Winning at the digital shelf has never been harder, but the rewards have never been greater.
Successful CPG brands recognize that the digital shelf is a lever for success at brick-and-mortar retail. Nearly 95% of food and beverage sales and 90% of total grocery sales transact in-store, but there’s currently limited visibility into how retail media ads influence these sales. Even assuming that online ad exposure drives modest offline-sales lifts, total attributed sales could be several times higher than ecommerce data alone.
Citing recent research from Walmart, Mike Black, CMO at Profitero, said 82% of Walmart shoppers use their smartphones while shopping for groceries, and 43% use it to compare brands and products on Walmart.com.
“You realize that ecommerce isn’t just a channel,” Black said. “It’s a shopping tool.”
As the link between online and offline becomes better understood, grocery retailers with the biggest store footprints—Walmart and Kroger—will gain the upper hand. Walmart boasts the largest scale in grocery, but Kroger’s loyalty card advantage could prove more important in the measurement footrace.
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