Inside FMCG January 2022 | Page 18

Insights

Transform and thrive

Forging future success in the FMCG space involves more than adapting to the digital revolution . We take a look at four key factors .
BY GIHAN PERERA

Covid-19 caused massive stress and anxiety , but one positive impact was the acceleration of digital options . Many businesses who were dragging their feet scrambled to provide online ordering , contactless payment , click-and-collect , home delivery and other digital services .

The digital revolution was already here . But according to McKinsey , 85 per cent of companies accelerated digital transformation in 2020 due to Covid-19 . It ’ s a pity it took a global pandemic to wake up so many companies , and it would be an even greater pity if they didn ’ t take full advantage of it .
But not all digital engagement is the same . It broadly falls into four levels , in increasing complexity : 1 . Enhance : Make the customer experience more convenient and seamless . 2 . Personalise : Shift from mass marketing to mass customisation . 3 . Deepen : Understand customers more deeply . 4 . Transform : Disrupt established businesses with new business models .
Let ’ s explore each of these levels , projecting into possible scenarios for the medium-term future .
Enhance In 2011 , supermarket giant Tesco launched a new shopping experience in railway stations in Seoul , Korea . The platform walls showed posters of supermarket aisles , which passengers could scan with their smartphones to order groceries .
Amazon Go stores in the USA and some Tesco stores in the UK take self-service
18 insidefmcg . com . au – JAN2022 to the extreme , with customers simply filling their shopping trolley and walking out of the store . Ceiling cameras identify their purchases , which are automatically charged to their Amazon / Tesco account .
These innovations enhance the customer experience by reducing friction . In a society that increasingly values time and convenience , expect more in this space , including :
• voice commands as an alternative to tapping or typing
• facial recognition of customers as they enter and leave premises
• autonomous drones for last mile delivery of online orders
• internet-connected devices , such as refrigerators and washing machines , that automatically reorder consumables as needed
• virtual reality shopping as an alternative to browser-based online shopping .
Personalise In the days before large supermarket chains , when the corner store reigned supreme , a store owner knew each and every customer and provided a personalised experience every time . Technology now enables this at scale , especially with artificial intelligence ( AI ) to analyse the massive volumes of data being collected from customers . This personalisation happens in three ways : 1 . Customers provide some information , such as dietary requirements for grocery shopping ; allergy information for over-the-counter pharmacy products ; sustainability preferences for products and packaging ; and ethical requirements for product sourcing and DEI ( diversity , equity and inclusion ) initiatives .
2 . AI learns a customer ’ s preferences based on their historical purchasing patterns and individually tailors offers , bundles , packages and discounts . AI collates data from millions of customers to predict individual customer patterns – even better than customers know themselves .