etailing: CPG brands and online retailers need to work together to promote CPG online shopping

Online shopping for fast-moving consumer goods (CPG) is developing slowly, far less than beauty and skin care, electronic digital products, etc. However, the growth of CPG sales is undoubtedly faster than offline sales, and research shows that CPG manufacturers and online retailers need to work together to support this growth.

etailing solutions and RetailNet Group surveyed both U.S. CPG manufacturers and online retailers in Q2 2012 to understand how each can help the other better increase online sales of CPG products.

CPG manufacturers believe that the following assistance from online retailers will be helpful in increasing sales of CPG products: 69% of CPG manufacturers believe that online retailers can help provide better user insights, and 66% hope that online retailers can share best practices; 52% expect cross-channel recommendations, and other aspects include automatic order processing based on user behavior (48%), providing shopping lists or automatic replenishment (43%), etc.

Online retailers hope that American CPG manufacturers can help in the following ways: product innovation, including exclusive products, new product launches, etc., with an expectation of 100%; providing online-exclusive sales products, with a rate of 71%; 67% of online retailers hope that CPG manufacturers can provide better brand and product display, and a high proportion of online retailers also hope that CPG manufacturers can increase marketing investment and provide better buyer insights. In addition, 57% of online retailers hope that CPG brands can provide e-commerce-friendly product packaging. Cross-channel recommendations account for 40%

From the data, we can see that online retailers and CPG manufacturers have different demands, but their needs are more complementary. Manufacturers are beginning to see strong demand from online shoppers, and retailers know that only brands can sell products better online if they provide competitive products, as well as sufficient information and marketing materials.