Shopping Has Changed; So Must Shopper Insights and Marketing

Shoppers’ worlds have become broader and more diverse, yet shopper insights and shopper marketing are too narrow to capture that varied ecosystem, according to Wendy Liebmann, CEO, WSL Strategic Retail. “We have to understand the broader context of how and where people are shopping,” she says. “That notion of thinking in a very singular or focused way – our channel, our category – is just way too narrow.”Liebmann will explore how shopper insights and shopper marketing is changing – and what you can do to build a relevant shopper culture – during a general session presentation at the Shopper Marketing Summit. In January, the NRF Foundation named Liebmann one of 25 individuals to “The List of People Shaping Retail’s Future.” The award recognized her as an “influencer” and one of the best and brightest in the retail industry. She has extensive global experience in marketing, retailing and research and her company produces the highly regarded report, “How America Shops.”Today, shoppers have the ability to buy wherever they are. A channel-only strategy will no longer succeed for brands and manufacturers. “We’ve been so distracted by digital,” says Liebmann. “We’re on Target.com, Amazon.com – OK, we’re covered. But in reality, it’s a lot of small bites. You have to step back and say where else they are shopping beyond the traditional big channels that we’ve done most of our business in for a long time.”It’s an incredibly fragmented shopping ecosystem. It’s virtual. It’s physical. “The places that consumers buy today are often so diverse that a lot of the national data sources don’t track those,” says Liebmann. “It could be one trip to a specialty shop, but in a world where growth is hard to come by, that makes a big difference.”Value propositions of shoppers have also changed, and it’s no longer around acquisition. “People are framing up much of their purchasing today in what we call the ‘trinity of happiness.’ Is it worth my money, worth my time? And will it improve my well-being versus a commoditized sense of values?” Liebmann explains.Even how shoppers browse stores has changed in what Liebmann calls “faster trips.” More homework is done prior to the store, more trips to stores are being made, and shoppers are more specific in what they do at each store. “Hanging out, wandering around, inhaling the atmosphere is not something we can assume [shoppers are doing] with the trips they are making,” she says.The expectations shoppers have of marketers have grown dramatically. Two-day delivery became one-day delivery, and now you have two-hour delivery. That changes all the rules, says Liebmann. Starbucks recognized that shoppers don’t have time to stand in line, so they can now order via phone and pick it up in two minutes even though that shaves only a few minutes off one’s wait time.Many shopper marketing managers and directors really understand these changes, Liebmann says. She encourages their attendance at the session but also recognizes that senior-level individuals would also benefit. “They are the ones,” says Liebmann, “who have to push within their organizations to drive change and empower their managers."Her challenge to all Summit attendees is to come with their own intimate knowledge of their personal shopping habits. “We are living this life,” she says. “And then we get back into our role in our companies and we forget. We need to apply what we know from our life as shoppers to what we do as shopper marketers.”

Shopping Has Changed; So Must Shopper Insights and Marketing

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