From retail media and loyalty to social commerce, there’s never a dull moment in omnichannel retail.
Ultimately, FMCG brands and retailers are trying to serve up a seamless experience no matter what sales or media channels come into play.
But how easy is that in practice? And what should marketers and ecommerce folk be conscious of as we enter 2025, in a time still defined by shoppers’ search for value?
We caught up with ex-Unilever omnichannel leader and former Tesco and dunnhumby exec Mark Walker to find out.
Mark Walker: I feel we are going through a very internally facing phase in our efforts across the industry right now, with a big focus on ‘incrementalism’ and ‘optimising’ – typically for content, media, or social experiences, but less so around deeply understanding and meeting shopper needs across the channels.
The penetration surge from ecommerce during and post Covid has absolutely settled back to the norm; however, shoppers have a channel ‘muscle memory’ which I’m confident that we can reawaken if we better integrate offline and online channels to service their missions better than we do now.
In my mind, organisations can drive channel penetration, build out baskets and create long term, sustainable growth by understanding and meeting shopper needs better than anyone else.
Stop chasing the shiny new thing (remember voice anyone?) and concentrate on the fundamentals that make a real difference in the shopper journey or experience. Be consistent in execution, double down on removing friction, create value for shoppers.
Start focusing on availability. We can invest a huge amount of resources into the online offer, content and media, but if the product is not available ‘on shelf’ at the point of need, at the moment of decision making, then all that prior investment is wasted.
Continue the emphasis on product. I’m 100% with Mark Ritson on it being the most important ‘P’. Having a portfolio, or product range that meets shopper needs, addresses their pain points or exceeds their expectations, is the thing we really have to obsess about.
Online is not just one thing anymore.
It is not just a purchase channel alone, but a driver of the in-store decision making and conversion process for shoppers too. It means that shoppers are at the physical shelf researching a product’s features and price, before adding to their shopping basket.
In turn, retailers and brands are having to create truly seamless and integrated experiences. The brand’s product image needs to be mobile ready and match what a shopper sees at the physical shelf, online reviews need to drive conversion wherever they choose to purchase.
Then we add in greater fragmentation of the channel, social selling on TikTok for example, where the retailer are not the only player, and unsurprisingly many brands and retailers are struggling to keep up.
The agility needed to service shopper needs across all of these touchpoints has increased exponentially.
Anyone who has talked to me this last year must be bored of my soapbox response to this:
Walmart, Walmart, Walmart.
Doug McMillion and members of the Walmart board rocked up to CES in January for the keynote presentation and talked of their vision of Adaptive Retail. They describe this as creating interconnected, seamless experiences that exceed shopper expectations, across all the channels that they want to shop.
While it’s a forward-looking idea, it has been core to Doug’s Omnichannel thinking for the last 10 years. In fact, he called it out in 2015.
The thing is, Walmart are looking ahead but delivering now. They talked of creating and improving an ‘Adaptive Retail’ experience across ‘discovery’, ‘purchase’ and ‘receipt’. For each, we saw examples of how technology is improving things today, for example, search using AI to drive more natural and expansive product discovery in app; reducing friction in Sam’s Club at exit through virtual basket scanning; or easier faster delivery through drone networks.
All of these have been done in the first half of 2024, and there are other examples of their joined up thinking, like their purchase of Vizio to expand their reach, or hitting 18% contribution of sales in ecommerce, thanks to their focus on higher affluence households.
I would not bet against their continued channel leadership over the next 2-3 years given these foundations.
If I consider the skills that are missing right now, I prefer to think more about who are missing them.
We are seeing a reset of many organisations, reducing headcounts or restructuring their teams to be fit for the rest of the decade.
This means businesses are needing to do the same, or more, but with fewer resources, and those who remain need to be more capable and competent in the digital space to fill the gaps.
At Unilever, the commercial leadership in markets were tasked to combine online and offline responsibilities for their customers. This resulted in sales teams and account managers rapidly upskilling themselves in the dynamics of the channel, so they can give a holistic perspective to their customer.
What does this mean in practical terms? It’s helping an account manager, for example, understand and activate the differences between the physical and virtual shelf – showing how brands have a stronger voice in activating the online shelf, and influencing shopper behaviour in a way they can’t do offline. Or educating their retail counterpart on the influence of online on in-store shopping decisions.
This results in a greater democratisation of digital experience and skills, in a way that links an offline and online topic or opportunity together. More holistic, less siloed.
I know there’s a lot of debate about a one-to-one vs one-to-many approach to personalisation; I get the nuances and efficiency benefits, but I do wonder if we are looking through the right end of things. I don’t think the shopper cares if they are targeted as an individual, or in a group with others who have similar behaviours and preferences, they just want relevant and timely experiences.
This is at its best, for me, when it feels natural and subtle. A good example has been the way Eagle Eye has worked with Morrisons on their More Card loyalty scheme, creating ‘personalised’ prices and offers that really appeal to shoppers, but at scale across the customer base.
Their ‘My Points’ boosters on favourite brands and products feel personal to me but not heavily targeted – it doesn’t scream ‘buy me’ as a mechanic, rather they are a great nudge in behaviour, for me to spend more.
AI. It’s about time we deliver on its potential with tangible, shopper orientated, activation.
How about Amazon buying Asda?
Their churn through people and concepts to break into the cash-generating grocery space continues to rumble on, but without real success so far.
With Allan Leighton now back in the fold at Asda, and heavy debt to clear, Amazon could sweep in with a cash offer and secure a substantial store presence, retail pedigree and the fresh supply chain experience that they are still lacking.
It would be a seismic move in the UK market, across omnichannel, and a message of intent back into the US too.
Imagine how they could join up the shopper digital and store Amazon experience, deeply integrate their own logistics infrastructure and more importantly the retail-media real estate.
FMCG is ‘on the cusp’ of a step change: marketers must upskill to stay relevant
You can read all of Econsultancy’s 2025 expert predictions here.