The Branded Pantry

One of the mobile application measurement services recently reported that the use of mobile applications generally fell off by over 90% after the initial post-download burst of enthusiasm.

In some ways this dramatic dropoff should not surprise as many low cost, reusable products and services (I-Pod songs, Happy Meal Toys) get scant attention after initial use.

Still, this 90+% decay curve is a staggering statistic and one that should give marketers pause.  Clearly in order to earn ongoing consumer usage an application must be:

• Useful, having some utility meaningful for that consumer
• Easily accessed
• Easy to run (simply input in CPG that means either  a list of options salient to the user or the ability to scan a picture or bar-code for self selection)
• Rewarding.  The application needs to have a high probability of returning data relevant to the person operating the application.

With regard to this last point,  a study run by GS1 UK examined consumer usage of mobile applications  involving consumers attempting to gain product information by scanning or taking pictures of products on the shelf.  The consumers were hoping for information  regarding:

• health and wellness guidance
• promotional offers
• other product information

Over 90% of the usage attempts resulted in either no data or in images/data inconsistent with the actual brand data according to the manufacturer.

I am of the opinion that the only appropriate gauge of product image and data accuracy is one that begins with how relevant the product image and data are to the consumer when they visit the shelf.   If the product displayed in the application is not the product found on shelf then the data fails.  We call such data Consumer Relevant Product Data.  The gap between the data available for mobile and online applications and the package the consumer sees on the shelf, is called the Consumer Relevant Product Data Gap.  

ShelfSnap with two partners, are engaged in a much more in depth and ongoing review of this Consumer Relevant Product Data Gap.  We will extend the research to compare what the consumer sees in their application to the actual product on shelf (vs. the manufacturer’s impression of which product is current).  We will also test how consumer purchase behavior is affected by the disparity.   The report will cover:

• The impact on shopper behavior
  • Sales
  • Dwell time
  • Brand - Banner perception
• The significance of the problem in terms both of:
  • The percentage of products affected by the gap
  • The severity of the differences.

So far our findings indicate that the  gap between the images that manufacturers think are current and the packaging the consumer actually sees on the shelf is well over 50%, regardless of the source of the images used in the consumer applications.   Mobile, online and even product specific paper coupon efforts are handicapped by this impediment.   Of that there can be no doubt.  This is an important set of findings and one of which marketing buyers need be aware.

ShelfSnap has documented a great deal of learning in CPG merchandising over the last two years.

A new area of study has begun to uncover and document a stubborn and significant gap between the product images featured on mobile - online applications and the actual product packaging at the shelf.   We are pleased to have the first publication of this occur in an important new online community of CG and Retail professionals called BrickMeetsClick.com. 

The focus of this new community is the intersection of where online and in-store shopping converge.  The founder and “architect” is Bill Bishop.   He engages what he terms black-belt thinkers from a variety of disciplines to help foster the discussion.  We were pleased to be his first black belt effort.    Read the piece here http://www.brickmeetsclick.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/0/5d7c27b7e82fad98115e93aaeaf5363a/files/do_the_images_match_6_14.pdf

and make BrickMeetsClick at least a weekly visit.

We will be examining more on this subject shortly in this blog as well.

I have written extensively about the underlying product information challenges facing the companies attempting to inform consumers about eating more healthy through simplified labeling.   (more…)

In an early June rant, I gave my impressions of the recent FMI show.  I thought the show represented the changes in collaborative leadership that are beginning to emerge in the CPG and Retail Industries.    Clearly both FMI and GMA are in a state of flux about their direction and about the issues in which they wish to be involved. (more…)

by: John Pryslak, Prime Consulting

While current, accurate and complete product information data is the foundation of any Health & Wellness program, any competitive advantage is NOT contained in the data itself, but rather in how the program (Guiding Stars, ONQI etc.) is designed and communicated to the consumer.

That said, a lack of current, accurate and complete product information data will be the Achilles heel for a retailer’s Health & Wellness program.  Imagine a program where individual products are rated against a defined and proprietary set of nutritional criteria and assigned a rating based on how good they are for you (not TOO hard to imagine since several such programs are already in place).  The overall nutritional worth of any item is communicated through a shelf tag that essentially tells the consumer if a product is “safe” to eat, or if they should consult their doctor before ingesting.

The health and wellness effort represents an altruistic endeavor on the part of a retailer to help consumers purchase the most nutritionally dense foods for their money.  Unfortunately, the reality that underlies this system is flawed since most of the available data used for these systems is not designed for Health & Wellness in general much less any single rating scale.

(more…)

3 events this week prompt yet another commentary on the risks of using CPG product information in its current state. (more…)

The swirl of Health and Wellness activity continues to dominate the news in the grocery and food trade-rags, websites, blogs and even some consumer publications. This makes sense given both the real importance of helping the shopper simplify their grocery selection process and the quiet targeting of food manufacturers and retailers that is going on in both government and tort-lawyer back-rooms across the country.

(more…)

Great post on the GXS blog site by Melanie Ligons on 12/17/07 (link below).

Essentially she predicts/hopes that “leading companies will step up to the plate in 2008 and address the CPG product data quality issues by taking the first steps toward implementing solid B2B Data Management programs.” (more…)

There have been two major announcements about Healthy Eating programs this week offered by grocers and by a combination ofacademics and grocers. One by Yale and Topco, a service bureau for such companies as Price Chopper, Food City, Giant Eagle, Bashes, Harris Teeter, Meijer and others. The second is Delhaize, owner of Hannaford, Food Lion, and Sweet Bay in the U.S. Many other groups are working on similar efforts (more…)