Written by the Institute in collaboration with Nielsen

A supplement to Shopper Marketing magazine

Meeting the OMNISHOPPER Challenge

INDUSTRY REPORT

Change in Brand Planning Behavior Online vs. O ine Snacks Department

BRAND PLANNED FEW BRANDS IN MIND NO BRAND PLANNING

+6.9%+7.9%

+3.9%

+11.8%

+2.8%+1.4%

-18.9%

-10.2%

-4.4% SNACKS FOOD TOTAL

PLA

NN

ING

BEH

AVIO

RO

NLI

NE

IN-S

TORE

Change in Impulse BehaviorOnline vs. B&M Department Level

-9.4% Frozen

Fresh

Health

Pet Care

-1.9%

-1.5%

-1.3%

1.9%

4.4%

4.6%

5.0%

Personal Care

Snacks

HH Care

Grocery

MORE IMPULSE ONLINEIN-STORE

How does influencer interaction changeonline vs. o�ine?

women’s shaving sports drinks

41% less 62% more

Shoppers are evolving — but are CPG marketers keeping up? In a benchmark research study, Nielsen's

“Shopper Essentials Suite” compares online and offline shopping behaviors, providing insights for strengthening omnichannel strategies.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYn Today’s consumers are omnishoppers – they blend channels and shop

fluidly according to their unique needs, presenting both a challenge and a range of opportunities to marketers.

n Offline behavior doesn’t necessarily translate online - how shoppers shop certain categories in brick-and-mortar stores often differs vastly from how they shop them online.

n One size does not fit all – these omnichannel differences vary drastically from category to category, especially across planning behavior and marketing touchpoints.

n Granular insights matter – a measurable and actionable category-level understanding of omnichannel shopping behavior is the key to success in the omnichannel environment.

hroughout the consumer packaged goods industry, one thing is clear: e-commerce cannot be ignored. In 2016, Americans spent $33 billion on CPG items via e-commerce across both food and non-food categories, representing roughly 3% of total CPG sales. Over the next eight years, according to Nielsen estimates, domestic CPG e-commerce sales could grow at a rate of 18% per year, result-

ing in a $147 billion U.S. market by 2025. The same holds true worldwide, with industry estimates indicating global e-commerce sales are now approaching the $2 trillion mark.

Online shopping has also fundamentally changed CPG shopping behavior, al-tering the ways shoppers are influenced and how they plan their trips. But while brands and retailers have doggedly pursued best practices in omnichannel mar-keting and e-commerce technologies, not nearly enough is known about under-lying shopper attitudes, motivations and behaviors, and whether or not their marketing investments are actually driving ROI.

“In order to build the seamless omnichannel experiences that today’s con-sumers demand, CPG marketers must first understand how and why shoppers engage across all channels and platforms,” says Jordan Rost, vice president of consumer insights at Nielsen. “There’s no question that e-commerce has been disruptive to a large portion of the CPG industry. However, it also represents a tremendous opportunity for marketers. By leveraging data and insights to meet the needs of today’s multitasking, digitally leaning shoppers, all brands and re-tailers will have the opportunity to succeed in e-commerce.”

CHANNEL BLENDING, SHOPPER FLUIDITY Today’s consumers are actually “omnishoppers” – shoppers who uncompromis-ingly pursue and leverage the channel that best suits their needs. They are om-nipresent but uniquely individual, and their purchase decisions are influenced by highly specific needs. These omnishoppers incorporate their preferred digi-tal tools and online research into a fluid process that blends in-store and on-line shopping. In fact, we’re already seeing the blending of channel preferences across CPG. As CPG shoppers increasingly look to e-commerce as a viable op-tion, certain categories will become more established than others.

Online, in fact, has already eclipsed the most popular shopping destination for U.S. shoppers – grocery – in the general merchandise (e.g., apparel, school sup-plies, toys, electronics, etc.) and beauty care departments and is trickling into other areas of CPG as well. Next will be health care, then personal care and house-hold products. Increasingly, food items will also filter online, starting with shelf-stable foods like snacks and dry grocery. [See chart 1 on page 3.]

However, to truly understand all of today’s consumer behaviors, marketers must be able to take in a more holistic view of the consumer at every touchpoint, regardless of channel, along the shopper journey. To bridge an industry-wide “offline vs. online shopper” insights gap, Nielsen has made “Total Consumer Measurement” the launching point for its Shopper Essentials solution suite. This paper is focused on two major areas stemming from the Nielsen Shopper Essen-tials* research:

n planning activities (category, brand, spend and quantity); and

n influencers (including advertising, packaging, displays, promo-tions, product recommendations and social media).

INDUSTRY REPORT

T

2

“”

Today, consumers of all varieties don’t go online – they live online.

Jordan Rost, VP, consumer insights, Nielsen

*For more on this study’s methodology, see sidebars on page 5 and 8.

3

Overall, the research illuminates two new realities: How shoppers shop cer-tain categories in brick-and-mortar (B&M) stores often differs from how they’ll shop them online; and there are wide variations in shopping behavior from cat-egory to category, even within a single channel. The Shopper Essentials analysis highlights why every brand and retailer needs to have a deeper understanding of these two key omnishopper dynamics:

n Impulsivity: Not only is planning different in e-commerce, but the level of overall planning declines online. Marketers have a greater opportunity to capture brand-switchers and impulse pur-chases online, as shifts away from category and brand planning increase and the door is opened for more reminded purchases and true impulse purchases.

n E-fluence: Both physical and digital marketing tactics have a sig-nificantly stronger impact on purchases made in the online space. Marketers have a greater opportunity to attract and convert online shoppers, especially pre-trip.

In the pages that follow, a variety of examples are considered that spotlight these findings and give a peek behind the curtain into the motivations, behaviors and attitudes of omnichannel shoppers. These types of category-level insights are important because they are actionable and measureable over time, handing marketers the tools they need to succeed in the omnichannel environment.

8 11

49

9

8

35

013

14

43

19

6

41

111

15

51

20

14

26

9

19

45

48

17

7

8

37

30

26

16

6

3

50

29

19

412

37

30

33

65

2

51

24

22

221

47

28

27

21

56

17

24

1

42

18

28

1 1

1

22

15

21

13

0 1 101

83

7 41

65

16

831

27

Channel Preference by Aisle*

GeneralMerch.

BeautyCare

HealthCare

PersonalCare

HHProducts

*Channel preference normalized as a share of total responses. Data will not sum to 100%

Snacks GroceryItems

Beverages DairyEtc.

FrozenFoods

FreshFoods

PreparedFoods

Bev Al(21+)

Online

C-Store

Drug

Dollar

Club

Mass

Grocery

Source: Nielsen Shopper Essentials Benchmark Study, 2016

Chart 1

THE CURIOUS CASE OF IMPULSIVITYA common industry belief is that less impulse buying occurs online than at brick-and-mortar stores. It seems like a logical notion, given the nature of shopping over the internet. While in theory, marketers would seem to have more ability to customize the shop, the common belief is that impulse purchasing online de-clines due to the absence of immediate gratification.

These assumptions about impulse behavior, however, are not borne out by the research. In aggregate, both total food and total non-food categories by them-selves show an overall higher level of impulse behavior in the online space compared to brick-and-mortar (2.2% higher for food and 1.4% higher for non-food, respectively). At the department level, the most dramatic increases online as compared to B&M occurred in grocery, snacks, household and personal care. Within specific categories, the largest positive differences in impulsivity favor-ing online over brick-and-mortar were found in crackers/pretzels and chips/pop-corn/snack mixes. [See chart 2a, below, and 2b on page 7.]

This does not mean, however, that the online space is a perfect breeding ground for impulse shopping across all categories. There are many categories where the data show just the opposite, especially in the fresh and frozen foods de-partments. There are even anomalies in such categories as cosmetics and candy, which will be explored shortly.

Impulse behavior does not occur in a vacuum. The changes being seen in im-pulse behavior across channels are a result of a shift in shoppers’ planning be-havior overall. Across both food and non-food CPG categories, aggregate levels of category planning fall (by 6% and 3%, respectively), leading to increases in true impulse, as well as “reminder” purchases, where the category did not make the initial shopping list, per se, but the shopper was reminded of the need to buy upon stimulation during the shopping trip itself. At the top line, this is an oppor-tunity for marketers to drive a different kind of impulse purchase online.

Going a level deeper, the research shows brand planning is a much less impor-

INDUSTRY REPORT

4

Change in Impulse BehaviorOnline vs. B&M Department Level

-9.4% Frozen

Fresh

Health

Pet Care

-1.9%

-1.5%

-1.3%

1.9%

4.4%

4.6%

5.0%

Personal Care

Snacks

HH Care

Grocery

MORE IMPULSE ONLINEIN-STORE

Source: Nielsen Shopper Essentials Benchmark Study, 2016

“”Gina Wiggemans, associate client

manager, Nielsen

Driving the online candy purchase is more than just being present at checkout.

Chart 2a

tant trip driver online than it is at B&M stores. Across all categories in aggre-gate, brand planning decreases noticeably by 4%. This finding may be explained a couple of ways. First, there is the “endless aisle” nature of the internet — i.e., a website isn’t limited by physical shelf-space and technically can have unlim-ited assortment. This means that shoppers are exposed to unfamiliar brands, increasing the likelihood of purchasing something entirely new.

Additionally, there is a built-in sense of novelty that comes with the online shopping experience. Shoppers go on-line with a comparatively more open mind about exploring new products than they do at B&M stores. This is evidenced directly in the data: When asked to note their main motivations for a recent category purchase, the percentage of online shoppers who claimed “the product was new to me so I decided to try it” was almost dou-ble offline shoppers (4.1% versus 2.3% overall across all categories).

The shift away from brand planning is especially apparent in food, where it drops off by 10%. “In food categories, online shoppers tend to have a few brands in mind as they begin their trip, instead of knowing exactly which brand they’ll buy,” says Laurie Rains, group vice president, U.S. retail con-sumer & shopper analytics, Nielsen.

“For food marketers, it is very im-portant to get into the consideration set and then prove their worth to get selected over other brands,” Rains says. “Challenger brands have better opportunity online as shoppers seem more open-minded about brands in the online space.”

The snacks department showed one of the most dramatic shifts in brand planning behavior, which drops an eye-popping 19%. Across every category within snacks, shop-pers were also more willing to try new products/brands online versus offline. There is a clear link between this exploratory behavior and the jump in impulse behavior for the snacks department. At the category level, crackers/popcorn shows the biggest increase in trying new products within snacks, and is also the No. 1 category across the entire survey in terms of showing an increase in impulse behavior online. Similar trends are also seen in nuts/seeds/trail mixes. “In categories like these, there’s a particularly strong opportunity to steal share online,” says Rost. [See chart 3a on page 9 and 3b on page 10.]

5

THE METHODOLOGY Nielsen Shopper Essentials consists of three solutions that comple-ment each other and can be customized for specific needs. Togeth-er, they paint a picture of a brand’s shopper across the entire path to purchase. The Nielsen Shopper Essentials suite consists of three complementary solutions:

1. “Category Shopping Fundamentals,” delivering insights on what drives a shopper to the store, and why they make the choices they do;

2. “Digital Shopping Fundamentals,” highlighting shoppers’ digital path to purchase, from online to in-store; and

3. “Store Choice Drivers,” focusing on why shoppers choose some stores over others, plus how they engage with them online.

Category Shopping Fundamentals• Sample size: 28,142 respondents• Collection method: Online survey• Target respondents: Primary grocery shoppers; Age 18+• Coverage: Continental U.S.• Field dates: May-June 2015

Digital Shopping Fundamentals• Sample size: 47,055• Collection method: Online survey• Target respondents: Primary grocery shoppers; Purchased

qualifying CPG item online in the past three months; Age 18+• Coverage: Continental U.S.• Field date: June 2016

Store Choice Drivers• Sample size: 42,449 respondents• Collection method: Online survey• Target respondents: Primary grocery shoppers; Age 18+• Geographic coverage: Total U.S.• Channel coverage: Grocery, mass, club, dollar, drug,

convenience, online• Field dates: April-May 2016

INDUSTRY REPORT

6

In sum, there is a shift away from category and brand planning behavior in favor of reminder and impulse purchases, and a more open-minded shopper willing to try something new. So what does this mean for marketers? There is a greater opportunity to capture brand-switchers and impulse purchases online for many categories. Marketers should harness their knowledge of the digital consumer and tailor personalized impulse recommendations to every user based on that knowledge or follow more of an impulse strategy for those categories for which consumers are most open to alternatives.

However, not all categories operate alike. Let’s explore two categories in par-ticular that buck the overall impulse trend and require different marketing tac-tics as a result.

A CLOSER LOOK: CANDY & COSMETICSWhile overall trends are important, these omnichannel shopper insights are most critical and actionable at the category level. The case is no different with the findings on impulse behavior. Some categories retained their impulsivity on-line, while others produced large swings in behavior in either direction. Two individual cases stood out:

1. The normally impulsive candy category was the only category within the snacks department that declined in impulse behavior online, and rather drastically at that: down 8% overall; 5% with Baby Boomers and a whopping 13% among Millennials.

2. The cosmetics category showed a dramatic decrease in impul-sive behavior online (down 15.4%) despite a marginal overall increase in the larger personal care department (up 1.9%).

The former results are not surprising to candy category experts, given that instant gratification and immediate satiation of cravings is less possible with on-line purchases, though that may change as retailers find new ways to speed up deliveries.

“In stores, waiting in line at the checkout counter creates a natural environ-ment for shoppers to impulsively ‘grab’ candy that is physically located right in front of them. Plus, candy purchases at the checkstand have long benefitted from the ‘changemaker’ mentality – that is, they often use it as a way to get rid of unwanted change,” explains Garett Chau, senior vice president of professional services at Nielsen. “Online, buying behavior manifests differently. Consumers are more in control; they can check out at any time with no line or last-minute temptations. It is also a lot harder to round up a shopper’s tab because you’re not dealing with pocket change. Finding new ways to encourage consumers to im-pulsively add candy to their online basket will be critical for confectionary firms to win online.”

For these reasons, e-commerce investments by candy manufacturers have generally lagged behind other CPG companies. However, innovative candy mar-keters can capitalize on the somewhat uncharted territory by introducing new products (package types, formats, exclusives, etc.) and relevant messaging, says Gina Wiggemans, associate client manager at Nielsen.

“Driving the online candy purchase is more than just being present at check-out. It is critical for candy manufacturers to be present and reach consumers in the moment when they are posting comments or interacting with candy brands online,” Wiggemans says. Effective tactics might include running banner ads at the checkout basket page or creating callouts on the “suggested items” portion of

“”

Online cosmetics shoppers are always on a treasure hunt.

Christina Spizzirri, VP, professional services, Nielsen

retailer websites. “Very few, if any, online purchases will be comprised of a single candy bar as its own basket,” says Wiggemans. “Candy needs to find a way to be a part of a bigger basket or incite demand from consumers who are in the process of finalizing their baskets.”

Turning to the cosmetics category, the data show that out of all 84 categories, cosmetics showed the largest decrease (15%) in impulse behavior online versus offline. This result may not come as a surprise to cosmetics marketers, given that a shopper’s tactile interaction with packaging and test products — an important driver of cosmetics purchases in stores — cannot be easily replicated online.

However, there are other ways to influence cosmetics shoppers online that take advantage of the rich media environment of the internet, says Christina Spizzirri, vice president of professional services at Nielsen. “Online cosmetics shoppers are always on a treasure hunt. They’re looking for a fun experience that is not always available at a mass merchant or drug store,” says Spizzirri. Ef-fective techniques could include posting videos with makeup tips, creating tie-ins with beauty bloggers and running music-themed entertainment spots with celebrity spokeswomen.

“The majority of online cosmetics purchases are filled by quick orders, but there might be several days in between the time a selection is made and the order is filled,” says Spizzirri. “That’s a great window of opportunity for a high-quality engagement with the customer.”

The findings in both candy and cosmetics underscore the importance of specif-ic, granular shopper insights in helping marketers assess the true opportunities that exist in their categories, and more importantly how to act on them. The next section focuses on just that – taking action on those most important of shopper marketing levers: influencer touchpoints along the path to purchase.

7

Change in Impulse Behavior Online vs.B&M Top/Bottom 5 Categories

-14.6%

-15.4%

Health – Nutritional Drinks/Supplements

Personal Care – Cosmetics

Frozen – Frozen Snacks/Appetizers

Frozen – Frozen Desserts & Bakery

Fresh – Deli Prepared Foods

-12.8%

-12.5%

-12.0%

10.0%

9.8%

10.5%

13.7%

14.4%

Personal Care – Women’s Deodorant

Grocery – Sauces/Spreads/Dressing

Grocery – Soup/Stock/Broth

Snacks – Chips/Pretzels/Snack Mix

Snacks – Crackers/Popcorn

MORE IMPULSE ONLINEIN-STORE

“”

Shoppers seem more open minded about brands in the online space.

Laurie Rains, Group VP, U.S. retail consumer & shopper analytics, Nielsen

Source: Nielsen Shopper Essentials Benchmark Study, 2016

Chart 2b

E-FLUENCE > INFLUENCENielsen’s research contains several findings on the numbers and types of influ-encers that come into play for online and offline shoppers. On the whole, online shoppers interact with more influencers than do brick-and-mortar shoppers. “Knowing that online shoppers are more involved with influencers than offline

shoppers can be used as a compass to help set retailers and manufacturers on the right path for placing invest-ment at specific touchpoints along the shopper journey,” observes Hin-Lo Lau, vice president of consumer & shopper analytics at Nielsen.

This trend rings especially true with marketing influencers that oc-cur before the shopping trip, which show a much larger contrast between online and offline than marketing in-fluencers occurring during the shop-ping trip. In part, these results may be due to the fact that the immediacy afforded by online shopping leads to greater effectiveness of pre-shop-ping influencers. For instance, when consumers see an ad or hear about a product via word of mouth, they can immediately use their phones or computers to buy the product online. There’s much more lag time between those pre-trip influencers and shop-ping in B&M stores, leading to less effectiveness overall.

There is also a stark difference seen between Boomers and Millen-nials. Across the board, Millennials show more interaction with mar-keting influencers than the Boomer generation, both before and during the shopping trip, and also across on-line and B&M channels. This finding highlights the importance of Millen-nials to the future of CPG: Millenni-als are more conscious and engaged with cross-channel marketing ef-forts and present a growing oppor-tunity for marketers to capture their loyalty.

As with planning and impulse be-havior, Nielsen’s research indicates

that the true applicability of these influencer insights require a granular view of particular categories. The role of influencers may play out very differently be-tween online and offline shoppers depending on the category. Two categories that show polar opposite findings in this space are women’s shaving and sports drinks.

INDUSTRY REPORT

8

DEFINING TOTAL CONSUMER MEASUREMENToday’s consumer represents an ever-moving target. Trying to pin down exactly when, where and how to reach shoppers is a task made more difficult by the void that often exists in pur-

chase data. Specific retail channels and locations (e.g., online, on-premise, grocery store perimeter) are particularly difficult to mea-sure for this reason. And within the fragmented e-commerce channel, gaps in coverage mask critical data points related to purchase histo-ries, web-browsing behaviors, consumer attitudes and more.

“Total Consumer” is at the core of Nielsen’s measurement strat-egy, aiming to fill in coverage gaps and blind spots. “Total Consumer is a long-term measurement strategy to capture 100% of what is being purchased, and by whom, in the consumer packaged goods space,” says Carly Litzenberger, vice president of product leadership at Nielsen.

Nielsen is blending traditional with newer data collection methods as part of its ongoing development of new e-commerce solutions. The former is comprised of point-of-sale and consumer panel data; the latter includes transactional data obtained directly from consum-ers, e-mail panels and newer sources of data such as captures from mobile phone receipts.

For e-commerce, Litzenberger says the goal is three-fold: to help manufacturers understand exactly where sales are coming from, to learn what’s driving changes in those sales trends, and to inform marketing strategies that improve brand performance. “We’re lead-ing clients along the path with information they can trust, and help-ing to close the loop,” she says.

T

“

”

Total Consumer is a measurement strategy to capture 100% of what’s purchased, and by whom, in the CPG space.

Carly Litzenberger, VP, product leadership, Nielsen

A CLOSER LOOK: WOMEN’S SHAVING & SPORTS DRINKSOpposite of the overall trend toward more online influencer use, the women’s shaving category revealed a much lower level of influencer use online, where shoppers interact with 41% less influencers online than in brick-and-mortar for this category. This shift is led by time spent browsing multiple products, com-paring prices and in-store price promotions, all of which skew much higher in the B&M store versus online. Conversely, in sports drinks, data show 62% more influencers online vs. B&M, led by a marked increase in price comparisons, en-countering images of the product and wanting to try the product because it is new to the shopper. [See chart 4 on page 11.]

In recent years, the women’s shaving category has been led by aggressive price promotion and the rise of auto-replenishment models through online subscrip-tion services. Since internet shoppers are already conditioned to expect to find good values, however, marketers are free to pursue influencers that involve more creative forms of messaging, says Spizzirri. “For traditional manufacturers, it is important to still innovate around the technology and to develop those service-based models,” she says. However, there is also an opportunity for marketers to differentiate their product using a strategy other than price.

In sports drinks, there are a couple of factors that explain the influencer find-ings. First, sports drinks sales offline are largely driven by convenience stores, where the shopper’s need state is more urgent as compared with other channels. In this case, consumers spend less time thinking about their purchases and are less likely to be influenced by external factors, says Tim Kao, associate client

9

Change in Brand Planning Behavior Online vs. O ine Snacks Department

BRAND PLANNED FEW BRANDS IN MIND NO BRAND PLANNING

+6.9%+7.9%

+3.9%

+11.8%

+2.8%+1.4%

-18.9%

-10.2%

-4.4% SNACKS FOOD TOTAL

PLA

NN

ING

BEH

AVIO

RO

NLI

NE

IN-S

TORE

“”

People are more willing to try new sports drinks products in the online space.

Tim Kao, associate client manager, Nielsen

Source: Nielsen Shopper Essentials Benchmark Study, 2016

Chart 3a

manager at Nielsen. “Online shoppers tend to anticipate future needs for sports drinks and therefore may spend more time engaging with influencers,” he says. “This is reflected in the data, where we see a 9% increase in reminded purchases in the category.”

Another factor has to do with the pack sizes of sports drinks. Offline, single-pack products account for more than 70% of sales; online, it is much more com-mon for shoppers to purchase multipack products that may cost three to four times as much. Consumers tend to think more when the cost of purchase is high-er, giving those shopping influencers more opportunity to sway decisions online.

As with many other categories, the fact that sports drinks consumers are more open to influencers online gives marketers an inroad that they don’t neces-sarily have within offline retail channels. “New brands with limited resources can consider investing more online,” says Kao. “It is expensive to launch new products in brick-and-mortar stores, and the data we have is telling us people are more willing to try new sports drinks products in the online space.”

New product launches could begin in the online channel, with supporting marketing communications geared toward digitally minded shoppers. “Col-lecting data on the online trial and repeat response rates will be critical,” says Kao. “The results would be a good indicator for manufacturers before rolling out new concepts into all channels. For example, if those rates were poor online, manufacturers can change their launch plan before going into brick-and-mortar retailers.”

The implications of these findings on marketing touchpoints are exciting for both manufacturers and retailers alike. Though the influencers themselves may not be digital in nature (e.g., seeing an advertisement or hearing about the product via word of mouth), an opportunity exists for marketers to use these touchpoints to drive shoppers online, where the data shows a much higher rate of conversion from influencer to purchase.

WHAT’S NEXT Understanding how shoppers shop categories is only part of what’s important to succeed in omnichannel. The other part is understanding the relationship that shoppers have with where they shop, whether it’s in a physical or online store. It’s not enough to just know how much shoppers love their stores; marketers must also understand what drives that love and which levers marketers can in-fluence to maintain and grow loyalty.

INDUSTRY REPORT

10

Cookies/Snack cakes Chips/Pretzels/Snack Mix Nuts/Seeds/Trail Mix Candy Granola Bars Crackers/Popcorn

“The product was new to me, so I tried it” – change inonline vs. B&M Categories in Snack Department

+3.9% +4.3%+5.8% +5.9% +5.9%

+9.7%

“

”

Knowing that online shoppers are more involved with influencers can be used as a compass.

Hin-Lo Lau, VP, consumer & shopper analytics, Nielsen

Source: Nielsen Shopper Essentials Benchmark Study, 2016

Chart 3b

“Today, consumers of all varieties don’t ‘go’ online – they live online,” says Rost. “And, the way that shoppers already seamlessly move across channels re-quires that brands and retailers view that shopping behavior much more holisti-cally.”

To reach and engage with these omnishoppers, marketers must find the an-swers to four key “Total Consumer” questions:

1. What is being purchased online?

2. Who is shopping online?

3. How is a shopper’s purchase decision influenced?

4. What will drive trial and loyalty?

“The overriding message here,” says Rost, “is that the behavioral changes we see online versus brick-and-mortar stores extend far beyond category shopping behavior. They impact the entire shopping journey far more holistically than previously thought. We believe that having a comprehensive understanding of the online versus offline dynamics impacting categories will, in a few very short years, become table stakes in CPG business negotiations.” n

11

How does influencer interaction changeonline vs. o�ine?

women’s shaving sports drinks

41% less 62% more

About the Author: Michael Applebaum is a freelance writer and editor whose work addresses all aspects of marketing. A former Brandweek senior editor, he has covered marketing since 2000. His custom content specialty involves work-ing with publishers and clients to develop feature articles, white papers, bylined executive articles, blog posts and more. He is based in Chicago.

“

”

Checkstand purchases often are just getting rid of unwanted change. Online, buying behavior manifests differently.

Garett Chau, SVP, professional services, Nielsen

Source: Nielsen Shopper Essentials Benchmark Study, 2016

Chart 4

Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consum-ers watch and buy. Nielsen’s Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which con-tent – video, audio and text – is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry’s only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

The Path to Purchase Institute is a global association serving the needs of brands, retailers, agencies and the entire ecosystem of solution providers along the path to purchase. The Institute focuses on the forward-looking challenges and issues confronting our members and the shopper marketing industry at large. We facilitate industry interaction and foster best practices and a deeper understanding of all marketing efforts and touchpoints that influence and culminate in purchase decisions in-store, online or anywhere along the path to purchase.

INDUSTRY REPORT

12