In October 2013, Shopper Marketing magazine and the Path to Purchase Institute surveyed hundreds of CPG marketing executives for our annual trends report. The questions were developed by the Institute's editors based on analysis of what they're seeing and hearing through conversations with shopper marketing practitioners, attendance at industry events and observations of the path to purchase marketing of brands and retailers.To complement the data provided in the charts that appear on the following pages, we separately queried multiple product manufacturer, retailer and solution provider executives about key topics related to shopper marketing. Most of these individuals are Institute Faculty members, having been highly rated as speakers at the Institute's Shopper Marketing Summit and/or Shopper Marketing Expo.Among the topics we cover this year are survey mainstays such as budgets and collaboration, while we also take our deepest dives yet into areas such as data and e-commerce. Additionally, we continue down a popular path from recent years by having respondents identify which retailers are performing the best/worst in certain areas.Our Trends SourcesChristopher Brace, Founder, Shopper IntelligenceRich Butwinick, President, MarketingLabSteve Carlin, Senior Director, Shopper Marketing & Insights, UbisoftApril Carlisle, SVP, Global Shopper Marketing, Arc WorldwideAlison Chaltas, EVP, GfKBrian Christensen, Director, E-Commerce, Kimberly-ClarkCraig Elston, SVP, Insight & Strategy, Integer GroupKim Feil, EVP, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, OfficeMaxChad Grenier, EVP, Retail Marketing Agency Services, AMG/MosaicErin Hunter, Global Head of CPG Marketing, FacebookAnne Jenkins, Director, Shopper Marketing, Kimberly-ClarkJeff Kjome, Director, Shopper Marketing, Kimberly-ClarkWendy Liebmann, CEO & Chief Shopper, WSL Strategic RetailManish Shrivastava, Group Director, Shopper Marketing Capabilities, Coca-Cola Co.Roberto Siewczynski, EVP, PanaVistaRob Wallace, Managing Partner, Wallace ChurchMeg Way, Director, Digital IQ, Kimberly-ClarkScott Young, President, Perception Research ServicesTOPIC: IN-STORE"The emphasis is going to move from in-store to out-of-store — the pre-shop part of the shopper journey. Brands need to build purchase preference out-of-store and then convert in-store."— Christopher Brace, Shopper Intelligence"Things will evolve in terms of how and what you promote in-store. Maybe it's more demonstrations, or more pushing subscriptions of certain categories — say, baby diapers, so you don't have to lug them around the store."— Rich Butwinick, MarketingLab"Shoppers want to be entertained. In-store needs to be more engaging than online."— April Carlisle, Arc Worldwide"It's as dangerous to think of a bricks-and-mortar store as completely offline as it is to think of e-commerce as a separate part of your business. Your consumer is online, and your consumer is online in your store."— Erin Hunter, Facebook"Store-based retail will remain a critical interface in the entire buying experience. Buying online and picking up in-store has become a mainstay in leading retailers. Peapod, Amazon and others are now setting up satellite bricks-and-mortar pickup centers because having things dropped at a home doorstep in urban and other areas is just not practical."— Kim Feil, OfficeMax"If you're doing more shopping online, how many of the same locations of a bricks-and-mortar retailer do you need within a 5-mile radius? Look for fewer physical stores."— Alison Chaltas, GfK"The retailers who utilize technology and store design to create positive shopping experiences will emerge as the winners."— Scott Young, Perception Research Services"It's harder to deliver an integrated, synced, omnichannel message in-store. That said, it does not mean that marketers will ignore 140 million people walking through a Walmart each week. For the vast majority of products, in-store will continue to be a crucial point of communication."— Steve Carlin, Ubisoft"Can stores have your non-perishables waiting in the cart before you get there so you can spend more time picking perishables or experiencing other areas of the store?"— Roberto Siewczynski, PanaVista"Bricks-and-mortar retailers should focus on the fact that showrooming behavior reveals a shopper's desire for more meaningful brand experiences prior to making a purchase."— Chad Grenier, AMG/MosaicTOPIC: SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS"So much is bubbling up that we don't even know about yet."— Wendy Liebmann, WSL Strategic Retail"Platforms with the most reach and best targeting matter the most."— Erin Hunter, Facebook"Shoppable videos, wherever they can live, enable social media to be successful. We're headed into much more interactive social media."— April Carlisle, Arc Worldwide"Social platforms are becoming the new mass media. Which ones are important will depend on what you are trying to achieve."— Craig Elston, The Integer Group"I think there is whitespace for a big player that is more social than Amazon and more transactional than Facebook."— Roberto Siewczynski, PanaVista"My eye is on Google Plus. Slow to start, but now proving its value in a single platform for multiple engagements. If it does it right, Google Plus could be 'the Google of social networks.'"— Rob Wallace, Wallace Church"It's more about getting out there and doing something and less about the platform. Get a strategy and get on the ones that already exist."— Alison Chaltas, GfK"Brands have just cracked the surface in how to engage on Twitter. Younger audiences are abandoning regular use of Facebook in favor of more niche social networks like Instagram, but Facebook will continue to be a popular space for older targets in the near future. Spaces that combine photos, quick sharing and shopping will be interesting to watch... [e.g.,] making Pinterest shoppable."— Meg Way, Kimberly-ClarkTOPIC: GLOBAL SHOPPER MARKETING"The U.S. market is an ideal place to learn about best practices for large chain stores. I found that other international markets were great learning grounds for marketing to independents."— Manish Shrivastava, Coca-Cola Co."U.S. companies and retailers have tended to be quite inward-looking. There are some major issues — value retail, small formats — where the U.S. has a lot to learn from other countries."— Wendy Liebmann, WSL Strategic Retail"The challenge for marketers will be blending global consistency with local customization."— Scott Young, Perception Research Services"Markets where shopper marketing is in its nascent stage are starving for information and learning from the States. They are eager to avoid the mistakes we made so they can leapfrog ahead."— Christopher Brace, Shopper Intelligence"We in the U.S. can learn from countries that are more willing to try experiential tactics and have more freedom in the aisles."— Anne Jenkins, Kimberly-Clark"One of the most interesting places to look is Western Europe because you can't do anything in mass. You have significantly different languages and cultures, and the competition is tough. If you can do successful shopper marketing in Western Europe, you can do it anywhere."— April Carlisle, Arc WorldwideTOPIC: BIG DATA"Brands don't need more data. They don't know what to do with the data they have. What shopper marketers need are insights — real insights.— Christopher Brace, Shopper Intelligence"If the proper capabilities are in place, retailers and manufacturers can set themselves apart. The magic is in having the right data as well as the capabilities to organize and act on insights."— Manish Shrivastava, Coca-Cola Co."Big data is not the be-all and end-all but another powerful tool in the toolbox. It's not about big data, it's about relevant data."— Roberto Siewczynski, PanaVista"Shopper marketing requires a data set around purchasing behavior, lifestyle, demographic and earning levels, etc., to extrapolate how to position a product so as to engage the shopper. All of this is possible, but the data sets are disparate and, at least in part, owned by retailers who likely do not want to share it."— Steve Carlin, Ubisoft"If retailers don't quickly find ways to use the data, consumers aren't going to provide it because they aren't seeing the benefits."— April Carlisle, Arc Worldwide"There needs to be a way for a retailer or brand to connect all activity through to sale. Then we will start to see the full potential of the promise of big data."— Craig Elston, The Integer Group"The focus shouldn't be as much on big data, which has existed for many years, but on convincing consumers that having their personalized behavior tracked responsibly will yield positive benefits to them. We will all have to navigate this privacy worry carefully."— Kim Feil, OfficeMax"To my knowledge, Apple does not use research. On the other hand, perhaps too many marketers use data to drive every decision.... When structured well and used effectively, data can be a springboard to ideation and innovation rather than just validation."— Rob Wallace, Wallace Church"We use the phrase 'big data' without knowing what it means or what to do with it."— Alison Chaltas, GfK"At its simplest, big data changed the word 'targeting' from a media-buying consideration into a brand-manager-level creative canvas."— Erin Hunter, FacebookTOPIC: COLLABORATION/CO-CREATION"The fact that retailers and manufacturers are losing power to shoppers leaves them with no recourse but to partner and share information to grow basket size. It's just Darwinism at its best — survival of the species through a more symbiotic existence. But don't forget the old scorpion and the frog parable, and the fact that many retailers also look out for the growth of their private-label brands."— Roberto Siewczynski, PanaVista"Not sure it will be the primary option in the future. Some retailers — Target, as an example — are very thoughtful of brand equity and voice for both themselves and brands. Merging two messages is complex to manage."— Jeff Kjome, Kimberly-Clark"Each party brings unique outlook and expertise. Why wouldn't it be better if we shared that with each other?"— Erin Hunter, Facebook"At the end of the day it doesn't matter what you call it. If it isn't building equity for both the retailer and the manufacturer at the same time, then there's less value in the program."— April Carlisle, Arc Worldwide"I see the next generation of collaboration where retailers truly partner with CPG brands to create a unique blend of private brands and 'destination' national brands that engage their consumers in each region."Rob Wallace, Wallace Church"It's the proverbial sweet spot, but it's also really challenging. If a retailer is talking about thousands of unique local planograms or special activity for stores in a very narrow market, that partnership doesn't serve anyone well. That narrowness is impossible for manufacturers to deliver efficiently."— Wendy Liebmann, WSL Strategic Retail"If the future is about migrating to more 24/7 omnichannel and digitally supported shopping experiences, then both retailers and manufacturers are going to have to become highly collaborative on many fronts."— Kim Feil, OfficeMax"Individualizing messaging to the shopper will become critical, and the only way to do this is by leveraging retailer loyalty data and reach vehicles in combination with brands' abilities to customize their media vehicles by geographies and customers."— Chad Grenier, AMG/Mosaic"With the advent of social media and the fragmentation of traditional media, power has shifted to the shopper. It is now essential for manufacturers and retailers to create an environment in which shoppers can co-create content along with us."— Manish Shrivastava, Coca-Cola Co."The transition to omnichannel marketing continues to blur the lines on who owns what facet of the communication campaign. Focusing on the message and the target together will often be more efficient and effective than trying to do the same thing separately."— Steve Carlin, UbisoftTOPIC: RETAILER INNOVATION"Stores like IKEA, REI and Apple have committed to in-store experiential marketing. Others that come to mind are Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, who are true to a specific positioning and do it well rather than trying to be all things to all people. That nearly always results in mediocrity."— Scott Young, Perception Research Services"Eataly offers a wonderful immersive experience — you want to be locked up and never let out. At Hointer in Seattle, you see a pair of jeans you like, scan the QR code and the jeans drop through a chute to you in the dressing room."— Wendy Liebmann, WSL Strategic Retail"Kroger is doing remarkable things with its data. There are also some interesting urban market startups focused on fresh and local, like Small in San Francisco. They source locally, capitalize on the trend toward more frequent shopping occasions and urbanization, and command a premium price for their quality, service, formats, selection and freshness."— Erin Hunter, Facebook"Stew Leonard's has broken many of the rules we assume are immutable in grocery — short aisles, category management, a huge variety of SKUs and brands. They've shown us that not only can many conventions be broken, but that shoppers can and will adapt to new systems."— Craig Elston, The Integer Group"Often you find that specialty retailers are the most innovative, primarily because they have the ability to focus their communication on a specific type of shopping trip. GameStop is a great example. The larger box retailers don't have the advantage of knowing why the shopper walked into their store on each trip."— Steve Carlin, Ubisoft"Specialty and independent retailers are tapping new technology — like Burberry's flagship store, where they embedded RFID chips into the products so shoppers could learn more about the garment or bag. A bigger retailer, Best Buy, is expanding its store-within-a-store concept through partnerships with Samsung and Microsoft."— Rich Butwinick, MarketingLab"Story, a Manhattan lifestyle retailer, is a store that behaves like a magazine. Every four to eight weeks they reset the entire environment around a unique theme."— Rob Wallace, Wallace Church"Amazon is working hard to innovate its business models to be relevant for an increasingly varied assortment of products and to an increasing number of consumers. Wegmans has a very strong in-store experience. H-E-B tailors everything in the store to meet the needs of its core shopper."— Jeff Kjome, Kimberly-ClarkTOPIC: MILLENNIALS"Every generation adopts its own shopping behaviors based on its own set of emotional beliefs and attitudes. It is these beliefs and attitudes that make Millennials different, not the decade in which they were born."— Christopher Brace, Shopper Intelligence"Will they act like Boomers? No. When the time comes, will they act like parents, entrepreneurs, empty-nesters and retirees in the way that they define those roles?"— Rob Wallace, Wallace Church"We, as marketers, now operate in an age where the shopper digital IQ is greater than that of the organizations that market to them. Millennials are forming their own brand affinities and over-index for digital engagement across the path to purchase. Marketers must shift the focus of their organizations accordingly to make their brands relevant."— Chad Grenier, AMG/Mosaic"Print is irrelevant to them, TV is an old technology, and they have basic expectations of all technology to help them discover what matters to them."— Erin Hunter, Facebook"They're not stocking up like their parents did. They are not only experimenting with food, but also with retailers and channels all in the pursuit of value, life management and fun."— Craig Elston, The Integer GroupTOPIC: E-COMMERCE"I think we have to change the dialog from 'e-commerce,' which is our business-centric view, to '24/7 shopping anytime I want, on any device I want,' which is the customer point of view.... The best future will be one where the shopping experience is fluid between any of these channels and methods."— Kim Feil, OfficeMax"We are just scratching the surface. You're beginning to see replenishment and subscription services. The next big step is for CPG manufacturers and retailers to recognize that it isn't about one or the other. Sometimes it's online, sometimes it's in the store, and sometimes it's both."— Wendy Liebmann, WSL Strategic Retail"The e-commerce movement hasn't come without its obstacles — most notably, that of trust. There are still other barriers we need to overcome such as product discoverability, less impulse purchasing, inability to use cash for payment, trade-in and returns, etc."— Steve Carlin, Ubisoft"It is still the Wild West when it comes to e-commerce. Companies are trying everything and anything. For CPG, it's particularly challenging when most people can buy soap or pasta sauce in five different places in a stone's throw from home."— Craig Elston, The Integer Group"We have seen many categories mature online, but many CPG items are just getting started. Retailers are innovating to better address the barriers that remain."— Brian Christensen, Kimberly-Clark"Reordering missing staple items will eventually become automated via the use of image recognition technology in refrigerators or in pantries.... Options such as order online and pick up directly in-store (or even via drive-thru) will also become more widespread."— Scott Young, Perception Research ServicesTOPIC: MOBILE APPS"The technology has to become invisible before it will be adopted more broadly."— Craig Elston, The Integer Group"We're not yet seeing many examples of apps seamlessly taking consumers from consideration all the way to purchase and advocacy."— Rich Butwinick, MarketingLab"Within the first two minutes, if there is no engagement with your app, they'll never come back to it.... Aggregator apps such as Retale are where the engagement will be."— April Carlisle, Arc Worldwide"Looking at your smartphone every three seconds while you are walking down an aisle is not a pleasant experience, so I see apps playing a stronger role in planning and post-purchase."— Roberto Siewczynski, PanaVista"It is expensive for CPG companies to create and market shopper apps for individual brands or products. Retailer apps have tremendous potential for CPGs because the retailer has a direct relationship with the shopper."— Manish Shrivastava, Coca-Cola Co."Mobile apps will move to a holistic shopping solution that transcends the entire path to purchase and deliver one-to-one content and offers based on shopper purchase behavior and preference."— Chad Grenier, AMG/MosaicTOPIC: SHOPPER SEASONS"One shouldn't overthink the fact that seasons need to be the same for all stores and all brands. Rather, are they having a conversation that shoppers are passionate about? Is it really driving more people to my store? Does it actually sell anything?"— Alison Chaltas, GfK"There's an elongation of seasons, and shopper fatigue is setting in. Black Friday used to be the true kickoff to the holiday season. Technology has obliterated all of that. Now, why are people standing in line at 4 a.m. when you can sit on the couch and get the same deal online?"— April Carlisle, Arc Worldwide"It seems we are constantly in a shopper season. Back-to-school season starts just after graduation in June for some retailers. Kmart began promoting layaway in September.... Look to Cinco de Mayo and Movember for more reasons to drive purchase."— Rich Butwinick, MarketingLab"Smart retailers try to create their own, repeatable seasons. For OfficeMax, it's the early new year 'back-to-business' season."— Kim Feil, OfficeMaxTOPIC: PRINT VS. DIGITAL CIRCULARS"Just switching your circular from print to digital is short-sighted because we relate differently to digital."— Alison Chaltas, GfK"Circulars will have to follow the audience to media that they use. An interesting trend we're seeing is that Millennials are also picking up circulars in-store."— Craig Elston, The Integer Group"For the foreseeable future, print remains important to U.S. shoppers. At the same time, more shoppers are utilizing digital circulars because the personalization drills down to an individual's specific needs. Right now, you can't abandon one approach at the expense of the other. You have to be good at both."— Manish Shrivastava, Coca-Cola Co."The expansion of tablet penetration will be the tipping point for the conversion of printed circulars to dynamic, personalized, preferred communication channels for weekly promotions. Billions of dollars in printed material and waste management will be saved and redirected into more personalized and satisfying shopper experiences, innovation, brand/product marketing and more favorable pricing when we can permanently skip the paper-based model."— Kim Feil, OfficeMax"It's not one or the other. Certain vehicles work for certain shoppers and occasions."— Wendy Liebmann, WSL Strategic Retail"Those retailers who are focused on testing, learning and jumping ahead of the pack to extend the circular's power and relevance will be the winners of tomorrow, especially as it relates to Millennial shoppers. Keep an eye on Walmart. They have a vision and are acting on it in 2014, way ahead of many other big retail chains."— Chad Grenier, AMG/Mosaic