EEUU: Potato marketing must embrace digital consumers

That’s the view of Sarah Schmansky, director of account services with Nielsen Perishables Group, who talked about digital consumers at the 2016 Potato Expo on Jan. 14.

Many media touchpoints allow consumers to research products and brands, including websites, blogs, e-mails, social media, print circulars, snail mail and others.

“Retailers that expand to more touchpoints, and do that well, will win,” she said . In general, shoppers who use more ways to seek out information spend more than those who don’t.

“It is imperative to connect with the right shopper with the right message on the right platforms,” she said.

About half of shoppers use 4-7 touchpoints, while 55% of millennial consumers use between 8 and 11 marketing touchpoints. She said that digitally engaged shoppers are, on average, 20% more valuable than the average shopper.

“Retailers need to embrace the idea of having multiple touchpoints in order to connect with their customers,” she said.

Schmansky said potato marketers should embrace both print and digital advertising. In addition, they should work to make sure that online retail sales of potatoes feature all the choices found in stores.

She said retailers and potato marketers need to give shoppers the information they are seeking and engage with consumers to build loyalty.

In her presentation, Schmansky looked at the rise of the digital age and its effect on consumers, how retailers are integrating digital into their marketing strategies and how potatoes fit into the equation.

The extent of digital penetration by consumers is global, she said, noting that just 15% of the world’s population was online in 2005. That share has jumped to 33% this year and she said that 85% of the world will be online by 2020.

“This prediction is definitely something we should not ignore,” she said.

She said technology is changing the way consumers shop, how they shop and what they purchase.

Today, 70% of Americans have smartphones and about 50% have tablets, she said. In fact, the No. 1 consumer activity is consuming content.

At the beginning of last year, three out of four online adults in America used social networks.

Globally, 1.5 billion people are on Facebook, 400 million on Instagram, 300 million on Twitter and 100 million were on Pinterest.

“All of your consumers have a megaphone to express their likes and their dislikes,” she said.

Loyal customers can be great advocates for brands, but unhappy consumers can be a public relations nightmare, she said.

Marketers may look to counteract the negative effects of social media with proximity retailing, or digital messages at the point of sale.

“If you can have the last voice before your consumer goes to purchase and helps them entice their purchase, it is a great way to continue to drive growth in your products,” she said.

Retail apps used in mobile devices have grown 115% in the last two years, she said, and online consumer package goods sales are two-and-a-half times larger than six years ago.

“Online grocery also is growing by leaps and bounds, and it is changing the way we shop,” she said.

Amazon Prime Pantry is challenging brick and mortar retailers by allowing shoppers to order up to 45 pounds of product delivered for a flat rate of $5.99.

“The key point is that consumers are already choosing to spend their food dollars in nontraditional ways,” she said, as they seek time to avoid time spent shopping and being in the kitchen.