Did you know that CPG is one of the slowest-growing industries in the world? Still, that doesn’t mean it is not profitable. The reason is simple – this industry works with products that we use every day. There is a specific reason why this industry would make a huge growth. The only reason could be if the number of people drastically starts to grow. In that case, the demand for this product would improve as well.
Anyway, there is one fast-growing fact about this industry. In 2019, online sales in this industry have jumped by 35%. This is directly related to the bigger popularity of the e-commerce industry. People got used to buying things such as clothes and makeup online. This habit they started to apply to their everyday life.
When things are changing rapidly, it is not possible to keep the same sales strategy. You need to adapt to the market and change almost everything. Here are a couple of trends in the CPG industry that every entrepreneur should know.
More about Online Purchasing
We already said that the online purchasing of CPG products grows faster than ever before. Still, let’s fulfill this statement with some additional facts. The USA is the best example of this growth. Around 50% of citizens are buying these groceries online. Experts predict that this model of purchasing will reach 20% of all grocery sales until 2023. The predicted value of this industry is $100 billion. Do you still think this industry is not profitable?
Amazon over Traditional Grocery Stores
Have you ever heard about Amazon Fresh? This is a service provided by Amazon that delivers groceries for an hour or two. It was a logic move made by this giant eCommerce platform. Imagine that you need to wait for this sort of item for more than 1 day? You can go to the traditional store 10 times until then. Because of that, this is the fastest-growing category for this year.
Anyway, Amazon is not going to be the only company that offers this sort of service. The number of online CPG stores is going to grow in the future. All of them will need to be able to offer fast delivery. With fast delivery, people will slowly start to avoid going to traditional stores.
Omni-Channel
Have you heard about this term before? It is a multichannel approach that wants to provide buyers with a seamless shopping experience. This includes shoppers that are purchasing goods via mobile or computer device. Well, this sort of approach has come to the CPG industry as well.
If you are a small business still, partnering with some larger retailing companies would be a good choice. They already have high-quality delivery options and you won’t have to worry about fast delivery.
Digital Channels
We live in a world of modern technology, don’t we? Many companies expanded their business thanks to social media, personal websites, etc. However, all these companies were working with some other type of product. For instance, Nike and Puma invest a lot of money in digital advertising. It helps them reach their audience in a lot easier way.
However, what about CPG stores? Only 2 years ago, it was almost impossible to see an Instagram or Facebook ad that offers you to buy a consumer packaged goods. Today, this is one of the trends that you need to follow.
The number of CPG stores that are promoting their products on social media is growing. This is a good way to establish a brand and become a recognizable business on the market.
It is the right moment to do that now when this method did not become too popular. If you use it at the right moment, there is a huge chance that you will split your business from the masses of other CPG stores.
Subscription Model
You have probably subscribed before to a YouTube channel and you know how it looks. Well, this is a different sort of subscribing that can offer customers a lot better experience.
There are several different things that you can do. For instance, they can subscribe to your website with their email. Newsletters are probably the first thing that could gather emails from your customers. In that mail, you can inform them about price-changing, discounts, etc. They will appreciate that and there is a big chance they will purchase goods from you because of that.
Collecting Point Method
The average person usually uses 3 apps on his mobile. For instance, social media are a good example of that. Anyway, you can hire an app developer that will design an app of your store that users can use. From that app, they can order food or any other sort of CPG products.
For each product that they buy, you can give them a point. Another way is to give them a current number of points for the amount of money they spend. For example, if they spend $100, they get 1 point. After they collect 10 points, they can get a 20% discount.
In this away, you will ensure that current customers become the most loyal ones. When you have loyal customers you are slowly becoming a recognizable brand which is another trend in the CPG industry.
Stronger Focus on Branding
The habits of today’s customers are completely different than 15 years ago. They have different habits and demands. For instance, the most active buyers are currently the members of Generation Z. This generation has concerns about the future of the planet and people on it.
So, what would this brand appreciate?
They would respect you more if you start promoting products through a digital channel that will ensure a healthier environment. For example, reports from Digitwise and similar companies note that some CPG stores choose to promote natural and sustainable ingredients in the products. Others would rather choose to work with plant-based CPG products.
Developing a brand does not have to have anything in common with food or health products. Some brands on the market are investing a lot of inequality and human rights. This is one of the biggest concerns of younger generations.
Generation Z needs to be satisfied because they are the ones that buy most of the things online. If stores convince them that they deserve their attention and money, this Generation will convince other people the same thing. Their influence on society is huge.
