Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, those that provide products that need to be replaced frequently, such as food, beverages, and household products, need to boost their digital sales if they are to survive, according to a recent study.
The Digital Future: A Game Plan for Consumer Packaged Goods, prepared for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Google, and Information Resources Inc. (IRI), said companies in that space need to expand their current 1 percent penetration to 5 percent and as much as 10 percent of their consumer marketing reach to “position themselves for growth and unlock digital and e-commerce opportunities.”
“Like most other industries, the CPG industry is experiencing the signs of digital disruption,” said Elise Fennig, the GMA’s vice president of industry affairs. “That’s why it was vitally important for GMA to examine how CPG companies can holistically adapt their digital and e-commerce agendas to plan for the future effectively.”
While many companies have established some sort of a digital presence — such as a website, some digital advertising, or a social media presence — most have yet to fully integrate digital into their operating models, build big-data analytical capabilities, pursue multi-channel strategies, or tailor their product offerings to the digital or e-commerce marketplace, the report said.
And while the CPG companies — both manufacturers and retailers — aren’t currently focused on the digital world, their customers are, the report said.
The report also showed that digital’s impact is felt most acutely at the early stages of the purchasing cycle. Almost 40 percent of offline shoppers and more than 30 percent of online shoppers reported that technology’s impact is greatest during the initial period of learning about product availabilty. In addition, almost a quarter of in-store shoppers reported online activity as one of the three most influential factors in their purchasing decisions.
