The Importance of an Insightful Shopper Marketing Strategy

• Written by Victor Sosa

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At The Phoenix when we embark on a project whose main goal is to increase sales at the Point of Purchase, we prioritize Brand Building over short term goals as the primary objective. We believe that in order to design and implement meaningful Shopper Marketing programs that increase sales and profitability, the programming must be meaningful, engaging and improve overall Brand Health.

What is Shopper Marketing?

Shopper Marketing is the process that considers the opportunities to drive consumption, identifies the Shopper that would need to purchase a brand and the drivers (rational and emotional) that must be leveraged in order to enable that consumption. Keep in mind that Shopper Marketing is not limited to in-store marketing activities, but rather begins when the shopper wants (emotional) or needs (rational) to own your product or service.

Another consideration to keep in mind is that many times the Consumer and the Shopper are not one and the same. There are instances where this is obvious, e.g. the consumer and shopper of pet food or diapers. However, there are other instances when the distinction is not as clear, as is the case for body care products for teenagers or snacks for young kids, where the Consumer can greatly influence the Shopper.

Obviously, how we shop has changed drastically in just the past few decades – and that swing has only accelerated after the world came to a stand-still due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Instead of window shopping, many customers now rely on AI product recommendations and shop via mobile without ever setting foot in a store. In other words, today’s Shoppers are omnishoppers – they blend channels and shop fluidly according to their unique needs. Often times, offline behavior doesn’t necessarily translate online - how shoppers shop certain categories in brick-and-mortar stores often differs significantly from how they shop them online. Moreover, at The Phoenix we are cognizant that even though retail technology and shopper demands may be constantly changing, one thing that will always be vitally important to affect sales is the Shopper experience.

Devising Shopper Insights

Before designing and implementing an effective Shopper Marketing program, it is critical to gather and uncover meaningful Shopper Insights. But what is a Shopper Insight? A Shopper Insight refers to the understanding of information upon which shopper marketing is based, as a focus on the process that takes place between that first thought the consumer has about purchasing an item, all the way through the selection of that item.

Some Shopper Insights that may help you make informed decisions about your Brand

Shopper Marketing Strategy

When it comes to developing the appropriate strategy for a Shopper Marketing program, The Phoenix adheres to the following process:

Shopper Marketing Programs

The Phoenix delivers turn-key Shopper Marketing programs that leverage key drivers to increase purchase intention at the point of sale in the following areas:

• 1:1 Consumer Engagement
• In-Store Activations & Promotions
• Pop-Up Activations
• Interactive Merchandising Units
• Plan-O-Gram design and implementation

At The Phoenix, we have helped many Brands develop and implement effective Shopper Marketing programming. Across all programs we managed to create immediate impact to the bottom line, but more importantly, these programs continued impacting sales and profitability by improving overall Brand Equity and cementing the foundation for a better relationship with Retailer partners.