About a dozen years ago, Shopper Marketing was conceived as a corporate, cross-functional business strategy. Our most recent research finds that a solid majority (58.5%) adhere to this fundamental, organizing principle of Shopper Marketing. A significant plurality (48%) view Shopper as a function of Marketing, as opposed to Sales (36%) or General Management (16%).
Further supporting this view, survey respondents say that the top three benefits of Shopper are strategic and marketing-focused: strategic collaboration with retailers (60%); better understanding of consumers as shoppers (55%); and improved integration with marketing and sales (48%).
However, the way in which Shopper initiatives are implemented and evaluated tells a different story. Sixty-two percent say that Shopper initiatives are are typically executed through the retailer’s merchandising group, not the retailer’s marketing group.
Sixty-two percent also say that the primary purpose of Shopper initiatives is to grow the retailer’s sales and profits, not to please and attract shoppers. Slightly less than half (49%) are investing in Shopper research. Key metrics of success are: short-term ROI (68%); sales lift (59%); and incremental volume and margin to the retailer (57%).
Longer-term, strategic, marketing-focused measures lag: brand share (38%); retailer penetration and support (29%); return on retailer relationship (27%).
These findings are underscored by the extent to which Shopper is understood and valued by those in Sales, Marketing and Senior Management. According to our survey, Sales understands Shopper’s value “very or extremely” well (52%), followed by Marketing (37%), and Senior Management (24%).
Based on these results, it appears that: 1) Despite broad agreement on best-practice, Shopper is largely not being implemented on that basis; and 2) Shopper is not well understood or highly valued by those in Marketing or Senior Management.
These issues were not lost on survey respondents, with 57% saying a lack of communication between departments – a prerequisite of cross-discipline collaboration – is the number one obstacle to achieving excellence in Shopper.