by Mimi Nicklin (@MimiNicklin) I recently presented on this topic at the Shopper Indaba and enjoyed it so much I can’t help but write further on it. The premise here is that while the globe looks onto the emerging markets with interest, and deep pockets, it is questionable as to what we are really doing to ensure that our retail environment is learning from the giants out there (Tesco, Walmart) whilst effectively tailoring our stores and brands to local demands.
Walmart claims that, as they wander the world looking for takeovers and mergers, they “buy companies that know the markets in which they 
operate and know local conditions.”So, the largest global retailer is recognizing that local know-how is key when it comes to driving business success, but are our local brands and retailers grabbing the opportunity to tailor what the world has to offer on local soil?
I believe the solution lies in what a Procter and Gamble marketer would call effective ‘search and reapply.’ Searching the globe for learning’s that can be addressed here, but reapplied with careful planning and detail. After all, a Checkers shopper may hold a similar need for value as a Walmart shopper, but the home and family they take those goods home to are likely to be vastly different.
A recent McKinsey Global Institute Report claimed that one billion people will enter the global consumer class by 2025 and six hundred million of these will live in emerging markets. We are in the right place, but how will we capitalize on these new spenders to the benefit of our brands, our retailers and indeed our shoppers?
Here is my three ‘giant’ learnings that we can take from the giants and reapply here:
1) Recognising that retailers are no longer the sales ground of brands. They are the brand. They demand recognition from their suppliers that they have their own strategy and shopper in their stores, and that product strategy should be adapted by store and not blanketed out across all retailers. If your brand has the exact same campaign across all retailers, your brand may be ok, the shopper may be ok, but the retailer will undoubtedly question whether you understand their shopper & category objectives. And with this in mind, are you therefore getting the best ROI on your investment if you pay no heed to adapting your offer to the person buying it? If the worlds’ most red brand, Coca-Cola, is willing to turn their bottles yellow for Selfridges, surely we can tweak our messaging or pack size to suit the different needs of a Woolworths versus a Boxer mom? They might both buy Coca-Cola, bread and milk on their shop today, but their use, role and investment will vary substantially.
2) Digital is not coming. It has arrived. The introduction of Eezi coupons at Shoprite Group, 89% of South African households owning a cell phone (Census 2011) and smart phone penetration on an upwards trajectory daily, paints a moving picture. Our shoppers are no longer short on choice, but they are short on time. In store digital, whether through a cell phone, a tablet at shelf or a kiosk at the entrance to help you plan and fill your shopping list, is a key facet we are not yet exploiting to its full extent. We are seeing this pop up with Porche’s interactive ‘design your car’ technology, 8Ta’s interactive windows, Sandton City’s touch screen directory’s, but overall there is much room to grow here. NuMetroBlackBox DVD rental kiosks are a great example of using a digital asset to allow the shopper to fulfil their needs more simply and more quickly – with the swipe of a card – outside of the normal DVD shopping environment. Ironically, I believe shoppers need help spending their money and the leverage of digital tools can help us squeeze that larger basket size more often.
3) A shelf is not just a shelf. It is a tool to make decisions. It teaches us how to shop.It may be the retailers shelf but it is your brand and your category, and the learning going forwards surrounds the understanding of how you fuse what the retailer gives you with what you’re offering. Clutter, screaming promotional messages and a sea of messy colour doesn’t help our busy, attention starved shopper. The beauty category segment their shelves phenomenally well, as do brands like Colgate with their recent shelf categorization driving you to the smaller, larger, softer or electronic versions within their range depending on your needs. Indeed Campbells’ huge revamp of their soup shelves in the USA entirely changes the way the shopper shops, increases the size of their facings and elevates the simplicity with which shoppers can navigate the shelf. The approach here is to think beyond POSM and to work with the retailer to create category solutions beyond a short term brand fix.
So, in summary, what am I advocating here? I am suggesting that we look wide but think local. Let’s allow for global retailer and shopper marketing inspiration, and begin to drive our buyers and key account managers from a shopper centric, not margin specific, approach. In a nutshell? Lets learn from the giants how to move from consumer comms that are in a store, to shopper solutions that are born in store, but that live well beyond a shelf.
Mimi Nicklin (@MimiNicklin) followed her passion and experience in the consumer, retail and shopper space from regional roles in Europe and Asia, to South African shores in 2010. Having led global brands through the line for Procter & Gamble, and two of London and Hong Kong’s top agencies, her background gives her an international perspective to add to her depth of SA understanding. She serves as strategic director and a partner at 34 Group. Mimi contributes the monthly “The Sell” column concerning shopper marketing to MarkLives.