FMI, Nielsen Expand ‘Digitally Engaged Food Shopper’ Study

Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Nielsen have expanded their “Digitally Engaged Food Shopper” study with an omnichannel roadmap for the food marketing industry. Featuring more advisory partners, this year’s study will offer a set of actionable tools and resources to allow FMI members to work toward achieving a profitable business in an omnichannel environment.

Over the past three years, Nielsen and FMI’s joint effort has revealed insights on current and future digital shopping behaviors within the food retail sector. The 2019 initiative provides a new set of action items with new perspectives from A.T. Kearney, NPD, Precima, Eversight, Mi9 Retail and RSi.

“We’re effectively reducing the learning curve and helping our members understand the technology landscape in order to quickly create their own and/or partner with solution providers and compete,” noted Mark Baum, chief collaboration officer at Arlington, Va.-based FMI. “I describe this initiative as a ‘choose your own adventure’ within the context of a company’s digital self-assessment and how our members want to design and execute their digital strategies in this fast-paced environment.”

Added Baum: “These companies, working closely together and with us, represent a natural evolution of the Nielsen and FMI ‘Digitally Engaged Food Shopper’ study and bring insights and a collective resource to help the food industry move forward effectively and efficiently on implementing omnichannel success.” 

Via downloadable white papers, the following seven focus areas will be available within the 2019 Digitally Engaged Grocery Shoppers: Executive Workbook:

1. Align Organizational Structures for Omnichannel Success: Integrate digital offerings in tandem with brick-and-mortar operations
2. Address Discrepant Datasets: Scrub master data files for discrepancies; strength in data and accuracy is critical to successfully support online sales
3. Integrate Forecasts to Increase Operational Efficiencies: Integrate online and offline forecasting so the right amount of inventory is available to meet orders via all channels
4. Optimize Shopper Insights: Unite retailer and manufacturer shopper information into a single, comprehensive view of customer insights
5. Improve Marketing and Promotions: Optimize the management of omnichannel marketing and promotions
6. Merge Digital and In-Store Shelf Capabilities: Manage and unify the physical shelf and its digital counterpart to create a valuable, seamless shopping experience
7. Amplify platform landscape and options: Specialty solutions are key enhancements to planning and ecommerce and offer a better shopper experience