrina Lopez at klopez@ensembleiq.com.
Institute Group Works to Establish Industry Definitions for Retail Media
De ning what is and isn’t a retailer media network is a lot harder than one might think. “There is a lot of confusion across the industry and CPG functional groups for what is included in a retailerowned media network,” says Tammy Brum eld, senior vice president, business development, at Foresight ROI. “No one has a clear understanding for what it is or is not since many retailers partner with other third-party vendors and aggregators, making it very confusing to determine where you receive credit for participation and where you can expect to leverage (for merchandising, joint business planning, etc.).”
Brum eld was part of a team tasked with de ning retailer media networks and relevant terms as part of the Path to Purchase Institute’s Commerce Executive Network (CEN), which brings together executives from retailers, brands, agencies and solution providers to solve real-world complex problems, establish best practices, and develop standards to implement bold initiatives and inspire change.
After multiple meetings and alignment discussions — and acknowledging the work continues to be “in progress” as the understanding evolves and new capabilities show up in the marketplace — the CEN’s Retail Media group arrived at the following industry de nitions:
Omnichannel Media: Any advertising or promotional content — digital or physical — designed to drive awareness and/or — designed to drive awareness and/or conversion at one or more speci c retailers. conversion at one or more speci c retailers. • Media can run on and/or o the retailer • Media can run on and/or o the retailer media network. media network.
• Includes any shoppable media in and/or out of store that the retailer is selling through its platform.
Third-Party Media Seller: A media provider that is not part of the retailer’s media network and does not have access to the retailer’s rst-party data. • The media provider buys/collects data from external source(s) and aggregates data from various platforms/websites.
— TAMMY BRUMFIELD, FORESIGHT ROI • The media provider either collects or pays for this data from owned or other sources to develop and activate media plans for their clients.
Media Inventory Aggregator: A single point of contact that buys inventory from multiple retailer platforms for the purposes of reselling. • CPGs or their agents buy media from these entities, which provide a single point of contact for planning, activation and results. • From a retailer’s perspective, this allows them to o er search and other capabilities without building those capabilities internally. • In certain circumstances, retailers may give you “credit” for spend in this category.
Retailer Media Network: A network (distribution) of media products owned or operated by a retailer or banner that can only be purchased through the retailer or their agent/agency. • Monetized by a retailer by using the retailer’s rst-party data or physical property/location. • Managed and marketed by a retailer or retailer agent/agency for the exclusive bene t of the retailer and CPG partner. • May be powered by another industry participant (Criteo, Quotient, etc.). • Placement can be on or o the retailer’s website, in app, in or out of store (extensions). • Can be retailer-branded or nonbranded. • Measurement is based on retailer’s data/sales, providing closed loop attribution capability.
The CEN’s Retail Media group has also identi ed separate “Bene ts & Challenges” to working with each partner for the brand, the retailer and the shopper. Additionally, the group will develop a landscape map of key players and how they t into each category as well as a scorecard that helps members plan/ measure campaign performance.
To learn how to join CEN, contact Patrick Hare at phare@p2pi.org. IQ
Sampling at Retail
Nightfood Uses OB/GYN Offices to Support Launch at Walmart
BY SAMANTHA NELSON
Nightfood launched its “sleep-friendly” ice cream in 2019 as a better-for-you snacking option formulated to help with relaxation. It quickly became a hit with pregnant women craving ice cream and was named the o cial ice cream of the American Pregnancy Association.
When it launched at more than 1,000 Walmart stores in April 2021, Nightfood wanted to solidify that connection and drive trial by pregnant women. The brand reached out to Brandshare, the agency of record for the Walmart baby registry. The sampling company ships all parents who sign up for their registry on Walmart’s website a full box of products available through the registry, such as diapers, paci ers and wipes.
The e ort was spearheaded by
Nightfood’s former COO, Jenny Mitchell, who had previously worked with Brandshare as CEO of Mam Baby Products. “We thought it would be really cool for us to let pregnant women know that if they signed up for the Walmart baby registry, they would be able to get two free pints of Nightfood,” says Nightfood CEO Sean Folkson. Ice cream wouldn’t work in those boxes, but Brandshare suggested utilizing their OB/GYN network to get information on the product in the hands of pregnant women. “To be able to have information about Nightfood in the OB/ GYN o ces is such a credibility builder for us and provides exposure to the many, many women coming through there,” The e ort was spearheaded by Folkson says. “It just seemed like a great Folkson says. “It just seemed like a great opportunity for us.” opportunity for us.” During June and July, Brandshare During June and July, Brandshare distributed 100,000 Nightfood brochures distributed 100,000 Nightfood brochures at 400 OB/GYN o ces at 400 OB/GYN o ces within ve to seven within ve to seven miles of a Walmart miles of a Walmart store that sells three store that sells three or more Nightfood or more Nightfood avors (such as avors (such as Pickles for Two, Pickles for Two, which was designed which was designed speci cally for speci cally for pregnant women). pregnant women). The pamphlets The pamphlets shared product shared product information information and a QR code and a QR code that could be that could be scanned to access scanned to access a website where a website where shoppers could shoppers could upload their upload their receipt to receive receipt to receive a cashback rebate a cashback rebate on the purchase of two pints of Nightfood via PayPal or Venmo.
The promotion was not retailerexclusive, so the campaign also focused on markets such as Houston, Chicago and New Orleans, where the brand is sold by supermarket chains, including Kroger’s Harris Teeter, Albertsons Cos.’ Jewel-Osco, and H-E-B.
Brandshare avoided distributing the pamphlets near the couple of hundred Walmart stores that only launched with one or two Nightfood avors. “The ability to really geotarget exactly the stores that were most important to us was a great feature,” Folkson says.
Folkson says he had tried to reach out to OB/GYN o ces to provide samples, but was unable to make connections. He says the o ce venue would give the product more credibility than targeting pregnant women through Facebook. “I spent a day calling OB/GYN o ces myself and o ering to send them free ice cream, and you would think I was calling from another planet,” he says. “There was no traction, no headway.”
Brandshare runs 50 to 100 campaigns annually through various medical networks, with each o ce approving every product individually to ensure that the doctors and their patients will be interested. “That endorsement is important,” says Matthew Sussberg, Brandshare vice president, sales. “It’s one thing to drive sales immediately, which we obviously want to do. The other piece is building that brand equity.”
The e ort was so popular that some o ces needed more pamphlets by early July. The goal of the program was to increase awareness and make Nightfood even more closely associated with pregnancy. “We’re not necessarily measuring this in exactly how many pints [we sold] or QR codes got scanned,” Folkson says. “It’s a little bit of a longer vision for us in terms of really establishing ourselves so that we’re part of pregnancy culture.”
Folkson is already considering other ways to work with Brandshare on future programs, potentially placing branded freezers in doctors’ o ces so that women can try the product more easily. IQ
MARKETER SPOTLIGHT
FACING THE FUTURE
CPG marketers discuss their successes, challenges and opportunities as they adapt with the times — while keeping the shopper at the forefront.
BY CHARLIE MENCHACA
As the world changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, brand marketers were forced to change along with it to best serve their shoppers. In this report, a sample of CPG marketers share how they adapted, what tactics work for them and how their roles continue to evolve in uncertain times.
GENERAL MILLS
Denzel R. Washington
Assistant Manager, Omnichannel Customer Marketing – Walmart
Denzel R. Washington brings passion and contagious energy into everything and contagious energy into everything he touches – and has benefi ted both personally and he touches – and has benefi ted both personally and professionally from it. He has spent the last six years in the fi eld of marketing and e-commerce across a variety
of different roles and industry segments. In recent years, he was thrilled to learn about shopper marketing and how to influence from the retailer perspective. As a part of his work mantra, he continuously looks for ways to grow his skills to limit complacency and will always push for innovation, noting that it is the future.
Washington: With e-commerce growing fivefold as an outcome of the pandemic, we had to shift how we approached the marketing mix in our campaigns to be present where shoppers were purchasing. We did this by showing up online and in homes with direct-to-consumer sampling experiences versus traditional instore levers. Also, from a new skill set perspective, I’ve learned how to become more agile and responsive. We have to move quickly and boldly to ensure we’re able to keep up with changing demands and societal mindsets.
What are your proudest achievements so far this year?
Washington: One of my proudest achievements this year has been executing gaming at Walmart with our Totino’s brand. We started with working with our agency, Shopperworks, to develop a Walmart gamer strategy. This led to a new approach with our national “Call of Duty” execution, creating an extension campaign titled “Totino’s Power Squad.” The goal was to capitalize on the seven- to 10-year new console release phenomenon with gamers through the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, showing Totino’s as the hottest power in gaming.
As a second part of that strategy, which focuses heavily on overcoming the hurdles of gaming with mom, we were able to create an exclusive partnership in the spring at Walmart. This tapped into her nostalgia of Nintendo and Mario as a kid, pushing her to become the game night hero across a three-and-a-half-month campaign and keep fun in the household despite COVID-19 fatigue. We were able to partner with our merchants to unlock multiple months of display in-store. We reached a different aisle digitally within the video game category to receive site placements to support our Totino’s brand strategy of being the official snack of gaming.
Washington: It was our approach to holiday. Historically, a lot of our holiday affinity brands have separate campaigns and limited budgets. So we decided to create something magical by creating a new event, “Make it Home,” to drive efficiency and unleash scale of our massive portfolio at Walmart. This was a challenge because it was a new way of thinking. We had to get many internal and external stakeholders on board with our new omnichannel approach in unfamiliar territory, especially with converging conflicting objectives into one. We had to trust our insights and guts since holiday last year was going to mean something different, with travel concerns and families not being able to gather normally. We wanted to ensure shoppers could make it home for the holidays, no matter where they were digitally or physically, while showing how that fulfillment can happen exclusively at Walmart.
What is the future of shopper marketing?
Washington: With the rise of retailer media and demand for exclusive retail experiences from merchants, shopper marketing is going to become more important than ever. Driving brand equity into retail execution is becoming commonplace and integrated across CPGs.
BAYER CONSUMER HEALTH
Sarita Finnie
VP, Omnichannel Marketing
Sarita Finnie is a CPG brand marketer at heart. Her career has spanned every color of the marketing rainbow — from local to global roles, to brand building to heavy P&L/profit management roles — ranging from relaunching businesses to creating brands from scratch. Omnichannel marketing was the next frontier to get closer to the customer and shopper, and develop new ways to convert with omni-oriented digital programs.
How has your team’s responsibilities changed due to the pandemic?
Finnie: Our omnichannel marketing efforts have changed significantly since the start of the pandemic. From an in-store focus to a full omni focus, from traditional shopper and promotion tactics to a big focus on retailer media.
Finnie: Transforming our organization remotely. We have modernized omni efforts in consumer promotion, shopper, customer marketing and category management, always with the shopper at the heart of our efforts.
Finnie: I’ll pick two: Navigating the new world of retailer media, and revising our new item launch toolkit so that it can fit today’s shopper.
What is the future of shopper marketing?
Finnie: Differentiated brands serving unmet needs have the right to break through. But mastering the evolving marketplace is increasingly important as the role of the store changes, as e-commerce models become de facto ways of shopping and as omnichannel friction continues to decline.
ANHEUSER-BUSCH
Colleen Kelly
Head of Trade and Shopper Marketing
Colleen Kelly has been fortunate to grow over the past 10 years in various roles at Anheuser-Busch. After completing the company’s global management trainee program, she had the opportunity to work in a strategy role and then move into distributor and fi eld roles to better learn the inner workings of the business with retailers as well as the distributor network. After that, she moved into a regional position in the Southeast where she ran both trade and regional marketing. This path prepared her for where she is today — leading trade and shopper at a national level.
Kelly: The biggest transformation has been the acceleration toward digital, both digital programming and media. We have had to fl ex diff erent planning muscles as timelines shifted while we learned to deploy new tactics to engage shoppers along their journeys. Our agility and responsiveness have increased exponentially.
Kelly: To date, I’m most proud of the integrated digital shopper campaigns we have launched. We’ve done some amazing work behind brands like Cacti, Bud Light Seltzer and Michelob Ultra to engage shoppers digitally before they enter the store and at the point of purchase. With digital app and wallet integration to social and e-commerce purchase opportunities, we’re really talking to shoppers diff erently this year.
Kelly: The biggest challenge, but silver lining, was that our agenda accelerated essentially overnight. Things we had been piloting and learning from, like digital demos and connected shopper media, became front and center of our plans as instore trips and merchandising came to a halt. This acceleration, while intense at the time, better positions us as we move forward to win with our retail and wholesaler partners.
Kelly: The future of shopper marketing is bright but complex. I think you will see retail become a much stronger pillar in brand campaigns and planning, particularly in the adult beverage space. There will be a shift in expectations of how we sell to shoppers, focused more on selling them solutions than products. I’m looking forward to helping shape the future for us.
THE BOUNTIFUL CO.
Chrisie Fong
Senior Director of Shopper Strategy & Category Management
Tiff any Pratt
Director of Shopper Marketing
Chrisie Fong leads a large team across three critical functions in shopper marketing, category management and promotional analytics for the company. Tiff any Pratt leads the shopper marketing team in developing and implementing omnichannel solutions led by key shopper insights that deliver against both the brand and retailer strategies.
Fong/Pratt: The shift to online shopping, delivery or buy online and pick up in-store increased dramatically at the onset of the pandemic. As the new shopping behavior emerged, the shopper marketing team explored new platforms that enabled conversion where shoppers were most present. This included retailer media platforms, shoppable media platforms, social commerce and behavioral targeting. The biggest skill the team has learned is adapting to change and having a learning mindset. Shopper marketing as we knew it before is gone and it’s been replaced by the omnichannel shopper, with the shift in shopper behavior to online and omnichannel. The ability to test, learn and continuously optimize was critical in the past year.
Fong/Pratt: We recognized the blurring of lines across multiple functions, such as shopper marketing, consumer promotions, digital marketing, PR, e-commerce and marketing teams. As shopper behavior changed, so did the growth of new platforms like retailer media, social commerce and influencers. As an organization we recognized that we needed to connect with the shopper throughout the full funnel and be ready to activate, drive conversion and own the moments where the shopper is present. We broke down barriers across functions and really collaborated.
As the discipline of shopper marketing continues to evolve and new platforms get introduced, the biggest challenge/opportunity that many of us will continue to face in shopper marketing is structure, resources and learning those platforms. Hopefully it is more about the continuous end goal of getting closer to the shopper and less about roles/responsibilities, though that is needed, of course.
HENKEL
Ken Krasnow
VP of Omnichannel Marketing
Ken Krasnow has been enjoying his current role for fi ve years, leading media, digital marketing, shopper marketing, national promotions, merchandising, packaging design and the consumer call center. Breaking down silos, reimagining the art and science of marketing via content strategies, data, technology and digital activation have been central to his work.
Krasnow: We have become much more data-centric. Building our fi rst-party data has become an even bigger priority. My team has accelerated their skills around CRM, data collection, analytics and cross-channel activation. Understanding the importance of various types of structured and unstructured data, deterministic and probabilistic data sources and the right technology for our priority use cases has been key. Plus, leveraging retailer media to build both brand equity and drive profi table sales is an increasingly important part of our marketing mix. Smoothing the path to purchase for even more digitally savvy and immersed consumers is an even bigger priority. Our focus is on connecting national, retail and e-commerce consumer engagement via great cross-channel experiences. The big challenge is coordinating activity across walled gardens, owned channels and the open web. New technologies like clean rooms and deeper retailer and digital platform partnerships are more important than ever.
Krasnow: Through elevated creative and content, customized for cohorts and platforms, we have greatly improved return spend, brand awareness, trial and repeat purchase for our brands.
Krasnow: Shifting our focus, messaging and engagement strategies to be even more consumer-centric and agile. I am proud of what the team has been able to achieve toward those ends.
What is the future of shopper marketing?
Krasnow: Shopper marketing is now shopper media. Retailer media platforms built on rich, addressable shopper data sets are enormously powerful ways to reach shoppers throughout the purchase journey. Collaborating with retailer media groups to build persistent audiences, glean searing shopper insights, automate and optimize campaigns as well as conduct full-funnel measurement for even greater returns are the jobs to be done.
TYSON FOODS
Cheyanne Woods
Senior Shopper Marketing Manager
Cheyanne Woods has been with Tyson for more than 12 years as part of various teams and roles. She started in product management and worked her way through the company’s commodity businesses. The product management roles allowed her to dive into syndicated data and gain a better understanding of category dynamics, which she leveraged in a category leadership position supporting multiple grocery retailers before leading a category insights team supporting two major retailers. The category role led to her current position, leading the shopper marketing team supporting signifi cant retail channels.
Woods: Our job responsibilities remain the same with no signifi cant change to the daily work, but there has been a notable mindset shift in the way we work. We had to endure shopper changes, supply constraints and vendor capabilities adjusting. We have also experienced increased fl exibility. I became more aware than ever of the importance of team engagement and connection. I was able to get to know team members on more of a personal level.
Woods: The pandemic really pushed us to think diff erently about how we reach our shoppers. I’m excited about how my team has tackled planning as we move closer to our next fi scal year. We are stepping out of our comfort zones and, in some cases, our typical drive times to determine objectives, expand our shopper reach and get the Tyson brands into more households.
Woods: In my opinion, the biggest challenge was the uncertainty that came with the pandemic. As a leader, the health and safety of my team is most important. It’s about balancing the shift to working from home while staying positive and continuing to keep the team motivated and engaged while still driving results during such a strange time.
What is the future of shopper marketing?
Woods: Going forward, I believe we will continue to see digital experiences advance as shoppers are able to shop anywhere and at any time. However, in a world of personalization and opting out, it will be important for brands to continue to connect with shoppers emotionally.
MATTEL
How did you end up in your current role?
My background is in computer engineering. I spent seven years working with semi-conductors before getting an MBA. Post MBA, I worked in management consulting and eventually joined Mattel, where I’ve worked in strategy, product marketing and now omnichannel retail marketing. What I love about retail marketing is that I am able to apply every single skill set I’ve gained along the way. This is a role that requires heavy analytics, the ability to think strategically to solve the challenges of evolving retail, and the creativity to develop programs to bring our amazing brands to life at retail. — Pamela Velarde, Senior Director, Head of Omnichannel Retail Marketing
My team has taken on more responsibility for our retail advertising strategy. Now more than ever, our marketing programs must pivot quickly to refl ect changing shopper needs and we rely on retail media to amplify those messages. Closely aligning retail advertising with shopper marketing has made us more nimble and more eff ective. — Elizabeth Buff um, Senior Manager, E-Commerce Marketing – Amazon
With the acceleration of e-commerce during the pandemic, our team had to quickly adapt and expand our skills and responsibilities to take a true omnichannel approach. E-commerce is now a critical component to any campaign right alongside brick- and-mortar. We’ve even launched brand segments online fi rst, which was unheard of in the pre-pandemic days. — Christina Cullimore, Senior Manager, Omnichannel Retail Marketing – Walmart
The relentless focus on evolving and being obsessed with the customer. We study our retailer, our shopper, our brands, and ideate the best way to bring stories to market in a truly unique way. This drive of purpose has secured a record-breaking 12 incremental features at Target to date. — Alicia Crespin, Director, Omnichannel Retail Marketing – Target
What has been the biggest opportunity for your team during this pandemic?
The ability to deviate from traditional shopper marketing plans and try new tactics. At the onset of lockdowns, most of our accounts had to close their doors, cancel promotional programs or change operational, marketing and business models. Given this landscape, my team was able to off er their expertise in tactics and new platforms that retail marketing partners were now willing to explore. Despite all the uncertainty many of us were facing in our work and personal lives, embracing change allowed us to off er our shoppers toy-centric solutions. This in turn allowed them to bring home a sliver of happiness, a smile and a chance to come together as a family and enjoy play. — Luba Petrovich, Senior Manager and Emerging Channels Lead, Omnichannel Retail Marketing
GE APPLIANCES, A HAIER CO.
Natalie Benoit
Shopper Marketing Senior Manager
How has your team’s skills developed during the pandemic?
Benoit: Flexibility and clear communication have become even more important skills within our team. We’ve had to become better communicators with our retailers, too. Not only transparency around changing inventory and promotions, but with more routine aspects of the job like virtual presentations. When you can’t be in person, you have to showcase your commitment, energy and passion in other ways.
Benoit: This year we’ve found ways to be successful within the shifting shopper landscape. We’ve grown online sales, invested in the omnichannel shopper journey and found ways to support our retail partners playing to their strengths. This has driven stronger customer relationships, sales and share gains.
Benoit: The biggest opportunity during the pandemic has been winning online retail. We know the shift in online versus in-store purchasing has staying power. We have worked to prioritize the digital shelf not only out of necessity during the pandemic, but also knowing that these investments will serve as a jumping-off point as we continue to improve and grow.
What is the future of shopper marketing?
Benoit: The future of shopper marketing means more personalization, better attribution and a more cohesive experience in-store and online. The most successful shopper marketers will off er an integrated omnichannel shopping experience targeted to specifi c shopper needs with actionable KPIs and learnings to drive timely improvements to ongoing initiatives. IQ
REGISTER AND RECEIVE COMPLIMENTARY ACCESS TO ANY VIRTUAL FORUM THIS FALL
retailmediainaction.com pathtopurchaselive.com
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Orlando, Florida
Action-packed program delivering new insights and networking opportunities!
• Inspiring keynote on “How Will the World Shop Next?” • Sessions on sustainability, driving purchases online and in-store, pandemic leadership lessons from Institute Hall of Fame inductees and roundtable discussions of critical industry issues. • Activation Stations from top-tier agencies and solution providers. • Creative Marketing Showcase featuring successful activations from brands and retailers.
• Adult Beverage Marketing Forum, welcome reception, celebration afterparty, and more!
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
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INDUSTRY AWARDS SHOPPER-FOCUSED EXCELLENCE
Best-in-class campaigns from this year’s Reggie Awards program
BY MICHAEL APPLEBAUM
For the second year in a row, we present overviews of the shopper-focused programs that were honored in the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) annual Reggie Awards. “Reggie,” shorthand for “cash register,” is an acknowledgment that the ultimate objective of any brand activation program is to drive sales. We’re grateful to have received the ANA’s support in compiling these brief case studies. All 10 campaigns are worthy of “best in class” designation for the unique ways in which they engaged shoppers and drove results.
Marketer: Anheuser-Busch Agency: FCB Chicago and FCB/RED Reggie Categories: Innovative Commerce Marketing (Gold); Shopper Marketing or Retailer-Specific Marketing (Gold)
When live sporting events were halted across the country at the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, beer manufacturers had to compensate for the loss of an in-stadium experience — and find new ways to get their products in people’s hands. While consumers were becoming more familiar with e-commerce delivery platforms due to COVID-19, there was still low consumer awareness and hesitation with alcohol delivery, likely due to assumed barriers of entry and questions on legality.
Looking to overcome those hurdles, Anheuser-Busch and agencies FCB Chicago and FCB/RED reinvented the BudLight.com/Delivery tool to help consumers find and purchase Bud Light products from retailers near them.
Bud Light chose a friendly beer vendor as the voice of its new campaign. A video ad took the vendor out of the stadium and showed him walking through a residential neighborhood, bellowing his recognizable “last call” to thirsty sports fans stuck at home — “Just kidding,” he says. “Your house, your rules” — while the tagline featured the BudLight.com/Delivery e-commerce portal.
The ad ran across broadcast TV and livestreaming platforms to coincide with the return of Major League Baseball games. The brand included placements that were targeted to appear at specific game moments, such as the seventhinning stretch, and featured doublebox units that showed the vendor next to in-game action to give sports fans the in-stadium feel. To maximize second-screen viewing, Bud Light created a range of digital and social executions that ran across YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Those consisted of targeted ads, posts on owned and wholesaler channels, in-stream/in-feed ads, bumper ads, Trueview/skippable ads and organic video. The brand also utilized a strong digital retargeting strategy to personalize ads for fans of major teams around game times. All spots featured the vendor and drove consumers directly to BudLight.com/Delivery.
The program delivered significant gains across the board. Bud Light more than doubled its e-commerce sales for July and August 2020 compared to the previous year, with $5.4 million in both months. Retailer click-outs from Bud Light’s e-commerce website more than doubled to an average click-out rate of 6.5% after launch. Traffic to the BudLight.com/Delivery website increased by a factor of 10 compared to pre-launch averages.
“Game On: Winning the PC Aisle”
Marketer: Intel Agency: Arc Worldwide and Digitas Reggie Categories: Shopper Marketing or Retailer-Specific Marketing (Silver); Experiential Marketing, Live or Virtual (Silver); Innovative Use of Marketing Technology (Gold)
Gaming enthusiasts are passionate and informed shoppers who are willing to pay a lot more for a high-powered gaming PC than most buyers — but only if they can experience the difference for themselves. Intel saw a huge opportunity to fill a gap in the retail experience. In most PC stores, the high-powered gaming PC looked exactly like every other computer.
Working with Arc Worldwide and Digitas, Intel created a new point-ofsale product, Gaming IPOS, a proprietary software that downloads directly onto retailers’ demo PCs. The application featured a first-of-its-kind detection engine that reads the Intel processor and unique gaming specs inside and instantly transforms that data into a custom gaming experience for every PC in the store. Gaming IPOS included dynamic visuals and exclusive gaming content for partner retailers, and allowed shoppers to play a game with real-time performance feedback to see exactly how the machine handled each move they made.
Since gamers do a ton of preliminary research online, Intel reached customers early with customized spec-needs banners and a website that offered the same deep dive. The brand also built partnerships with leading game developers to ensure that the demos the shoppers played in-store would be the same game types they would play at home. For added street cred, Intel participated in esports to bring the excitement of competitive gaming to aspiring pros through exclusive video content and profiles, including tips and tricks from some of the biggest names in the industry.
Gaming IPOS boosted PC sales for retailers around the world, sparking a 67% increase in purchase intent for an Intel gaming processor over other competitive gaming processors. An impressive 83% of shoppers who interacted with Gaming IPOS, and immediately purchased, chose an Intel processor. Gamers spent up to 7.8% more on an Intel gaming processor after interacting with Gaming IPOS; that’s a ground-breaking $156 per typical $2,000 gaming PC. And across all retailers, Intel saw a 14% increase in gaming PC sales over the competition.
Marketer: GSK Consumer Healthcare Agency: Arc Worldwide Reggie Category: Shopper Marketing or Retailer-Specific Marketing (Bronze)
Voltaren, a topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) gel from GSK Consumer Healthcare, faced several headwinds as it transitioned from prescription to over-the-counter status last year. Most shoppers didn’t know about it and retailers dismissed osteoarthritis pain relief as a niche segment in the overall $4.7 billion OTC pain category, despite the fact that the condition afflicts more than 32.5 million U.S. adults. Innovation in the osteoarthritis pain relief category was stagnant, with no prescription medications making the switch to OTC in the past 20 years. Working with Arc Worldwide, GSK developed a strategy around the idea of reconnecting osteoarthritis sufferers to the joy of movement and reducing their dependence on pills. Pre-launch consideration included digital ads with “coming soon” and “pre-order” messaging. In stores, endcaps and aisle signage with bright orange Voltaren packaging broke through the cluttered category. Partnerships were leveraged with Pandora, Paula Abdul (who starred in commercials) and the Arthritis Foundation. Voltaren customized its communications across key geographies based on a national “Arthritis Pain” index map, with media that ran across TV, e-commerce, search, online video and audio, programmatic, YouTube and paid social.
Launches were customized at each key retailer. Target promoted the movement theme with secondary placement in the sporting goods aisle. Walmart offered shoppers exclusive content from Paula Abdul. CVS created a deeper partnership with the Arthritis Foundation, and Walgreens focused on outreach at its pharmacy. And at Kroger, a health and wellness message linked Voltaren to food with osteoarthritis-friendly recipes.
Voltaren achieved its primary goal in becoming the No. 1 doctor-recommended OTC topical brand in just four months. It was the leading SKU in the external analgesic category and achieved a 10.8% share versus a goal of 6%. In addition, Voltaren contributed 70% of the external analgesic category growth for the key retailers, surpassing its $100 million consumption goal by 41.4%. It reached 3.3% household penetration, over one point higher than its closest competition, Tylenol Arthritis, at the same point in its launch.
Marketer: Kroger Agency: DDB New York Reggie Categories: Sponsorship or Licensed Property Marketing (Silver); Content Marketing (Bronze)
Kroger’s answer to Walmart’s long-standing vice grip on the value customer could be summed up as, “When they go low, we go lower.”
In a year of economic hardship brought on by the pandemic, Kroger seized an opportunity to attract budget-sensitive shoppers with insider tips on how to save money on highquality food — ultimately at prices even lower than those of Walmart. Kroger sought to develop a playful campaign that could break through an emotionally heavy advertising landscape and draw shoppers’ attention to multiple ways to save with the retailer: manufacturer coupons, promotional deals, Fuel Points and digital tools, including the Kroger app.
To bring its “lower than low” idea to life, Kroger worked with agencies Hornet and DDB New York to leverage the 2007 hip-hop song “Low” by Flo Rida. An animated spot featuring the catchy tune and signature “getting low” dance move — flawlessly executed by an endearing group of characters perusing grocery store aisles — became a fun and memorable way to educate shoppers on the various savings methods at Kroger.
The campaign launched in August 2020 across Kroger’s paid, owned and earned media channels, with ads appearing in broadcast TV, radio, out of home, online video and social media.
Kroger paired the campaign with targeted digital media tactics to drive customer action and leveraged messaging across proprietary marketing vehicles (e.g., POS, Kroger digital platforms, circulars, direct mail and email). Where possible, the campaign’s messaging was tied with relevant savings offers tailored to a given individual or audience, providing an even more personalized experience.
Get Low is one of the most successful Kroger campaigns in recent history. Kroger’s overall dollar share increased by 3.4%, primarily at the expense of mass/club retailers, during the period. The campaign generated three times the recall rate versus competitors and delivered the second-highest ROI ever for the company.
Marketer: Frito-Lay North America Agency: The Marketing Arm Reggie Categories: Content Marketing (Silver); Holiday or Seasonal Marketing (Bronze); Promotion Marketing (Silver)
With traditional gatherings on hold for much of 2020, Cheetos could not rely on a standard marketing approach to break through during the critical holiday season. For many younger consumers, it was the first time they would spend the holidays away from family and cook a holiday meal on their own. Thus, working with The Marketing Arm, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay’s Cheetos brand sought to earn a seat at America’s socially distanced holiday table while doing its part to help heal local communities devastated by the pandemic.
The centerpiece of the solution was “Bon Appe-Cheetos,” the first-ever holiday cookbook in which every recipe included a Cheetos snack as a major ingredient. The 64-page hardbound book featured 22 holiday-inspired recipes written in collaboration with the Frito-Lay culinary team and celebrity chefs Anne Burrell, Casey Webb, Richard Blais and Ronnie Woo. The book spanned a range of difficulty/heat levels and used a total of seven different flavors of Cheetos, with cheeky copy credited to Cheetos guru Chester Cheetah.
As part of the promotion, a custom site allowed fans to get their Cheetos-dusted hands on the limited-time cookbook by donating $35 to World Central Kitchen to help pandemic-impacted communities, restaurants and medical professionals. All told, $95,000 was raised for the charity and the book sold out in just 12 hours.
In addition, a kit with the cookbook and ingredients was sent to influencers to spread word about the program. The marketing partners shared the news and a few recipes from the book on social media, where a contest gave away a cookbook to a handful of lucky fans.
Bon Appe was a solid growth driver for Cheetos. Fourth quarter sales grew 8.6% year over year, outpacing the salty snacks category growth by 1.7%. In November, with the launch of the cookbook, Cheetos sales were up 8.3% and outpaced both category (6.6%) and subcategory (3.5%) growth.
Marketer: Mars Wrigley Confectionery Agency: The Marketing Arm Reggie Categories: Influencer Marketing (Silver); Sports or eSports Marketing (Silver); Creativity & Innovation (Bronze)
Snickers, a longtime official sponsor of the NFL, has endeared itself to football fans in various ways through the years, including its memorable Super Bowl commercial starring Betty White back in 2010. But the brand was not satisfied with the amount of buzz it was generating throughout the entire NFL season. So, the Mars Wrigley brand decided to come up with a new program for avid NFL fans, whom research showed were three times more likely to read, follow and engage with NFL content on social platforms.
Working with The Marketing Arm, Snickers looked to college football’s sideline awards given out to players to celebrate after big plays — most notably The University of Miami’s “Turnover Chain,” which lit up social media from 2017 to 2019 — as the inspiration for its “Snickers Hungriest Player” award. A collaboration with acclaimed jeweler Ben Baller led to the creation of the 2020 Snickers Chain, and the program was supported by PR activity with NFL Hall of Famer Ed Reed.
A media blitz started on week one of ESPN’s “Sunday Countdown,” where cast members showed off the Snickers Chain and kibbitzed about the award, followed by a rigorous 14-week activation throughout the NFL season. Player selections were made and deals were struck every Monday, with social postings continuing throughout the week. Snickers also secured national coverage through NFL and media partnerships, including integrations with “Sunday Countdown,” two 30-second TV spots produced by NFL Films, including Monday Night Football in week two and NFL Honors in February. Snickers ultimately activated with 14 different Hungriest Players of the Week, nine of whom were selected to the Pro Bowl.
The Snickers Hungriest Player program exceeded all goals and expectations for social engagement metrics and delivered a 4.3% growth for Snickers Share Size Pack (the brand’s biggest priority in terms of dollar sales), including a one-point increase in household penetration in the fourth quarter of 2020 versus the previous year.
Marketer: Hershey Co. Agency: SheSpeaks and TPN Reggie Category: Influencer Marketing (Bronze)
It is not easy for candy manufacturers to generate excitement in the weeks following Easter, which is typically when U.S. sales of chocolate peak. The spring holiday season was even more challenging in 2020, as the pandemic moved a significant percentage of candy sales online. Thus, Hershey shifted its strategy for Kit Kat and created new messaging focused on “limited-edition flavors” and “available at Walmart the next time you are there.”
To attract its core Walmart shopper of busy, Millennial moms with kids ages 6 and older, Hershey introduced two limited-edition Kit Kat flavors — Birthday Cake and Apple Pie — and launched the items exclusively at Walmart for 30 days before expanding distribution to other retailers. To capitalize on this exclusivity window, Hershey built an influencer marketing campaign to drive awareness for the new Kit Kat flavors at Walmart.
Working with agencies SheSpeaks and TPN, Hershey used advanced influencer selection methods to identify Kit Kat and Walmart brand passionate influencers who were charged with creating engaging content to increase trial at Walmart. A targeted distribution plan leveraged organic social posts across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Twitter to further connect with a wider range of the brand’s core shopper. Influencers included Alyson Hannigan of the former TV series “How I Met Your Mother” and Hispanic TV celebrity Barbara Burmudo, both of whom added light-hearted fun to posts that enticed followers to celebrate the small moments with their families during a difficult time.
Birthday Cake and Apple Pie Kit Kat together became the No. 1 everyday limited-edition launch at Walmart in recent history. At a time when impulse item purchases were not in the forefront of shoppers’ minds, influencers drove online and grocery pickup sales, making Kit Kat Birthday Cake Hershey’s No. 2 instant consumable item at Walmart in April and May. Both flavors combined to drive sell-through 10% higher than the established goal.
Marketer: CVS Agency: IBM Watson Advertising Reggie Category: Innovative Use of Marketing Technology (Silver)
In the U.S., many more people are open to getting a flu shot than actually get the shot. Data from Morning Consult and the IBM’s The Weather Company revealed that about 37% of Americans don’t get a flu shot, although 83% say avoiding the flu is important to them. In addition, 62% of Baby Boomers say they always get a flu shot, but only 23% of Millennials take the same action.
This was a huge opportunity for CVS and IBM to team up on a data-driven marketing campaign to encourage flu shot adoption. To reach and engage users in a contextually relevant environment, CVS sponsored a new feature in The Weather Channel app called “Flu Insights with Watson,” which alerted mobile users when they were most at risk of catching the flu. Artificial intelligence technology allowed the app to predict and provide alerts during increased risk conditions. Users then had access to an industryfirst 15-day flu forecast that displayed the risk ranging from low to high, according to ZIP code. The experience also included illness prevention tips and the latest flu reports from the CDC to provide users with actionable insights.
Through the use of IBM’s predictive illness data, CVS was able to drive awareness and engagement ahead of CDC-reported flu activity and educate users on flu prevention in the moments that mattered. In addition, the Flu Insights with Watson sponsorship included a flu details page that served as a hub for flu-related tips and content, localized flu insights and contextual alerts that prompted user action.
This was a highly successful partnership for both IBM Watson Advertising and CVS. The mobile app garnered more than 42 million unique visitors and 644 million total ad impressions served with 68% viewability, exceeding internal by more than 120%. CVSprovided “Find Your Local CVS” messaging converting over 77% of module clicks. In addition, IBM ran an added value paid media campaign promoting the partnership, which amassed 6.7 million clicks and 8 million video views.
Marketer: Hershey Co. Agency: TPN Reggie Category: Local, Regional or Market Specific Marketing (Gold)
Candy is not normally part of the Dia De Los Muertos Mexican holiday tradition, but 2020 was hardly a normal year. Texas retailer H-E-B cut its factory order of Halloween-specific SKUs by 18.3% — a huge blow to Hershey, which depends on the confection-heavy season for a significant amount of its sales. Looking to close the gap, Hershey and agency TPN sought out to capitalize on the popularity of Dia De Los Muertos with H-E-B’s core audience of Gen X female Hispanic shoppers in a unique and engaging way.
Celebrations for Dia De Los Muertos (which translates to “Day of the Dead”) typically feature skull makeup and folk art. Hershey used this tradition as the inspiration for its Sugar Skull Candy Tray, an assortment of Hershey’s candy assembled in the shape of a colorful skull. The DIY solution — built with simple kitchen supplies such as a baking sheet and parchment paper, along with various Hershey candies — was easily modified and personalized to make it simple to incorporate into their celebrations and family traditions.
Hershey promoted the program across the path to purchase. A landing page at HEB.com included directions for the tray and easy-to-follow instructions for traditional paper flowers to add vibrancy to the sugar skulls, along with a coupon offer and add-to-cart capability to make it easier to buy. Hispanic regional influencers aggregated their content into the landing page, and influencer content was amplified across Facebook and Instagram. In-store merchandising included a high-impact bin display and small, at-shelf signage in candy aisles.
As a result of the program, Hershey closed its $1.2 million sales gap and went above and beyond, selling an incremental $146,000. The company also sold 100% of the incremental party bags sold in, shattering its 92% sell-through threshold, achieving 121.4% sell-through at H-E-B.
Marketer: Mondelez International Agency: VMLY&R Commerce Reggie Category: New Product or Service Launch
For the most part, COVID-19 created a particularly challenging environment in which to introduce a new product — unless it came from a familiar and trusted brand name like Ritz. Looking to attract Albertsons shoppers where they were most engaged (i.e., at home on their smartphones), Mondelez International and agency VMLY&R Commerce sought to build awareness for the company’s new ovenbaked Ritz Cheese Crispers in a two-stage solution.
The first wave, which came in July, focused on initial trial. In the pre-shop phase, customers were sent animated mobile banners through Albertsons Performance Media that highlighted taste appeal and offered the retailer’s signature “Just for U” digital coupon to specific Albertsons’ divisions. Other divisions received a month-long Big Book circular ad with a Just for U offer. In stores, customers were greeted with checkstands and lobby displays, as well as shelf tags promoting the offer and the new product news, providing additional product education and navigation.
The second wave, in September, focused on re-trial with similar tactics. Social influencers were added to continue the conversation and drive awareness by leveraging an authentic voice. With instore sampling halted due to the pandemic, shoppers were given their first taste of Cheese Crispers with Albertsons Companies’ new Drive Up and Go sampling program, complete with a promo code to drive repeat purchase. Incremental in-store display and shelf tags aided in navigation and education for those shoppers who were converting.
The launch programming proved successful despite the challenges. Overall cracker category sales increased 17% in the first four weeks of the launch, and 67% of sales were incremental to the category. Ritz sales increased by 26% in wave one and 4% in wave two. The program drove household trial for Ritz Cheese Crispers, with 84,000 new households added in wave one and 38,000 in wave two. Almost one-third of new buyers were also new to the category at Albertsons. IQ
GROCERY DELIVERY FACILITATES OMNICHANNEL GROWTH
BY AMY BAXTER
As the COVID-19 pandemic surged in the spring of 2020, online orders for groceries soared as well, leaving many retailers scrambling to meet demand for both pickup and delivery.
Many grocery retailers had existing partnerships with delivery service providers such as Instacart, but the surge led to a boom in new partnerships and expansions between retailers and thirdparty vendors. And as the pandemic continues to wax and wane in the U.S., the role of delivery within overall omnichannel growth in the grocery sector continues to adapt.
NEW BASELINE FOR DELIVERY SERVICE
That initial surge for grocery delivery has leveled o throughout much of 2021. With restaurants reopening and more consumers feeling comfortable traveling, other food options are regaining some of the share. Grocery pickup orders are seeing staying power, which means the role delivery plays in a grocer’s overall omnichannel strategy may still be evolving.
“There will be a new baseline established,” says Sylvain Perrier, CEO and president of Mercatus. “This is the perfect opportunity for retailers to be mindful of the consumers they are servicing, and determine if they are not using e-commerce, are they going back to brick-and-mortar, are they staying with them or going back to other retailers?”
Mercatus, a grocery e-commerce platform for retailers, recently published a report revealing grocery delivery orders are not growing as they were during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The U.S. online grocery market generated $6.8 billion in sales in June 2021, down 23% from the same month in 2020, according to Mercatus. Compared to May 2021, June sales were down 3%, driven by decreases in the number of monthly active users, order frequency and spending per order.
However, that increase in online orders hasn’t totally vanished, and grocery retailers, including Midwestern supermarket chain Hy-Vee, are still anticipating heightened delivery orders.
“Use of [the] Aisles Online [platform] quadrupled when the pandemic rst began,” says Dawn E. Buzynski, director of communications at Hy-Vee. “While more customers are coming back into the store, we have noticed that many are still enjoying the convenience and ease of using our e-commerce platform and continue to order their groceries online and choose to either pick up curbside or have [it] delivered.”
Additionally, the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases this summer is creating renewed uncertainty that could in uence consumers to rely more on online grocery channels. Several retailers, including Walmart, Target, Apple, McDonald’s and Kohl’s, recently reinstated mask mandates for employees and will encourage customers to wear masks in COVID-19 hotspots. The public health conditions are likely to bring back a rise in demand for grocery delivery. “We’re forecasting a renewed increase [in grocery delivery] coming with the fourth wave [of COVID-19 cases],” Perrier says. “There are slow upticks in certain markets. Gone are the days where delivery is outranking everything else. Click-and-collect, [or] pickup at the store, is very interesting to consumers, and it’s something retailers must invest in. Although we’ve seen an overall demographic ee from online from the height of the pandemic, we are forecasting they will return.” Part of the recent slowdown in grocery delivery may also be due to seasonal changes, with more people out of their homes during the warmer months. Delivery demand could spike again as temperatures drop in the fall. Hy-Vee,
CEO and president of Mercatus. “This is the perfect opportunity for retailers to be mindful of the consumers they are servicing, and determine if they are not using e-commerce, are they going back to brick-and-mortar, are they staying with them or going back to other retailers?”
Mercatus, a grocery e-commerce platform for retailers, recently summer is creating renewed uncertainty that could in uence consumers to rely more on online grocery channels. Several retailers, including Walmart, Target, Apple, McDonald’s and Kohl’s, recently reinstated mask mandates for employees and will encourage customers to wear masks in COVID-19 hotspots. The public health conditions are likely to bring back a rise in demand for grocery delivery. “We’re forecasting a renewed increase [in grocery delivery] coming with the fourth wave [of COVID-19 cases],” Perrier says. “There are slow upticks in certain markets. Gone are the days where delivery is outranking everything else. Click-and-collect, [or] pickup at the store, is very interesting to consumers, and it’s something retailers must invest in. Although we’ve seen an overall demographic ee from online from the height of the pandemic, we are forecasting they will return.” Part of the recent slowdown in grocery delivery may also be due to seasonal changes, with more people out of their homes during the warmer months. Delivery demand could spike again as temperatures drop in the fall. Hy-Vee,
which o ers its “Aisles Online” digital platform for grocery pickup or delivery orders, doesn’t expect delivery orders to slow down overall, even with some adjustments here and there.
“We are still in a pandemic, and many customers still prefer to use our e-commerce platforms over going into an actual store,” says Hy-Vee’s Buzynski. “We don’t see that changing long-term. Our Aisles Online service is incredibly convenient, and for those who had not used it pre-pandemic, having groceries and meals delivered has become part of their new normal.”
Other forecasters expect much of the same, although grocery retailers will undoubtedly give up some of the huge gains they made in 2020.
“We’re expecting the food retail industry to see its rst [yearover-year] decline in 20 years as it cycles COVID tailwinds and ‘food away from home’ sees more signs of recovery in [the second half of 2021],” according to analysts from UBS Global Research.
OWNED VS. THIRD-PARTY DELIVERY
While nearly all grocery retailers have found some way to deliver orders to consumers, there are a couple of di erent approaches to take. Grocery retailers have invested in their own delivery services or outsourced to third-party delivery service providers — and some have done both.
— DAWN E. BUZYNSKI, HY-VEE
“Food retailers may use contract workers/outsourcing for grocery delivery simply because the labor costs are lower in the short-term compared to hiring grocery delivery employees,” says Cara Rasch, research analyst, food & beverage, with Packaged Facts. “This is also one reason why many grocers are using thirdparty delivery companies such as Instacart.”
Instacart is an attractive partner to retailers for a few reasons, including the convenience of its app for consumers to order from multiple venues in one place, the ability to help smaller businesses with less capital to build out their own services, and its Instacart Express membership that comes with free delivery on orders over $35 for a monthly or annual subscription fee, according to Rasch.
“We had already been moving in the direction of using thirdparty vendors for grocery delivery as early as late 2019; however, the pandemic required us to implement these partnerships very quickly so we could serve the needs of customers who chose to move to our e-commerce platforms to have their groceries, meals and medical prescriptions delivered,” Hy-Vee’s Buzynski says of the retailer’s strategy.
DoorDash, which added grocery delivery services to its platform in 2020, is another one of the top service providers for retailers and is used by Hy-Vee.
“Currently we [at Hy-Vee] use DoorDash as our delivery partner in nearly all our markets,” Buzynski says. “Using a third party allows us to focus our resources on giving all our customers our complete attention — whether we are meeting their needs in the store, lling online orders and preparing them for pickup or delivery, and ensuring our store shelves and cases are fully stocked at all times.”
The decision to build out their own delivery services or leverage third-party vendors is based on cost, convenience and ability to deliver on demand. Mass retailers that can make bigger capital investments are more likely to build out their own delivery services than smaller, regional players.
“In the long run, direct delivery services will be less expensive than third-party delivery services. Direct control will also be better for retailers due to full ownership of the online shopping and delivery experience and being able to provide better customer service,” Rasch says. “Grocers know that they need to o er online shopping options to remain competitive and build up market share now as online sales are expanding rapidly. This is why big players with the capital, such as Kroger and Walmart, have made massive investments to gear up for online grocery shopping and in-house order processing, picking, packing and delivery.”
However, most retailers won’t shut out the third-party delivery service providers. Companies o ering both types of delivery capabilities are likely serving a bigger base of potential online grocery shoppers. Even if Kroger, for example, o ers its own delivery services, there are some customers who will always use Instacart as their go-to for delivery orders. IQ
