Brand Watch

Target Shoppers Capture Pokemon Oreos

BY CHARLIE MENCHACA

When a comfort eating surge brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane in 2021, Mondelez International looked for a di erent way to connect with shoppers.

Shopper data led the manufacturer to collaborate with The Pokemon Co. for a limited-edition release of its Oreo brand last fall. In September and October 2021, the “Oreo Pokemon Adventure at Target” program utilized retail and social media to tout the cookies’ availability at the mass merchant.

“Insights showed us that 45% of dessert and confection consumers enjoy desserts that remind them of their childhood,” says Jennifer Mason, customer director of shopper marketing at Mondelez. “We recognized leveraging the cross-generational love for Pokemon and Oreo cookies would help inspire shoppers to reconnect with their childhood through this limited-edition product. Additionally, our historic experiences have shown that limited-edition SKUs at Target perform extraordinarily well.”

Based on their past successes together, Mondelez partnered with Roundel, Target’s media network, and Boston-based Breaktime Media to bring the program to life. Mondelez agency partner VMLY&R Commerce also contributed to the campaign.

To drive anticipation of the limited launch, the manufacturer worked with Roundel to develop animated social posts highlighting beloved Pokemon characters. These prelaunch posts ran Sept. 9-12 on Target’s Facebook page and Snapchat.

Once the limited-edition packs were on-shelf, Mondelez transitioned from the anticipatory posts to animated ads designed to grab shoppers’ attention. The content focused on engaging viewers to guess which Pokemon was featured on the Oreo cookies and drove shoppers to the product listing on Target.com, where they could add the product directly to cart.

Mondelez also employed o site Bullseye banner ads to drive shoppers to a custom Breaktime Media experience. It contained a quiz where shoppers could test their Pokemon knowledge and receive their personalized Pokemon trainer ranking. The quiz was followed by the opportunity to click to add the Pokemon Oreo cookies directly to their Target.com cart.

Users could also upload photos and customize them with unique Pokemon Oreo picture frames. To wrap up the experience, shoppers could share which Pokemon they were most excited to nd through a custom poll and see how their choice compared to other fans.

Mondelez worked with Target to incorporate the limitededition Oreo packaging into in-store displays with the rest of its Oreo portfolio.

“The in-store displays provided the holding power for guests to nd our products whether they purchased online or in-store, as Target pulls from in-store inventory to ful ll all Oreo cookie orders,” Mason says.

Breaktime Media’s interactive content experience resulted in tens of thousands of unique shopper engagements, with an average engagement time of three minutes and 12 seconds. The Breaktime experience outperformed benchmarks in inspiring purchases using the addto-cart feature by 29.6%, Mason says.

In all, the collective marketing e orts resulted in double-digit cookie category online sales growth versus prior year, and triple-digit total online Oreo cookie sales growth compared to prior year. The campaign received a bronze 2022 Reggie Award in the shopper marketing, retailerspeci c or omnichannel marketing category.

The Pokemon Oreo cookies even outperformed the prior No. 1 seller in the category – the limited-edition “Game of Thrones” Oreo cookies.

“Overall, the campaign far exceeded our expectations for the KPIs, and was successful in engaging and reconnecting with shoppers,” Mason says. IQ

Campaign Closeups

Look for more Reggie Awards coverage in our July/August issue.

Jones Soda’s Latest AR Label Series

BY CHARLIE MENCHACA

Jones Soda is keeping consumers engaged with another round of product labels that turn into short videos with the help of augmented reality (AR).

The special labels appeared on 1.4 million bottles starting in March in the U.S. and Canada, spanning ve of Jones’ top-selling soda avors. The AR images, which become activated using the proprietary Jones Soda app, were also included on packaging for four-pack SKUs.

In general, most of Jones’ labels are consumer submitted — this was especially true within the action sports community, says Maisie Antoniello, marketing manager at Jones Soda. The latest labels include not only extreme sport athletes, but a gra ti artist, music video director, landscape painter and more. “We are also always pushing ourselves to expand our reach to content creators who have a unique point of view and engaged audiences,” Antoniello says.

The manufacturer has released 31 AR labels over three series since July 2021. After the initial AR series focused on sports, the company spotlighted the animatronic fortune teller character Zoltar reading humorous fortunes customized to incorporate Jones Soda messaging.

“Our labels have always been a vital component of our brand DNA, so we’re continually looking for new ways to use them as a canvas to help entertain, retain and expand our fan base,” said Eric Chastain, president of the Jones Soda beverage division, in a news release. “Adding video is a logical step at a time when people spend hours on platforms like TikTok. It’s fun, it’s fresh and it’s bringing new consumers to the Jones app to view the videos as well as check out our photo gallery, submit photos or videos of their own, and shop for their favorite Jones products.”

Jones posted videos and images to its social media channels showing the AR labels in action. The labels were supported in stores with header cards on soda racks, window clings and shelf hangers containing instructions and a scannable QR code to bring shoppers to the Jones Soda app, Antoniello says.

Experiential marketing agency Trigger(House helped Jones develop the overall technology and capabilities to create the AR series. Mint Performance Marketing assisted the manufacturer with managing its in uencer community. IQ

In-StoreExperience

Beauty Goes Brick-and-Mortar

BY JACQUELINE BARBA

As the beauty category continues to evolve and grow outside of its typical bounds controlled by retailers such as Sephora and Ulta Beauty, as well as mass merchants and drugstores, brands that were once deemed “challenger” brands (think Glossier or Fenty Beauty) have become household names. And while cosmetics and personal care have particularly seen growth online, brands and retailers are also increasingly tapping into in-store experiences, both permanent and temporary, to connect with new shoppers.

GLOSSIER’S RETAIL RETURN

In 2021, digital native Glossier made its re-entry into the physical retail space with the opening of three new and permanent stores in Los Angeles, Seattle (exterior pictured) and London, after shuttering all its physical stores in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aesthetically pleasing brand leverages an immersive design and what it calls a “peoplecentric approach” to beauty discovery at its stores, which includes minimal merchandising, illuminated lighting and shelving in a spacious and industrialstyle environment that incorporates its signature light pink hues throughout. Table displays, both encased and open, merchandise the brand’s cosmetics, skincare and brand merchandise, while four-sided, try-on centers off er illuminated mirrors and sinks to apply and reapply various products. With each varying slightly, most stores share oversized signage, large props, pillars, seating areas and plenty of unique, funky mirrors designed by the beauty brand’s in-house team. Glossier’s Los Angeles location, however, is L-shaped with massive letters spelling out the brand name on the storefront. The store stretches along Melrose Avenue and West Knoll Drive in West Hollywood, just a few blocks from Glossier’s former L.A. store that closed the year prior.

A can’t-miss element of the Seattle store includes a unique, forest-inspired boulder art installment outfi tted in fake moss, mushrooms, fl owers and butterfl ies.

YSL SCENT-SATION EXPERIENCE

While not exclusively a beauty brand, luxury fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) also off ers prestige beauty and fragrance products under YSL Beauty (owned by L’Oreal). In December 2021, the brand introduced “YSL ScentSation,” a tech incubator and in-store experience leveraging neuroscience to provide personalized fragrance advice (see “Activation Gallery,” page 52), fi rst launched at the brand’s YSL Beauty Innovation Lab pop-up shop in a Dubai mall.

L’Oreal’s technology incubator YSL Beauty partnered with neurotechnology company Emotiv to create a branded device that helps shoppers determine their perfect scent suited to their emotions.

Shoppers engage in a 25-minute diagnosis wearing the headset with a trained beauty advisor. Matching neuroscience and artificial intelligence with a polysensory experience, the headset captures five different feel-good emotions triggered by 14 different accords, representing 27 YSL fragrances, then translates them into a unique, personalized selection of three YSL scents.

“[This immersive experience is] a huge technological breakthrough that will help decode what consumers want to smell as [they discover] new fragrances,” said Stephan Bezy, international general manager at YSL Beauty, in a media release. “We’re excited to empower consumers with powerful insights and help make their search for the perfect scent both easier and grounded in how it makes them feel.”

Since the Dubai pop-up debut, the headset and experience has rolled out to Yves Saint Laurent flagship stores in multiple countries and will be available through 2023.

JCPENNEY BEAUTY

After Sephora ditched its store-within-a-store partnership with JCPenney for Kohl’s, JCPenney developed its own in-store and online beauty concept, focused in part on inclusivity and elevating diverse founders and brands. JCPenney joined forces with Thirteen Lune (an inclusive e-commerce site founded by Nyakio Grieco, a beauty entrepreneur and founder of Nyakio Beauty) and Patrick Herning (the founder of 11 Honore, a luxury plus-size fashion label) to help bring a unique experience to its stores. For Thirteen Lune, this collaboration marked its first brick-andmortar retail venture.

JCPenney Beauty, which is available at 10 stores with more rollouts planned in 2023, offers more than 170 brands, 39 of which are from Thirteen Lune, including Buttah Skin, Bossy Cosmetics and Wander Beauty. The store experience features in-line and illuminated displays.

In addition to indie and BIPOC-founded brands, the curated assortment spans makeup, skincare, haircare, styling tools, fragrance, nailcare, and bath and body products at varying price points. Henkel’s Better Natured at-home hair color line, for example, recently made its U.S. brick-and-mortar debut at JCPenney Beauty stores, along with trained in-store beauty experts available to help shoppers select the right Better Natured hair color shade and answer questions. Perfect Corp. technology is also available in-store, allowing shoppers to virtually try on colors before buying.

“Rooted in inclusivity, JCPenney Beauty grew out of direct feedback from our customers,” said Michelle Wlazlo, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at JCPenney, in a news release. “Together with our brand partners, we have reimagined every aspect of our beauty experience — from the highly curated assortment and welcoming space to the integrated loyalty program and all-new e-commerce experience. We are incredibly proud to bring JCPenney Beauty to life in stores and online.” IQ

GEN Z

SHOPPING HABITS

Our exclusive research on the most diverse generation to date examines how they search, browse and shop across channels and platforms, as well as what’s influencing their purchasing

decisions (and surprise, it’s not all just TikTok!). By Jenny Rebholz

In cooperation with

In recent decades, Millennials were the focus of brands and retailers as they dissected the shopping behavior of America’s youth. But now, a massive sociocultural shift is underway as Gen Z has come of age and the oldest members of this generational demographic are moving into their posteducation years. Defined as born approximately from 1997-2006, Gen Z currently makes up approximately 20% of the population (around 67 million), boasting strong voices, unique behaviors and sought-after purchasing power.

Gen Zers are recognized as the first digital natives and are considered shrewd, pragmatic and financial-minded. They are the most diverse generation to date and champion racial, ethnic and sexual diversity. They are also deeply concerned about mental health and are politically progressive —no matter what side they stand on. Sustainability, inequality and social injustice are subjects they are passionate about. They are challenging practices and hierarchies; they are demanding change. They are finding their authentic selves and seek truth and authenticity.

So, how does all of this translate to their shopping behaviors? This report — based on a survey conducted March 22-30, 2022, of 16- to 24-year-olds who self-reported shopping online or in-store at least once a month for one or more categories of interest — offers insights to help brands and retailers understand their behavioral shifts from previous generations. From the ways Gen Z searches, browses and shops across channels and platforms to what’s influencing their purchasing decisions, there are clear opportunities for brands and retailers to better connect with this dynamic consumer base in multiple ways.

Shopping in Person or Online?

Food/grocery Non-alcoholic beverages Non-food household essentials Pet care Personal care items Beauty Sporting goods Home decor Electronics

79%

79%

73%

67%

66%

48% 47% 46% 37% 10% 11%

8% 13%

12% 15%

16% 17%

15% 19%

23% 29% 28% 25% 26% 28% 35% 28%

Mostly in person Mostly online Both equally

Q: When you shop for each of the following, do you typically go online, in-store, or an equal mix of both?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

Why Do You Shop In Person?

Food / grocery

(n=760)

Non-alcoholic beverages

(n=569)

Non-food household essentials

(n=664)

Beauty

(n=341)

Pet care

(n=435)

Sporting goods

(n=198)

Electronics

(n=168)

Home decor

(n=263)

Personal care items

(n=623)

Ability to see products in person / interact hands-on 59% 44% 44% 47% 41% 39% 42% 45% 47% Immediacy of purchase / instant gratification 40% 39% 38% 32% 37% 24% 30% 25% 39% Easier to navigate / find products in-store 37% 32% 33% 27% 29% 18% 31% 25% 30% Wider range of selection 35% 37% 30% 23% 26% 20% 17% 25% 30% Inspiration / discovering new products 20% 23% 20% 27% 20% 17% 22% 32% 24% Enjoy the treasure hunt experience 19% 18% 14% 18% 15% 18% 22% 29% 14% The social aspect of going into the store 17% 17% 17% 18% 19% 17% 22% 17% 13% Product sampling 17% 12% 11% 27% 10% 17% 14% 19% 13% Expertise / assistance from store associates 12% 11% 16% 22% 20% 22% 23% 19% 15% Experiential offerings / interactivity 11% 10% 16% 15% 13% 24% 24% 16% 12%

Q: Why do you typically choose to shop mostly in person for these products?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

Why Do You Shop Online?

Food / grocery

(n=102)

Non-alcoholic beverages

(n=62*)

Non-food household essentials

(n=104)

Beauty

(n=161)

Pet care

(n=105)

Sporting goods

(n=119)

Electronics

(n=181)

Home decor

(n=152)

Personal care items

(n=143)

Convenience / can shop on my own time 47% 40% 47% 37% 46% 41% 40% 33% 45% Easier to navigate / find products online 35% 27% 28% 39% 27% 28% 36% 30% 21% Easier to compare product availability and pricing 28% 26% 33% 29% 36% 34% 44% 29% 33% Online promotions or coupons 24% 18% 25% 37% 23% 20% 31% 22% 28% Wider range of selection 24% 18% 35% 40% 23% 34% 36% 38% 24% Enjoy the visual content online 19% 15% 20% 29% 15% 15% 21% 30% 16% Being able to see products or brands on social media 19% 24% 22% 19% 15% 22% 23% 21% 23% Being able to share products with family or friends 17% 18% 21% 14% 11% 15% 17% 20% 15% Availability of customer reviews 15% 21% 23% 37% 22% 28% 34% 28% 25% Inspiration / discovering new products 10% 18% 13% 23% 18% 19% 20% 37% 18%

Q: Why do you typically choose to shop mostly online for these products?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

SHOPPING BEHAVIORS

Gen Z consumers are engaged shoppers. This is illustrated by their overall shopping frequency with a large percentage shopping one or more times per week. Even with 57% of the respondents living with their parents/guardians, they are active household product buyers. Those who shop once a week or more are shopping most often for food/grocery (72%), nonalcoholic beverages (49%), personal care items (47%) and non-food household items (44%).

Examining the shopping behavior more closely, it is important for brands and retailers to note Gen Z consumers are mostly shopping in person for food and beverages, household and personal care items as well as pet care supplies. Online shopping shows higher percentages in electronics, home decor, sporting goods and beauty.

What is driving Gen Z to shop in-store? The ability to see products in person and have hands-on interactions are the predominant reasons across all categories. For a generation accustomed to instant gratification, it makes sense that hands-on interactions and the immediacy of an in-store purchase resonates with them.

When choosing to shop online, it is typically a matter of ease and convenience for the Gen Z shopper. Access to a wider selection of products was also referenced across most categories.

This information provides a valuable base understanding for brands and retailers looking to maximize connections with this audience. Gen Z consumers are shopping

What Do You Enjoy About In-Person Shopping?

See products in person/interact hands-on Immediacy of purchase/instant gratification Wider range of selection Easier to navigate/find products in-store Inspiration/discovering new products Enjoy the treasure hunt experience The social aspect of going in the store Tired of pandemic lockdown Expertise/assistance from store associates Product sampling Experiential offerings/interactivity

39%

34%

33%

24%

20%

17%

13%

11%

11%

8%

Q: What is it about the in person shopping experience in general that you most enjoy?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

62%

frequently across multiple categories and there are opportunities to reach this demographic in-store and online.

CHANNEL PREFERENCES

While continuously recognized for being digitally savvy, 51% of Gen Z respondents reported that they shop mostly in-store for everyday items, while 27% preferred online shopping.

The ability to see products in person and have hands-on interactions were referenced by 62% of respondents. Female respondents (66%) noted this preference slightly more than their male counterparts (56%). Gen Z is drawn to in-store options that are affordable and offer a one-stop shopping experience. Walmart and Target were referenced as Gen Z consumers’ favorite destinations for in-store shopping for everyday items. This is due to having everything they need and a wide selection at an affordable price. Forty-nine percent of respondents identified Walmart as a favorite store, and 19% selected Target. In both cases, more than 30% referenced the stores having everything they need.

For the respondents who preferred shopping online for everyday items, convenience and easier comparison shopping were the most enjoyable aspects of the online experience. Fiftyfive percent referenced convenience and Product was on sale or had a special offer Product packaging was attractive/caught my attention The product is new or unique The store was out of my usual product, so I picked up something else The product is available for a limited-time Sampled the product or saw a demonstration in the store Product was on display somewhere else in the store besides the usual location Shelf signage caught my attention Product was advertised in the store flyer/weekly ad A display at the end of the aisle (endcap) Sign in the store (other than at the shelf) or sticker on the floor advertised the product

34%

32%

26%

23%

22%

21%

16%

16%

15%

15% 45%

Q: What aspect(s) of the in-person shopping experience most encourage you to make a purchase when shopping for everyday items?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

Impact of Brand & Retailer Actions

Promotions or sales Customer reviews or testimonials Personalized offers that are relevant to me Informative content specific to their products New or seasonal product offerings Share information about the social causes they support Share user-generated content Influencer recommendations Informative newsletters or content related to their industry

55% 36% 9% 51% 37% 12% 46% 41% 12% 40% 48% 12% 35% 49% 16% 34% 44% 22% 28% 49% 23% 27% 43% 30% 18% 51% 31%

Very impactful Somewhat impactful Not impactful

Q: When you think about interacting with brands and retailers, either online or in-store, which are the actions they take that are most impactful in encouraging you to make a purchase?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

In-Store Shopping Behaviors

Look up customer reviews Compare the in-store price to what is online Look up the product online so you can buy it later Check for a coupon or promotion to use in-store Check availability at another in-person retailer that you prefer Take a photo of the product to share with friends Look up the return policy Check out the brand’s social accounts

28%

23%

24%

22%

16%

16%

17% 27%

32%

29%

30%

30%

24%

21% 28%

29%

14% 23% 26% 29% 16%

27% 18%

33% 14%

29% 19%

33% 21%

32%

33%

27%

Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never Q: When shopping in person for everyday items, how often do you do each of the following?

% Most or All of the time 55%

55%

53%

52%

46%

40%

38%

37%

Gen Z … the First Truly Omnichannel Generation

For the last few years, manufacturers and retailers have fi xed their aim on how to win with Millennials, which has resulted in being hyper-focused on understanding and actioning how to win the sale via their preference for online purchasing. The drive, and arguably imbalance, to conquer digital and e-commerce has been palpable. However, we are about to experience a pendulum swing as Gen Z is shaping up to be the fi rst truly omnichannel generation, one that demonstrates an ease and willingness to shop in stores and online with great fl uidity. Perhaps the most surprising behavior, a behavior traditional consumer goods brands need to recognize and assess, is Gen Z’s shopping “mostly in person” (aka in-store) for food and grocery, beverages, household essentials, pet care and personal care.

An additional valuable point to be considered by these brands, as they aim to build consideration and drive trial among Gen Z, is while Gen Z may be buying in-store, their browsing activity for everyday products is more balanced between online to offl ine. Respondents to the Path to Purchase Institute’s recent Gen Z consumer survey claim they browse with Google (67%) and Amazon (69%), while browsing in grocery stores (69%) and at big box retailers and mass merchants (65%) in equal measure.

While the rise in social infl uence as a critical component in winning brand consideration among Gen Z may not be a surprise, the idea that in-person shopping leads to a higher purchase percentage compared to shopping done online via websites, ads or social media should not be ignored.

As digital and, more importantly, mobile natives, the Gen Z population is connecting across multiple social platforms and it is in this connectivity and community where the greatest value lies. Gen Z prefers to look to peers for inspiration and tends to trust other

consumers’ opinions more than what brands say about themselves. Forty percent of Gen Z shoppers surveyed said the most eff ective online ads are those from brands they know and trust and more than half (51%) said customer reviews and testimonials have an impact on the brands and retailers they choose. The unlock for a brand is to uncover audiences who can be leveraged as authentic and trustworthy brand advocates and use them in both the real (at-shelf) and virtual (mobile, Liz Fogerty social, digital) worlds as trusted infl uencers of Gen Z purchase decisions. So, how can CPG marketers win the choice, earn the purchase and build critical brand loyalty with a generation who, research suggests, likes to explore, discover and try new things wherever and whenever they choose? Start now, act and adapt to Gen Z’s wants. Collectively, these three Gen Z behavioral fi ndings — the rise of in-store shopping, the balance between in-store and online browsing, and the social infl uence of community and recommendations — validate the need for an omnichannel approach that boosts brand availability, brand equity and overall presence. Gen Z wants the best of both worlds. They want to visit your website or the aisle and be able to fi nd and discover products easily, readily compare prices and see personal recommendations, at both the real and virtual shelf. The notion of ease and convenience resonates with this generation. To win with Gen Z shoppers, CPG brands will need to determine which of their strengths are most valuable in-store and online, embrace them in both places with equal importance, and create a holistic commerce experience — from consideration to conversion — that mirrors the demands of Gen Z, the truest omnichannel generation yet.

About the Author: Liz Fogerty leads Strategy at Advantage Unified Commerce. She is a 25-year advertising and marketing veteran who has spent the last 16 years focusing her attention and expertise on advising CPGs on how to win at retail.

ability to shop on their own time, while 40% fi nd it easier to compare product availability and pricing. In this instance, 45% of men cited the ease of price and availability comparisons versus 33% of women respondents. Thirty-fi ve percent of respondents believe it is easier to navigate and fi nd products online.

The desire for one-stop shopping is still a Gen Z priority online as is aff ordability. Sixtytwo percent identifi ed Amazon as their favorite destination for online shopping with 31% focused on Amazon having everything they need. Thirteen percent of respondents preferred Walmart for online shopping with 37% noting aff ordability as a driving factor.

ONLINE BROWSING

When Gen Z is looking for something specifi c or wants to be inspired, where do they go? It’s not surprising that these digital natives begin their search for information and inspiration online. This survey shows they start their searches via Amazon (52%) or Google (43%).

What Do You Enjoy About Online Shopping?

Convenience / can shop on my own time Easier to compare product availability and pricing Easier to navigate / fi nd products online Availability of customer reviews Wider range of selection Online promotions or coupons Inspiration / discovering new products Being able to see products or brands on social media Being able to share products with friends or family Enjoy the visual content online

16%

14%

13%

13% 40%

35%

29%

28%

28%

Q: What is it about the online shopping experience in general that you most enjoy?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

55%

Searching via retailer websites accounts for 28% and TikTok search activity is 16%. Note that TikTok is ranked higher among the younger 16- to 17-year-old Gen Z consumers polled at 25%.

Gen Z continues their browsing activity for everyday products online with Google (67%) and Amazon (69%). The percentage of respondents browsing online is closely in line with in-store browsing at grocery stores (69%), as well as big box/mass merchants (65%).

Social media supports about 50% of respondents’ browsing habits. Taking a closer look at social platforms, Instagram and TikTok are the most popular at more than 60% for browsing most or all of the time. Women respondents

Where Do You Begin Your Online Search?

Amazon Google Retailer’s website TikTok Instagram Single brand’s website Facebook Snapchat Pinterest Reddit Twitter

16%

12%

9%

8%

6%

5%

3%

2% 28% 52%

43%

Q: What are the fi rst one or two sites/apps you go to to learn more about products you might be interested in?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

Retailer’s website

Single brand’s website

16-17 y/o

(n=156)

By Age

18-19 y/o

(n=273)

20-21 y/o

(n=224)

22-24 y/o

(n=347)

50% 58% 52% 48%

44% 44% 39% 44%

22% 27% 33% 28%

25% 16% 15% 12%

15% 11% 15% 10%

6% 8% 10% 10%

5% 4% 9% 12%

8% 5% 6% 5%

6% 5% 4% 5%

1% 3% 1% 5%

2% 0% 2% 2%

Frequency of Browsing/Looking for Inspiration

Google Amazon In person at grocery stores In person at big box / mass merchants Social media In person at discount/dollar In person at specialty or single-brand stores In person at large, category-specific retailers In person at club stores In person at small multi-brand retailers Retailer’s website Single brand’s website Online ads

36%

33%

33%

29%

24%

21% 17% 16% 15% 14% 13% 13% 11% 26%

28%

26%

29%

24% 27% 29% 25% 18% 31%

36%

36%

36%

30%

34%

40%

36%

34% 38% 38% 41%

35% 24% 9%

23% 8%

22% 9%

24% 11%

20%

17%

17%

19%

27% 21% 20% 21%

36%

All of the time Most of the time

Q: How often do you use each of the following to browse or look for ideas or inspiration about everyday products to purchase?

Some of the time Rarely or never

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

Device Usage When Browsing Online

Social media

87% 9% 4%

Google

Amazon

74%

74%

Single brand’s website Retailer’s website

66%

64%

Mostly on my phone Mostly on a laptop or tablet Both equally

Q: When browsing online, do you primarily use your phone, a laptop / tablet, or both about equally?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

15%

18%

25%

27% 11%

8%

9%

9%

Social Platforms Used for Browsing

Instagram TikTok Snapchat Facebook Pinterest Twitter Reddit

44% 21% 16% 19%

44%

32%

29%

23% 20% 13% 23%

19% 13% 36%

20% 16% 35%

25% 17% 35%

18% 11% 24% 17%

27% 13%

All of the time Most of the time Some of the time

41%

49%

Rarely or never

Q: Which social platforms are you using most often to browse for everyday products? over-index at 70%-plus for Instagram and TikTok. It is interesting to note that men (45%) and older Gen Z consumers (ages 22-24, 43%) reference Reddit for browsing. Snapchat, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter were referenced by 42%-51% of respondents, showing noticeable browsing activity across all platforms.

As Gen Z browses across social apps, 52% are influenced by “recommended for you” pages. Search results guide 44% of respondents’ behavior. Approximately 37% pay attention to the accounts of friends, family, classmates or co-workers. Celebrity or microinfluencers were identified by less than 30% of the respondents.

Gen Z is ready to browse with phone in hand. The highest percentage of browsing — whether via social media, Google, Amazon or a brand or retailer website — occurs on their mobile devices. Laptop or tablet usage sees a slight increase for brand and retailer websites. (See top chart at left.)

For brands and retailers looking to capture Gen Z attention, online ads rank the least for frequency of browsing behavior overall; however, 51%

reference sometimes discovering new products via online ads. The most effective ads to the Gen Z shopper are from brands they know and trust (40%). They also are enticed by being introduced to a new or unique product (38%) or if they are being offered a discount or promotion (37%).

PURCHASING EVERYDAY PRODUCTS

As brands and retailers consider how to convert Gen Z searching and browsing habits into sales, it is important to understand where these consumers are completing their purchases. The primary purchasing channels, based on frequency (frequently and sometimes), identified by respondents were in person at grocery stores (86%) and big box/mass merchants (82%) as well as online via Amazon (83%). This closely correlates with their searching and browsing behavior. This means brands and retailers

Frequency Discovering New Products in Online Ads Frequency Clicking on Online Ads

Never

5%

Frequently 22%

Rarely 22%

Sometimes 51%

Rarely 28%

Never 11%

All of the time 11%

Most of the time 17%

Some of the time 33%

Q: How often would you say you discover new products through online ads? Q: How often do you click on online ads to find out more about the product or brands advertised?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

have an opportunity to connect with Gen Z, leverage the customer experience and convert them where they are.

Further examination of the channel purchase frequency shows in-person options equating to a higher purchase percentage than online via websites, ads or social media. Still, the data across Gen Z age ranges shows a wide variety of channels being used for purchase activity.

The impact of social media tends to be a hot topic of conversation as companies debate where to invest marketing dollars and energy. Respondents identified

Purchasing Frequency by Channel

In person at grocery stores In person at big box / mass merchants Amazon In person at discount/dollar In person at club stores In person at small multi-brand retailers In person at specialty or single-brand stores Social media In person at large, category-specific retailers Google Shopping results Retailer’s website Single brand’s website Directly from online ads

57%

48%

44%

31% 42%

27%

25% 25% 22%

21%

19%

17%

14%

11%

Frequently

29% 33%

41%

40%

38%

36%

40%

41%

26%

Sometimes Rarely Never

Q: How often do you purchase everyday items through the following channels?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

29% 10% 4%

34%

39% 12% 6%

11% 6%

20% 7%

24%

24% 16%

10%

25% 10%

27%

29%

30% 22%

12%

16%

30%

31%

35% 13%

13%

15%

Instagram, TikTok and Facebook as the most popular social media channels for purchasing everyday items. This again aligns with their browsing activity, demonstrating an opportunity for sales conversion. The purchase frequency for these top social media platforms ranged from 41%-52% for frequently and sometimes.

Gen Z respondents prefer making in-app purchases with Instagram (38%). Once again, the 16- to 17-year-old age group shows a greater preference for TikTok — 35% compared to 15% of 22- to 24-year-olds. The main reasoning behind the most preferred platforms for in-app purchases were due to: • It makes recommendations that are personal to me. • It is the social platform I engage with most on a daily basis. • I feel confi dent the platform protects my personal information.

The impact social media has on purchasing everyday items is greatly infl uenced by what Gen Z sees their personal social circle doing. The activity of friends, family, classmates and co-workers frequently or sometimes infl uences purchases for 75% of respondents. Retailer or brand social activity follows at 64%, with 18- to 24-year-olds (67%) more infl uenced than 16- to 17-year-olds (51%). Instagram TikTok Facebook Snapchat Pinterest

Purchasing Frequency by Social Platform

23%

24%

18%

16%

14% 29%

22%

23% 20%

21%

22%

19%

21% 20%

22% 28%

33%

37%

45%

43%

Twitter Reddit

11%

9% 16%

16% 21%

18% 52%

57%

Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never Q: How often do you purchase everyday items through these social platforms?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

Micro-infl uencers or celebrities have an overall impact at 42%-47% with a greater impact refl ected by Hispanic or Black Gen Z shoppers. (See chart at bottom of page 27.) When looking at in-store purchases, sales and special off ers encourage 45% of respondents to buy. Eye-catching product packaging and seeing a new or unique product were also referenced. While they are shopping in-store, their digital connection still plays a role in their decision-making. Gen Z shoppers are frequently looking up customer reviews and comparing prices to what is available online. They are also noting products online so they can buy them later. Whether in-store or online, brands and retailers have the opportunity to implement a variety of eff ective marketing tactics. Shrewd, pragmatic and fi nancial-minded, Gen Z is enticed by a good deal. This is illustrated by 91% of respondents identifying promotions and sales as impactful. Customer reviews or testimonials, personalized off ers, and informative content specifi c to products all ranked at 88% eff ective. As previously mentioned, Gen Z is looking for authenticity and truth, so they are digesting content to inform their decision-making. With all of the retailer/brand actions regarded as impactful (ranging from 69%-91%), companies can select the tactics that align with their true, authentic brand Preferred Social Platform stories and missions to make a deeper connection with for In-App Purchases Gen Z consumers.

FAVORITE RETAILER BY CATEGORY

With convenience, selection and aff ordability top of mind, Walmart, Target and Amazon lead the way as the favorite retailers for Gen Z consumers across multiple categories. These selections refl ect interesting data about in-person vs. online shopping. Online shopping via Amazon was the top selection for respondents in the electronics and home decor categories. It placed second in non-food household essentials and third in non-alcoholic beverages and personal care items. Walmart was the top selection in food/grocery, nonalcoholic beverages, non-food household essentials and personal care items. It ranked second in the beauty category

7% 22%

22% 38%

6%

4%

3%

Q: Which social platform do you most prefer for making in-app purchases?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

Why It’s a Preferred Platform for In-App Purchases

Makes recommendations that are personal to me Is the social platform I engage with most on a daily basis I feel confi dent the platform protects my personal information Is the social platform I trust most Has the best selection of products Off ers promotions or coupons Saves my payment and shipping information for easy check out Makes it easy to share my purchases with friends Off ers my preferred payment method Off ers subscriptions for products I want regularly

(n=255)

35%

33%

31%

28%

28%

27%

25%

21%

19%

10%

(n=146)

38%

20% 45%

25%

27%

18%

17%

22%

11%

12%

Q: Why is that your most preferred platform for in-app purchases?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022) (n=145)

21%

33%

28%

26%

27%

21%

21%

17%

9% 25%

and third in pet care. Across these categories, more than 82% of Gen Z consumers are shopping in-store at Walmart.

Likewise, more than 81% are shopping in person at Target. The retailer ranked second for favorite retailer in the food/ grocery category where respondents say they shop in-store 100% of the time. Target was also ranked second in nonalcoholic beverages and personal care items. It was third in non-household essentials.

Other than when Amazon was listed, Gen Z consumers referenced in-person shopping at their favorite retailer in higher percentages than online shopping, including pet care, sporting goods, home decor and electronics. The beauty category is one area where shoppers noted a higher percentage of online shopping, yet the greater percentage was given to the in-person experience.

AND … NFTS

Data from this survey around NFTs (non-fungible tokens) shows minimal interest and action from the Gen Z respondents at this time. Only 8% have purchased an NFT before and 14% plan to in the future. Of those numbers, it is a higher percentage of male consumers. Thirty-one percent of respondents say they are not at all interested in purchasing NFTs. Furthermore, more than one-third of the female respondents said they don’t know what an NFT is. IQ

Frequency of Others Infl uencing Purchase on Social Platforms

Friends, family, classmates, or co-workers

Retailers or brands

31%

17% 44% 17% 8%

% ‘Frequently’ + ‘Sometimes’ 75%

48% 25% 11%

64%

Retailers / brands have less impact

on younger Gen Z shoppers

(16-17 year-olds): 51% say they are infl uenced* by retailers / brands on social vs. 67% of ages 18-24

Celebrities or celebrity infl uencers

16% 30%

Micro-infl uencers

12% 30% 31% 22%

34% 24%

47%

42% }

Social infl uencers have a greater impact on Hispanic and Black Gen Z shoppers

Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never

Q: How often are you infl uenced to buy everyday items by something you’ve seen on social from …?

Source: Gen Z Shopping Habits Study (Path to Purchase Institute, March 2022)

Introducing the 2022 Class of the Path to Purchase Institute’s

Nominated by their industry peers and selected by our editors, this inaugural list of winners is an impressive group of rising leaders who are redefi ning the future of commerce marketing. Get to know them here …

Ross Archer-Haynes

Senior Director, Retail Marketing

Paramount Consumer Products & Experiences Age 37

Archer-Haynes has experience across brand, franchise, retail and e-commerce marketing in North America, the U.K. and the Europe/ Middle East/Africa region from his 14 years at Paramount. He has led the development and execution of retail marketing campaigns for some of its largest intellectual properties, including “Paw Patrol: The Movie” (marking the largest marketing program ever for a preschool franchise at retail in August 2021; the eff ort saw more than 1.6 billion total impressions), “Baby Shark’s Big Show,” “Yellowstone” and others. He activated a cross-retail celebration for “Blue’s Clues” 25th anniversary with a TV spot and TikTok infl uencer campaign that delivered more than 100 million impressions; developed an e-commerce marketing strategy across top retail accounts that resulted in double-digital sales growth online; and oversaw a Nickelodeon pre-Easter shopper marketing program with celebrity infl uencer Ashlee Simpson-Ross and her family that increased sales by 15% year-over-year at top retail accounts in key seasonal categories. He also led an exclusive JoJo Siwa retail campaign at Walmart. The fi rst-of-its-kind content activation was amplifi ed through a brand store refresh, exclusive photo AR fi lter and digital media. It delivered more than 65 million impressions and 11% sales increase across the store.

FUN FACT: Archer-Haynes has been part of the 1000 Miles Run Club (1KRC) for the past three years, running more than 1,000 miles a year.

Abbey Ash

Partner, Chief Marketing Officer

Phoenix Creative Co. Age 37

Ash interned at Phoenix Creative while in college, then joined the agency full time after graduating in 2007, focused on Anheuser-Busch InBev and its trade marketing efforts. Through her early leadership, the agency has seen marked growth, including as an agency-of-record with Mondelez International for the past 10 years, serving as its lead agency for growth business, including drug, value and convenience customers, as well as strategic support for key initiatives. In 2019, the agency was named the P-O-P and instore experience agency for 7-Eleven. She points to her work with the chain’s Big Bite Pizza Store Takeovers, leading a team of designers, printers and copywriters in the development of graphics on the exterior of several Dallas stores. Interior transformations showcase custom photography and point shoppers to the hot food section, and national rollout is now underway. Ash was also key in partnering with 7-Eleven to develop P-O-P and digital assets for several of its QSR models, including Roost, Laredo Taco Co. and Parlor Pizza. The agency has nearly doubled in size over the past three years under her guidance and she prides herself on building, growing and nurturing others’ careers.

FUN FACT: Ash has been with Phoenix Creative her entire career.

Kimberly Biertempfel

Brand Manager, E-Commerce CVP and Demand

The Giant Co. Age 30

With a background in nonprofit and higher education fundraising and development, Biertempfel now has eight years of experience in pharmacy marketing, brand management, digital media and e-commerce. She helps build holistic programs that drive customer acquisition and retention, increase demand and boost e-commerce sales penetration. She led the launch of an enhanced customer value proposition for the retailer’s Giant Direct and Martin’s Direct brands, removing pickup fees and minimum order values as well as introducing faster pickup time slots. She has also worked with Peapod Digital Labs to implement electronic benefit transfer (EBT) on its e-commerce platforms, enabling the retailer to accept SNAP benefits for online purchases, and partnered with Instacart to introduce Instant Delivery for grocery delivery service in as fast as 30 minutes. She also managed the marketing for the retailer’s B2B offering, resulting in significant growth, and managed the marketing launch for the new Giant Direct e-commerce fulfillment center in Philadelphia – the company’s first to use advanced robotics for fulfillment. Biertempfel is most proud of her work on customer value proposition enhancements.

FUN FACT: Biertempfel has been dancing for most of her life and still enjoys taking classes when she can.

Josh Campo

President

Razorfish Age 39

Campo has led the development of Samsung 837X, an immersive metaverse experience that teleports users into Samsung Electronics America’s flagship store in New York to discover the possibilities created when technology and culture collide. It debuted in January at CES 2022 and was followed by a sustainabilitythemed Valentine’s Day activation on the same platform. The Publicis Commerce team has defined and taken to market several accelerators, and the agency has partnered with clients like Trojan, Ram Trucks, Bridgestone and Patrón to reimagine their approach to customer experience strategy in the post-COVID environment. Campo is most proud of bringing the Razorfish brand back in 2020, and overseeing doubledigit growth in its second year, which included impact on parent company Publicis Groupe’s performance and growing Publicis Commerce. Campo began his career as a software engineer, working in the U.S. and Europe for startups and then a technology consultancy. He joined Sapient in 2009 as a back-end solution architect. He then focused on developing and growing client accounts in financial services, retail and fashion. He was managing digital efforts at 22Squared prior to his current post.

FUN FACT: Campo skipped college to manage a web application software office in Romania, while running a bar in Eastern Europe for a time and learning to fly single-engine airplanes.

Alicia Crespin

Director, Omnichannel Retail Marketing – Target

Mattel Age 36

Crespin started at Mattel in an entry-level analyst role in 2011. She has been in customer marketing, now omnichannel retail marketing, throughout her time there, rotating onto diff erent accounts and progressing to her current director role on the Target account. She has helped spearhead the launch of the Target exclusive “Jurassic World: Beyond the Gates” program with its license partner, marking the fi rst time Mattel leaned into the collector market in a big way through a partnership with a major Jurassic World infl uencer that resulted in custom content and monthly preorders. That program is now in year two. Crespin has also overseen and found success with a change in the company’s timelines to become better strategic partners. She is proud of being promoted to director, a newer role in her group, which signifi es the value the group off ers to the company and gives analysts and associate marketing managers something to look forward to if they chose to stay within customer marketing.

FUN FACT: Crespin is married to her high school sweetheart, Ryan.

Alison Dempsey

Head of E-Commerce Customer Marketing

PepsiCo Age 38

Dempsey manages e-commerce customer marketing for PepsiCo’s portfolio of brands across various retailers, including pure play, national e-grocery, regional e-grocery and e-convenience. She and her team create and execute e-commerce marketing programs that drive brand equity, engagement, trial, conversion and loyalty, working to transform PepsiCo’s digital marketing by approaching it more like an e-commerce retailer than a CPG brand. Dempsey is passionate about the concept of “right time marketing” and has an ultimate vision of PepsiCo being able to use digital media at scale to reach the right customer, with the right message, on the right platform, at the right time. A recent success was a consumer-fi rst strategy during Super Bowl LVI that drove sales of the PepsiCo portfolio across all e-commerce retail accounts. Prior to joining PepsiCo in 2016, Dempsey led digital acquisition and retention marketing across various channels at Amazon. Before that, she was the social media and partnerships editor at Parenting magazine. She began her marketing career working on the famous “Got Milk?” milk mustache marketing campaign.

FUN FACT: Dempsey and her family have a tradition of creative holiday cards that can be found at their website, www.dempseychristmascard.com.

Rebekah Davila

Vice President, Onboarding & New Business

CitrusAd Age 32

Davila spent more than 12 years at Triad Retail Media, where she held a variety of roles in client services and business development, and became an expert in retail media. During her time there, she took night classes at the University of South Florida and graduated with a degree in mass communications and media studies. After the company shuttered its doors during the pandemic, she joined CitrusAd, which was in the process of expanding into the U.S. from Australia. In her fi rst year, she developed relationships and successfully onboarded more than 12 new top 100 retailers to the CitrusAd platform (which was acquired by Publicis Groupe last fall), including Target, Lowe’s, GoPuff & Albertsons Co., and the team is projecting to double that in 2022. Davila will graduate with her MBA in business analytics, management and marketing this year, and is most proud of recently overcoming a major and unexpected medical condition.

FUN FACT: After losing touch for more than 15 years, Davila reconnected with her high school sweetheart. They will be married in February 2023.

Paige Dunn

Senior Trade Marketing Manager

FIJI Water, JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery, Landmark Vineyards, JNSQ Wines, & Lewis Cellars Age 34

Dunn has created on-premise and retail programming for in-house and digital applications that yielded signifi cant incremental lift. She also has partnered with the sourcing team to send key business for bid, reviewed contracts and drove fi nancial effi ciencies across the business. Dunn launched and created trade support around new campaigns for JUSTIN Wines and FIJI Water, including all point-of-sale/in-store materials, sales team onboarding and digital applications. Additionally, she delivered a virtual wine-tasting program for use across retail/on-premise accounts to replace in-store tastings and demos during the COVID-19 pandemic, driving sales while keeping products top-of-mind with the consumer. She began her CPG career at Red Bull, fi rst in logistics and then leading the organization’s global sustainability eff orts. She then built the FIJI Water/Wines trade marketing department, which has since transformed into a center of excellence for The Wonderful Co.’s brands.

FUN FACT: Dunn wrote J.K. Rowling a letter in elementary school asking if she could be in the “Harry Potter” movies. The author wrote back, but Dunn didn’t get a part.

Jillian Durojaiye

Customer Director, Shopper Marketing

Mondelez International Age 38

For the past year and a half, Durojaiye has developed and executed integrated plans to drive growth on Mondelez brands. She has participated in several industry events regarding retail media, including panel discussions hosted by Ad Age and Brand Innovators, and is a member of the internal integrated planning pilot core team. Durojaiye began her career in procurement at Cummins Filtration and, soon after, transitioned into marketing. Following graduate school, she began working at Georgia-Pacifi c in brand management, where she held brand roles supporting Quilted Northern, Dixie and Vanity Fair before moving into a shopper marketing role in the dollar channel. She later accepted a brand role at Kellogg on Famous Amos and supported several regional brands. While there, she also worked in shopper marketing on its Target and Meijer business before joining Mondelez as the shopper marketing lead for the Kroger business.

FUN FACT: Durojaiye has lived in nine states … and counting!

Lauren Elliott

Senior Vice President, Strategy Director

Arc Age 36

In her current role, Elliott has been focusing on a new approach to category growth strategies and annual planning. Partnering with Unilever to rethink its approach to category growth, her team has immersed itself in category and shopper data to create actionable strategies that will benefi t the category, customer and shopper — and set the foundation for all strategies in the year ahead. Arc hired more than 100 people during the pandemic, including a team of strategists who have since been rewriting the future of shopper marketing at Unilever. Elliott strives to have strategy serve as the cornerstone for better decision-making in her work. She has held positions on the client and agency sides, starting in analytics and insights for Time Inc., working with P&G’s Walmart customer team, writing global retail strategies for GSK, launching new deodorant formats for Unilever, redefi ning the Olay brand strategy, and crafting social and TV ads for L’Oreal brands. She is motivated by the challenging puzzle the commerce space brings every day.

FUN FACT: Elliott gave then-Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer his fi rst copy of the Sports Illustrated cover after his team won the 2008 college football national championship.

Mike Feldman

Senior Vice President, Head of Commerce & Retail Media

Dentsu Age 33

Feldman leads a team with both buy-side and sell-side retail media clients. As a product advisor for industry leaders — including Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, Criteo, Pacvue, The Trade Desk and Google — he advises on betas and products in the pipeline, user interfaces, go-to-market approach, measurement solutions and overall positionings. He and his team also participate in the Citizen Automation Program, which enables coding/bot-building for non-coders and has equipped the team to automate all manual and repeatable tasks to operate more quickly, with more accuracy, and improve overall cost to serve. In Dentsu’s recent restructuring, Feldman led the development of a specialized team of 50 experts focused on optimizing performance marketing strategies for brands, and scaling cutting-edge opportunities in the retail space, including a dedicated Retail DSP team. He has led client relationships with Amazon Advertising for the last eight years, having joined Dentsu in 2019 with a blend of both agency experience from his time at IPG and Publicis along with brand direct experience at Georgia-Pacifi c as a marketing leader on the consumer business.

FUN FACT: Feldman sang the national anthem at a Boston Red Sox game, and he still gets family members to ship him his favorite pickles from a deli in Boston.

Shaina Fox

Lead, Omni Shopper Marketing

Kraft Heinz Age 36

Fox has spent a decade working with household brands to design insights-led marketing campaigns and collaborate with customers to increase sales and more authentically connect with consumers. She holds degrees in food marketing and culinary arts, and spent her fi rst years in the CPG industry as a culinary research technician at Mars. In 2014, she was asked by Mars Food leadership to help strategically expand its shopper marketing capability. Over the next four years, she built capabilities to support every major customer, repeat programs, and a resourced team solely focused on shopper marketing. A move in 2019 to Ferrara Candy Co. gave her the opportunity to establish the framework for creating omni marketing programs. She partnered closely with brand teams to develop best-in-class innovation launch plans, and with customers, like Walmart, to develop activations that unlocked some of the biggest display activity in the company’s history. She joined Kraft Heinz in late 2021 as a brand manager in shopper marketing before assuming her current post earlier this year, focusing on enhancing scale activation strategy and creative across the portfolio and customer network.

FUN FACT: Fox’s fi rst job was in acting. As a toddler, she suff ered from bad allergies and was featured as the “sick child” next to her pediatrician in commercials for national branded cold medicines.

Michelle Frantino

Head of Americas Marketing & Global Retail Media Marketing

Criteo Age 31

Frantino has nearly a decade of experience in the digital advertising and media space. Today, she focuses on growing awareness of and strengthening Criteo’s leadership position within commerce media. To better accelerate Criteo’s transformation into a leading commerce media platform, she has combined the Americas field marketing team to address the market opportunities holistically, and has grown the team from five marketers to 15. In 2020, Criteo launched the industry’s first-to-market, selfservice retail media platform and ecosystem. Last year, the marketing team expanded its 360-degree holistic, global marketing plan, focused on growing awareness and transitioning clients to the new platform — and the company announced 40%-plus year-over-year growth in its retail media business in Q4 2021. Prior to Criteo, Frantino served as senior marketing manager, Americas at Captify and held several positions at Tremor Video.

FUN FACT: Frantino loves everything about digital media, but also lives for her hard copies of The New York Times and The New Yorker.

Ethan Goodman

Senior Vice President, Commerce Media

The Mars Agency Age 38

Goodman leads a team of media planners and buyers in deploying best-in-class omnichannel shopper experiences that drive conversion at retail for key clients of The Mars Agency (TMA). He points to recent work helping clients win in retail media and digital commerce during a year of unprecedented change, disruption and innovation — and the explosion of spending, networks, capabilities, etc. This work included educating their senior executives and other key stakeholders, defining their approaches and strategies; navigating their relationships and joint business plan commitments with key retail media networks; building best-in-class, always-on and seasonal plans; driving tight integration with their broader shopper/customer marketing efforts; executing search and display campaigns with excellence; and delivering industry-leading results. He has been named a “Young Influential” by Adweek, a “Who’s Who in Shopper Marketing” by Path to Purchase IQ and a faculty member by the Path to Purchase Institute. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Goodman also built, grew and managed TMA’s E-Commerce and Innovation practice groups, and guided the team that created SmartAisle — the world’s first voice-powered shopping assistant for brick-and-mortar retailers.

FUN FACT: Goodman is a University of Michigan football fan (and proud alum) and has traveled to see the team play in 15 different venues, including 10 of the 14 Big Ten stadiums, Notre Dame and the Rose Bowl.

Vana Ghazarian

Global Marketing Manager

Intel Corp. Age 39

Ghazarian has been in her current post since 2013. Standout recent work includes: fully digital zones that display 360-degree videos to capture shoppers’ attention powered by Intel IoT retail solutions that display videos in real-time; digital touchscreen solutions on each table to help shoppers narrow down options based on usage and needs for their PCs; and onscreen PC solutions that recognize specs at the device level and translate those specs into benefits for shoppers. The company can now offer shoppers additional help after engaging with devices by scanning a QR code on the device. Customers can store details such as user reviews online, chat online with a representation or chatbot, and scan multiple devices for comparison purposes. She is most proud of the digitized retail aisle that effectively moved marketing from printed material and wood fixtures into digital experiences enabled by hardware and software at every touchpoint of the in-store journey. The globally launched Digital Zones coupled with digital onscreen experiences were the culmination of this innovative thinking, with a first-of-its-kind retail experience that gradually opens up to reveal additional information as shoppers interact.

FUN FACT: Ghazarian speaks seven languages.

Jessica Grasso

Brand Manager, Dermatology

Bayer Consumer Health Age 38

Grasso has a passion for marketing and building omnichannel programs. Recently appointed to her current post, she is the driver of national omnichannel strategies and activation for the company’s pain and skin health brands. Notable work throughout the past year includes the delivery of a Midol integrated shopper marketing program for 2022, and successful shopper programs to support the launch of AleveX. She was also the key architect in driving strategy change from brand shopper platforms to category shopper solutions to garner greater customer support. Grasso also implemented the first-ever category solution shopper program for heart health to support Bayer and Coricidin, which drove incremental trade support across top national accounts. Prior to Bayer, she was an account lead at multiple agencies, including Mars Advertising and Edge, working with various CPG clients and building national key account plans. She also spent time in shopper marketing at E. & J. Gallo Winery.

FUN FACT: Grasso and her family enjoy spending time outside, going on hikes, playing roller hockey and other sports.

Morgan Gregor

Senior Manager, Digital Commerce & Omnichannel Shopper Marketing

Campbell Snacks Age 31

Gregor supported the company’s largest brand innovation launches — Snyder’s of Hanover twisted pretzel sticks and Goldfi sh mega bites — across all of its key retailers with impactful in-store and digital activations this past year. She also drove its fall football scale program supporting the total Campbell Snacks portfolio, and managed a regional Pac-12 partnership as part of that program. Gregor worked closely with the company’s agency partner, The Mars Agency, to relaunch the Late July brand, expand the Kettle brand across the East Coast, and bring its Lance Little League partnership to life at retail. She also managed the overall shopper marketing budget for the company and drove process effi ciencies to optimize spend. She started her career at Dick’s Sporting Goods in its merchandising trainee program before moving into buying and space planning roles. She also held space planning and shopper marketing roles within CocaCola Consolidated before joining Campbell Snacks in late 2020. She now supports shopper marketing work for all of Campbell’s snack brands.

FUN FACT: Gregor enjoys working with a local animal rescue in her spare time and has fostered seven dogs in the past year.

Stacey Hartnett

Vice President, E-Commerce and Marketing

Chomps Age 33

Hartnett began overseeing the marketing team in addition to her e-commerce responsibilities in March after three years with the company. Her responsibilities include brand, consumer, content and shopper marketing. Recent notable work includes the successful launch of Chomps’ newest fl avor, Turkey pepperoni, in May 2021 with a strategy that focused on an e-commerce-fi rst launch to prove market fi t, build awareness and measure repeat purchase/loyalty from the initial trial. The launch built a strong retail sales story that led to omnichannel excellence. The SKU is now a top-performing fl avor with the highest repeat purchase rate. Hartnett is a core leadership team member driving the establishment of organizational practices from annual and quarterly strategic planning, performance management, and team and culture programs, such as a social committee and all-hands meeting. She started her career on an account management development track at News Corp. in New York. She also worked for boutique digital agency Rise Interactive for nearly fi ve years before joining Chomps in 2019 as a digital media buyer.

FUN FACT: Hartnett says her 2-year-old is the toughest boss she’s ever had, but to her credit, she never fails to provide real-time feedback.

Jamie Ighoavodha

Customer Team Marketing Director

Procter & Gamble Age 36

Ighoavodha has more than a decade of experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. While at P&G, she has managed a powerhouse brand, driven product innovation, co-authored a key pillar of company strategy and pioneered new ways to partner with customers. In the past year, she co-authored a strategy that is now a key part of total P&G strategy and created a groundbreaking, 360-degree program to support caregivers with a key customer. She also developed and rolled out a framework to create strategic personalized coupons at a key customer. Prior to joining the company, she led the international expansion of several U.S.-based hair care brands across West Africa. Ighoavodha started her career at PepsiCo in supply chain management.

FUN FACT: Ighoavodha lived and worked in Lagos, Nigeria, for two years.

targeting lapsed customers and Gen Z, and driving usage of the 7Rewards loyalty program, Phillips leveraged data and insights to identify the right partners for each program — gaming, football, the summer season and charitable giving — to drive results. By working with partners like PlayStation 5, Feeding America, Joe Freshgoods and Dak Prescott, 7-Eleven’s shopper marketing programs were tied to culturally relevant moments that resonated with customers. Notable results included the PlayStation 5 shopper marketing sweepstakes with a record 85.3 million entries in just seven weeks, the Joe Freshgoods merchandise that sold out in minutes, and the Feeding America program that raised 18 million meals.

FUN FACT: When she’s not traveling the world, Phillips lives with her husband and dog, Winnie, in Dallas.

Katie Heckman Phillips

Senior Marketing Manager, Shopper Marketing

7-Eleven Age 31

Phillips started her 7-Eleven career in 2015 in digital marketing, building coordinated communication plans across owned media channels. In 2017, she developed and managed the go-to-market strategies to launch the new 7NOW Delivery digital platform, giving customers new ways to connect with the brand. As a pioneer and leader of the retailer’s 2021 shopper marketing programs,

Greg Jastrow

Director – Retail Marketing

Kohler Co. Age 38

Jastrow and his team are the owners of Kohler Co.’s relationship with The Home Depot and its marketing team. Jastrow’s team has been an active participant in the retailer’s new Retail Media+ platform and works collaboratively on a daily basis to grow their collective businesses. This culminated in Kohler winning Marketing Partner of the Year for 2021 with the retailer. Jastrow has spent the past 16 years working for Kohler in nine different roles, in the areas of finance, mergers and acquisitions, and the last 10 years in marketing and/ or general management, now leading the marketing function for the retail channel with a primary focus on the home improvement retail space.

FUN FACT: Jastrow is a diehard Wisconsin Badger fan who has enjoyed the related ups and downs of rooting for the Badgers. On, Wisconsin!

Jennifer Jones Latz

Director, Shopper Marketing

Red Bull North America Age 39

Stephanie Klimaszewski

Senior Vice President, Marketing

Aki Technologies Age 34

Klimaszewski recently completed research on advertising receptivity, which leveraged EEG headsets to measure panelists’ brain waves as they watched Super Bowl LVI. She also supported Aki’s successful acquisition by Inmar Intelligence this past year, and published her forecast for the future of digital advertising personalization in Adweek. She has 15 years of experience building digital marketing solutions for brands, publishers and advertising technologies. Her professional mission is to elevate the marketing and advertising industry to deliver transformative experiences on behalf of brand advertisers. Prior to Aki, she led marketing for Kiip (now InMarket) and built integrated marketing solutions for SpinMedia (now Billboard) with campaigns for Microsoft, Kraft, W Hotels and Bank of America. She’s most proud of her work that won a Campaign Media award for “Best Media Strategy,” an OmniShopper Award for “Best Mobile Activation,” and a Modern Retail Award for “Best Collaboration” with Family Dollar. Her work has been featured by TechCrunch, VentureBeat and The New York Times, and she’s presented her work and original research to Charles Schwab and at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2018. Jones Latz has worked at Red Bull for nearly 15 years. She began in sales focused on the on-premise, then moved onto field marketing, which encompassed culture, sports and experiential. Becoming obsessed with what motivates consumers, she shifted into brand marketing before recently being tapped to lead the shopper marketing team, which highlights her knowledge of both the consumer and customer. Recent accomplishments include being a key contributor to Red Bull’s overall growth with its best year ever in 2021; winner of five Vendor of the Year awards across various account partners; spearheading the first and second female U.S. Red Bull Hero can; and her team’s unprecedented marketing partnership with 7-Eleven. Jones Latz spearheads a brand team Lunch & Learn, for which she brings outside marketing talent (often from key account partners like Kroger, Walmart, etc.) to speak to teams about key challenges and best practices. She also moved from chair to executive sponsor of ALAS, its Latin/ Hispanic Employee Resource Group.

FUN FACT: Jones Latz met her husband at a Red Bull event, and he is the cousin of her first manager.

Josh Kovacs

Shopper Activation Lead, North America

Meta Age 39

Kovacs developed and launched a pilot that brought a new closed loop measurement capability into the marketplace by leveraging the IRI/ANSA measurement solution. It drove new incremental revenue, and opened new doors for Meta in the shopper marketing space. He is working both internally and externally as part of a Path to Purchase Institute commission to help push shopper measurement standards and showcase the full impact of shopper marketing activities across the funnel. Kovacs has also reshaped Meta’s internal approach to shopper marketing, leading and coordinating internal initiatives while creating a new go-to-market strategy and sales enablement resources for the entire retail and CPG sales forces (including a new shopper marketing narrative and product playbook). He is most proud of his work as the Global Community Engagement Lead, as well as an active ally supporting Refugees, a group of Meta employees (both refugees and allies alike) that brings lived experiences and passion to supporting refugee-focused initiatives. Kovacs joined the company two years ago, has led the teams to double-digit growth in shopper marketing revenue, and is the subject matter expert leveraged across Meta’s marketing and sales teams.

FUN FACT: Klimaszewski taught yoga for five years, and Golden State Warriors basketball coach, Steve Kerr, was one of her students. FUN FACT: Kovacs is an avid skier who has skied at more than 31 different mountains, including the Swiss Alps, and has done helicopter skiing in British Columbia.

Julie Liu

National Manager, Commerce Media

Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. Age 34

Over the past year, Liu has changed Ghirardelli’s approach to retail media. Instead of a tactical lever, it is seen as a strategic marketing and sales tool. Recent key projects include the creation of a strategic retail media framework, with assigned roles to each platform based on ad capabilities and shopper behavior, and the institution of a profi tability calculator to determine KPIs and evaluate retail media performance. Liu has also been able to leverage her expertise in shopper marketing, e-commerce and digital to improve the organization’s annual marketing process, leading to the development of a cohesive digital marketing plan with objectives and KPIs lined up to brand goals. She is most proud of her industry contributions on the topics of shopper and e-commerce marketing. In addition to authoring articles on LinkedIn, she appeared on The Digital Shelf Cast and eCommerce Braintrust Podcast, and contributed her insights to Kiri Master’s book, “Instacart for CMOs.” She has also partnered with Firstmovr, Profi tero and Flywheel Digital (Ascential Group) on webinars and industry research.

FUN FACT: Liu and her family are huge Oakland A’s fans. She named her son after the family’s favorite Oakland A’s player.

Siobhán Llewellyn

E-commerce Marketing Manager

Spin Master Age 29

Llewellyn studied kinesiology in college, but her fi rst role postgraduation at a local start-up got her instantly hooked on the entrepreneurial atmosphere and the world of business. That prompted her to pursue her MBA. An internship at Kimberly-Clark introduced her to the world of e-commerce, and throughout the past few years she’s held a variety of roles within e-commerce and digital marketing primarily in the CPG and toy industries. She joined Spin Master in late 2019 and held three e-commerce merchandise/ marketing roles before being named brand manager earlier this year. She is now leading the U.S. commercialization and marketing strategy across the games portfolio business. In the last year, Llewellyn built an online business called Hiver Academy with a business partner, providing fi nancial education, courses, tutorials and information to empower women to take control of their fi nances. They break down fi nancial jargon so customers can not only understand, but benefi t from, personal fi nance and investing education.

FUN FACT: Llewellyn loves the outdoors and has been a camper since she was 5. She’s also the lightest packer you’ll ever meet, usually traveling with just a small backpack no matter the trip length.

Ivey McCloud

Senior Manager, Customer Marketing

GE Appliances Age 39

With more than 15 years of experience in brand management, customer, digital and shopper marketing, McCloud develops the strategic marketing plans for key GE Appliances customers, including Best Buy and Costco. She fi nds success in advancing brand awareness through robust messaging and communication systems delivered across multiple media channels. Recent work includes the development of the Café brand social infl uencer campaign on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, which garnered 6 million impressions, and the launch of the Tech for Good Initiative with Best Buy, in which GE donated a percentage of the proceeds to local Teen Tech Centers. She also executed 1,900 Sharpie Back-to-Campus quarter pallet displays at The Home Depot to increase brand awareness. With a passion to serve her community, she is actively involved in several civic and philanthropic organizations. Seeing a need to assist families aff ected by the global pandemic, McCloud created a book scholarship through her church for a local high school senior planning to attend a four-year college or university, and hopes to increase the amount of the award through corporate sponsorships and community partnerships.

FUN FACT: As a dedicated and avid runner, McCloud completes at least one 5K or 10K race a month.

Carrie Meythaler

Vice President, Associate Client Partner

Epsilon Age 32

Meythaler has more than 10 years of digital transformation experience, primarily helping large global companies navigate the fast-paced changes that come with being a part of an ever-connected digital world. She currently leads work for The Hive, a bespoke shopper intelligence hub that marries millions of signals and humanizes them at the individual level. She is most proud of being promoted into her current role and having the opportunity to work with a team of bright, talented people to drive transformation and change. She previously served as director within Epsilon’s Strategic Consulting-Marketing Technology & Digital Transformation practice, where she worked on enterprise-scale digital transformation projects across CPG, fi nancial services, travel and hospitality, technology and logistics verticals. She helped to shape winning strategies across people/process, data and technology, while accelerating the path toward datadriven consumer marketing.

FUN FACT: During the pandemic, Meythaler learned how to snowboard and surf, and she “completed” Netfl ix.

Ruben Nazario

Vice President, Digital Shopper Innovation

Behaviorally Age 37

Nazario heads up Behaviorally’s eFluence division. With more than 12 years of experience in the insights industry and having led the development of key product innovations at the company that has helped brands tackle e-commerce and omnichannel issues, he is the product lead for Flash.PDP, an AI-powered e-commerce image evaluation SaaS platform. He is most proud of his work in launching two AI-powered products in 2021: Flash.AI, a packaging screener that uses AI to predict the performance of early pack designs across KPIs and helps brands narrow down design options; and Flash.PDP, an AI-powered platform that helps brands instantly evaluate their e-commerce images to determine which are working well and which need to be optimized. Both have helped CPG brands make faster decisions and optimize their e-commerce content at scale through AI consumer data.

FUN FACT: Nazario enjoys maps and geography. He has a nearly flawless score on “Worldle,” the geography guessing game that’s a spinoff of Wordle.

Emma Purola

Manager, Media Strategy, Data and Measurement

Peapod Digital Labs Age 35

Purola is the subject matter expert in first-party audience strategy and marketing measurement for Peapod Digital Labs, the digital and commercial hub of Ahold Delhaize USA. She is currently helping its local brands (Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Giant Company, Giant Food and Hannaford) leverage both historical and prospective customer data to make marketing more relevant and impactful. Over the past two years, she has led work to expand and enhance how paid media is personalized across the retailer’s brands. Leveraging third-party tools and providers, she and her team have helped the brands reach customers with offers and content that is most relevant to them, in turn making media costs across the brands more effective and efficient. Since joining Peapod Digital Labs, her role took on a stronger focus on customer data in terms of how the team collects it, protects it and utilizes it to add more value to the customers’ relationships with the brands of Ahold Delhaize USA. She has 10 years of experience in paid media and site analytics, developing holistic measurement plans and helping brands understand their marketing effectiveness.

FUN FACT: Purola is an avid bocce player and is involved in several local leagues.

Joshua Rosen

Group Leader, E-Commerce and Digital Marketing

Church & Dwight Age 37

Rosen started his career at Campbell Soup in brand management, but eventually transitioned to digital roles at Anheuser-Busch, Amazon and, for the past five years, Church & Dwight. At the latter, he has worked on a variety of digital projects and leads the e-commerce marketing team. Recent work includes creating overarching strategies and building out a matrixed team of e-commerce professionals. He is most proud of his work creating a centralized information hub for e-commerce data, best practices and training/how-to guides. It’s never fully complete, but he’ll continue to work to break down silos and educate/empower the broader organization in e-commerce.

FUN FACT: Rosen is a Web3 enthusiast, and top 50 collector for 76ers NBA TopShot NFTs. He is excited to see if it intersects more directly with his professional life this year.

Yuni Sameshima

Co-Founder and CEO

Chicory Age 36

Sameshima leads Chicory, a contextual commerce advertising platform for CPG and grocery brands. The company recently released a new advertising solution called Branded Cart, which prioritizes brands when a consumer adds ingredients to their cart using Chicory’s shoppable recipe technology. Branded Cart helps brands grow share-of-cart, increase add-to-cart volume of specific products, and builds loyalty by appearing as a buy-again option on retailers’ sites. Multiple blue-chip brands participated in the phase one product launch — and grew their share-of-cart by 89% on average. Sameshima is most proud of Chicory’s growth, with 14 new team members and a heavy investment in product. He is a recent Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in the Retail and E-Commerce category and is an avid speaker and thought leader on trends in shopper marketing, digital grocery and advertising. He is also dedicated to guiding the next generation of entrepreneurs through mentorship programs, such as the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Colgate University’s Thought into Action and Built By Girls.

FUN FACT: Sameshima’s first name, Yuni, is actually not a Japanese name. He was born on, and named after, the (Y)unification day of East and West Berlin.

Jessica Sarkisian

Director, Media & Merchandising

Spectrum Brands Age 32

Sarkisian recently built a case to demonstrate the opportunity of bringing a portion of agency-managed ad dollars internally to gain effi ciency and speed to market. The result is a dedicated media buying team within Spectrum Brands, servicing its full portfolio of brands. She is most proud of expanding her knowledge base and team responsibilities into the retail media and e-commerce space. Sarkisian started her career at Kantar Millward Brown in the advertising research industry. Working across multiple verticals (CPG, B2B, government, fi nancial servicets, health, auto) and client types (marketers, agencies and media partners), she demonstrated leadership across client management, cross-channel media, and creative analytics and business development. After seven years with Kantar, she moved to Spectrum Brands to round out its internal digital agency expertise. She led a team of 14 digital marketing strategists responsible for developing digital content, campaign and channel strategies, infl uencer partnerships, brand websites, and organic and paid social advertising. She was recently promoted to build and lead a new pillar of Spectrum Brands’ commercial operations organization, creating a team that enables sales and brand equity growth for all divisions across the Americas via best-in-class execution of digital media, retail media and e-commerce merchandising.

FUN FACT: Sarkisian is expecting her fi rst child in October.

Wes Schroll

Founder & CEO

Fetch Rewards Age 28

Schroll drove the launch of the U.S. Spanish-language version of the Fetch Rewards app this past year, while also taking the app “from solo to social” by launching a new, highly engaging set of social features that allows users to interact with friends and engage in friendly competition via its leaderboard. Fetch Rewards hit $100 billion in annualized gross merchandise value (GMV) last year, making it equivalent to the nation’s seventh-largest retailer. Schroll has also helped it expand into new verticals and enhance value for both brand partners and Fetch users alike, watching the user base grow from 7 million to nearly 14 million monthly active users this past year. With two startup ventures already under his belt when he entered school at the University of Wisconsin, the idea for Fetch Rewards came after his fi rst solo grocery trip as a college student when he realized that he and others were more loyal to their favorite brands than to the stores they shopped. He started building Fetch Rewards in 2013, which has since grown to more than 90 employees, brought in more than $28 million in funding, impacted millions of users across the country, and changed the way companies reward shoppers for their loyalty.

FUN FACT: Schroll founded Fetch Rewards as an undergrad at UW-Madison, testing its scanning technology at a local grocery store where the owner liked to support student businesses.

Michael Schuh

Vice President, Media Strategy

Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM), 84.51 Age 34

Schuh and his team develop retail media products across Kroger’s on-site and off -site channels to drive measurable business impact for advertisers. His responsibilities include leading the overall media product strategy for technical, content, commercial and partnership considerations. Kroger digital properties and off site partnerships are evolving rapidly, and are setting the pace for retail media while presenting a large opportunity for brands to engage with digitally active customers at the point of purchase. Schuh is accountable for ensuring Kroger, consumer packaged goods companies and media agencies have a robust, high-impact product mix to execute advertising plans. He is most proud of the launch of KPM’s Private Marketplace, a DSP-agnostic programmatic buying solution for advertisers to pair Kroger’s fi rst-party data audiences with inventory at scale. He also spent three years working closely with global retailers at Dunnhumby as a product manager across a suite of pricing and promotions software. Prior to that, he spent two years at Booz Allen Hamilton as a senior consultant, working with public sector agencies to streamline their data and reporting assets.

FUN FACT: Schuh enjoys making — and could live off of — homemade pasta.

Sweta M. Shukla

Shopper Marketing Manager

Scotts Miracle-Gro Age 37

Shukla has helped transform Scotts Miracle-Gro’s go-to-market strategy to encompass total omnicommerce marketing, most recently leading the strategic planning and execution of a co-marketing plan with its largest retail partner, The Home Depot. She points to key parts of the program, including weekend media plus-ups, a method of focusing weekend social media in the right place at the right time with the right product. Shukla worked cross-functionally in the organization each week to build out the weekend media, which included market selection, product selection and creative development. It drove incremental sales, with strong ROI that exceeded benchmarks. She also led the briefi ng and media planning that included digital/national TV with key cross-functional teams, and after The Home Depot launched its retail media platform in 2020, her team leaned in heavily in 2021. Shukla led the strategic planning process and worked weekly with agency partners (who led execution) to turn insight into action. Performance drove sales in-store and online, and exceeded benchmarks.

FUN FACT: Shukla considers herself a “jill-of-all-trades.” If there is something she doesn’t know how to do, she’ll fi gure it out.

Andrew Stephens

Senior Shopper Marketing Manager

Post Consumer Brands Age 39

Stephens recently led an integrated marketing communications team in the launch strategy and planning for Post Snacking, a new category in the store that is breakfast snacking. He worked to uncover and bring shopper insights to life for the Post Consumer Brands portfolio, and also pioneered a best-in-class vendor summit, giving more than 15 organizations in the vendor community direct access to brand strategy and objectives to kick off a more cohesive and connected planning season. Stephens sat on the Effie’s judge’s panel for the second year in a row, reviewing the year’s most innovative and effective programming, and is the founder of Sycamore ARC, an organization that serves local school district parents who need to connect with advocacy and resources for students in all grade levels. Its mission is to connect parents to the resources and knowledge necessary to provide their students with a vibrant, fulfilling and rewarding learning experience in and out of the classroom.

FUN FACT: Stephens was a finalist in an air guitar contest with Mick Jones from Foreigner.

Briana Voss

Omni-Channel Marketing Director

Good Foods Group Age 36

Voss focuses on improving the path for consumers to discover Good Foods wherever they are, and has effectively grown the company’s brand awareness and repeat buyers. These efforts include hyper-focused shopper marketing programs supporting its customers, elevating e-commerce and clearly communicating the benefits of the brand. She started her marketing career with a media agency foundation from Starcom Worldwide and gained experience across digital publisher roles within AOL/Yahoo! and brand side marketing roles at Walgreens, which she now applies to her current work at Good Foods Group.

FUN FACT: Voss has a passion for food. She is constantly learning new techniques, taking classes and trying new flavors. Cooking is her place of Zen.

Abishake Subramanian

Vice President and General Manager

Lowe’s One Roof Retail Media Network, Lowe’s Companies Inc. Age 36

Subramanian leads Lowe’s One Roof Media Network, the company’s in-house omnichannel advertising services program, overseeing the growth of its revenue, products and organization. He serves as the bridge between the advertising community and Lowe’s engineering/ product team and sales and marketing team, while working with clients and industry partners to build the business. Recently, Subramanian instituted a best-in-class ad platform inheriting IRI’s Liquid Data tech stack to buy and sell personalized digital ads across online, offline, email and social channels with a proprietary closed-loop measurement on-demand system to provide ROI for supplier and CPG investments. The result is accelerated growth in media revenue across more than 100 suppliers and increased conversion on the site, driving top-line growth for suppliers. He also led the acquisition of Triad Retail Media with WPP to take the retail media business in-house, and helped launch Sam’s Club Media Group (SMG), resulting in increased profitability and accelerated growth.

FUN FACT: Subramanian bought a giant cedar outdoor playset for his kids from Lowe’s last year, picked it up and assembled it in less than three days by himself, with no prior experience.

Denzel R. Washington

Assistant Manager, Omni Customer Marketing

General Mills Age 28

This past year, Washington brought the first-ever console partnership to the Totino’s brand with Walmart that was designed to bring a nostalgic approach to gaming. He also partnered with the late Betty White to celebrate Betty Crocker’s 100th Birthday. The two iconic Bettys were to celebrate their 100th birthdays within three months of each other, and were encouraging home bakers to celebrate alongside them in a campaign in Walmart in October 2021. He also helped launch the company’s Old El Paso x Takis fuego taco shells exclusively at Walmart, developing an omni-plan in partnership with Walmart and Walmart Connect that brought in Snoop Dogg as a celebrity influencer. The campaign yielded impressive results, making the taco shell the top selling product in the TexMex category. Washington has spent the last seven years in marketing and e-commerce across a variety of different roles and industry segments. Prior to General Mills, he worked at VMLY&R and other agencies and was accountable for building and developing digital and commerce strategies for multiple clients to help them win at Walmart and Amazon.

FUN FACT: Washington loves going to the movies. It’s his second home.

The Evolution

of the of the In-Store

Shopping

Experience

2PART

In cooperation with

OUR EXCLUSIVE RESEARCH SHOWS INSIGHTS ABOUT WHY CONSUMERS ARE SHOPPING IN-STORE, WHAT THEY ARE SHOPPING FOR, WHAT DRIVES THEM TO MAKE SPONTANEOUS PURCHASES, AND THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THEIR IN-STORE EXPERIENCE.

BY JENNY REBHOLZ

Despite clear shopper concerns about safety and cleanliness, e ciency, supply and demand issues, as well as customer service and social interactions, consumers are sti ll shopping in physical stores. Part 1 of this special report on the Evolution of the InStore Shopping Experience, which appeared in the March/April issue, focused on shopping frequency, changes in shopping habits and in-store vs. online shopping preferences. The data and feedback revealed challenges, yet clearly presents opportunities for brands and retailers to reenergize the instore shopping experience.

In part 2 of the report, we share insights about why consumers are shopping in-store, what they are shopping for, what drives them to make spontaneous purchases, and the factors in uencing their in-store experience. This additional data will help brands and retailers brainstorm shopping innovations — ways to engage consumers in the ever-evolving retail landscape, capture market share and bring joy back to shopping in-store.

IN-STORE EXPERIENCE

As noted in part 1 of this special report, even as respondents were

Reason for Shopping In-Store

Ability to see products in person/interact hands-on Wider range of selection Immediacy of purchase/instant grati cation Easier to navigate/ nd products in-store (compared to online) Tired of pandemic lockdowns Enjoy the treasure hunt experience The social aspect of going in the store Inspiration/discovering new products Product sampling Expertise/assistance from store associates Experiential o erings/interactivity

36%

35%

32%

28%

23%

20%

20%

14%

13%

12% 57%

Q: When you decide to shop inside a physical store, what are the main reasons you prefer to go to the store (rather than shopping online)?

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

The most common reason consumers have for shopping in physical stores is the ability to see products in person and have hands-on interactions. About one-third of shoppers reference access to a wider product selection, instant shopping gratification and ease of navigation as other top reasons influencing their decision to shop in-store.

navigating the omicron variant at the time of this survey, 66% of respondents were still shopping in physical stores. For those who indicated they shop instore, a primary motivator is the ability to see products in person. Consumers still have a desire to take a closer look at items and have hands-on interactions with merchandise.

Shoppers also feel there is access to a wider selection of products in-store and some commented on the feeling of instant grati cation based on the immediacy of the purchase and walking out of the store with product in hand.

From apparel and groceries to electronics, home improvement and home decor, seeing products in person is a draw to physical stores across product categories as well as types of retailers. While seeing and handling merchandise brings consumers in-store to shop, there are a number of factors that in uence their positive in-store shopping experience.

When shoppers were asked about factors influencing their in-store

Reason for Shopping In-Store, by Category

Base size

Ability to see products in person

Wider range of selection

Instant grati cation Easier to navigate in-store

Enjoy the treasure hunt experience Inspiration

The social aspect of going in the store Product sampling Assistance from store associates Experiential o erings

Grocery n=838 64% 37% 41% 30% 18% 18% 16% 21% 16% 12% Non-food essentials n=664 52% 52% 40% 25% 14% 13% 12% 11% 11% 8% Beauty n=488 55% 55% 29% 24% 17% 16% 10% 26% 19% 9% Alcoholic beverages n=474 47% 47% 38% 23% 18% 14% 11% 15% 16% 10% Pet care n=500 50% 50% 38% 23% 13% 12% 12% 12% 19% 9% Apparel n=594 66% 66% 36% 22% 20% 17% 11% 18% 15% 9% Cannabis n=228 49% 49% 39% 20% 16% 14% 12% 19% 23% 7% Sporting goods n=367 53% 53% 33% 19% 19% 12% 10% 17% 23% 9% Electronics n=647 62% 62% 34% 20% 16% 13% 11% 16% 30% 12% Home improvement n=505 61% 61% 34% 23% 17% 18% 10% 11% 30% 9% Home decor n=503 60% 60% 32% 19% 26% 21% 9% 15% 22% 12% Medication n=590 42% 16% 34% 22% 9% 9% 10% 9% 26% 7%

Q: Which of the following are reasons why you prefer to go to a physical store for those products?

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

With the ability to see products in person as the most common reason for shopping in-store, this was particularly important in the apparel (66%) and grocery (64%) categories, as well as electronics, home improvement and home decor. Wider selection, instant gratification and ease of navigation were also important reasons for shopping for groceries in-store.

experience and the pain points of in-store shopping, ease of check-out rose to the top numerous times as a critical component of shopper satisfaction. This is reinforced by responses around technology, with respondents identifying cashierless checkout as a top technology for enhancing the in-store experience. Out-of-stock items and the inability to find products they are looking for were other leading pain points for in-store shoppers.

Brands and retailers face many operational challenges, especially due to sta ng issues, yet the checkout process is an area that needs attention to ensure a satisfying in-store shopper experience. Some of the functional and fundamental aspects of store design and operations — store layout and ease of navigation, safety precautions, clean and visible signage and customer service — are all priorities for consumers right now. These have always been important aspects of the retail landscape, yet they emerged as hot buttons with COVID-19 and continue to be top of mind.

The current retail climate, in uenced by COVID-19 stocking challenges and in ation rates, seems to have consumers focused on retailers that o er a good selection at a good price. This is evident with the naming of retailers such as Walmart and Target as favorites for in-store shopping experiences.

Factors for respondents who named Walmart as a favored retailer focused on variety, reasonable pricing, convenience and ease of navigation. The selection of Walmart reinforces the data shared in part 1 of this report about the behavioral shift in shopping habits and desire for one-stop-shopping. Typical comments about why Walmart is their favorite store to shop inside include: • “Because I can nd anything I need, and it’s convenient with low prices.” • “It’s a one-stop-shop experience. I can get just about everything I need in one place. It makes shopping a lot easier.” • “Because they have everything, and the prices are good and the environment is nice.”

Likewise, Target was cited for one-stop-shopping bene ts as well as price, selection, store atmosphere and customer service: • “Target has everything I need in one store, thus cutting my shopping time down each week.”

Alleviating Pain Points

Dan Sabanosh

Great Northern Instore was excited to partner with the Path to Purchase Institute on this two-part research project. Great Northern strives to bring the latest retail insights to its clients and translate those insights into successful retail activations. It is always important to get an up-to-date read on shopping behavior. This Q&A highlights some of the research’s key ndings from the perspective of Dan Sabanosh, Great Northern’s director of shopper marketing.

P2PIQ: How and why do the reasons for shopping in-store di er by product category and store type, and why does that matter to product marketers?

Sabanosh: The reason why a shopper visits a store for a particular category will be naturally di erent. For example, with groceries, shoppers want to see the produce they are selecting, and they feel they have a broader range of choice. Online grocery shopping is still di cult since you can’t judge freshness, and navigating an endless array of products can be daunting. For higher consideration categories like home improvement and electronics, shoppers look for the expertise of the store associates to help guide them. Marketers need to consider this when building in-store activations so they meet their consumers’ expectations. The right categories should consider speci c promotions. For example, beauty brands should plan sampling events.

P2PIQ: We asked, “What speci c product do you hate shopping for inside a physical store, and why do you hate shopping for it inside a store?” What’s there to learn from this information?

Sabanosh: Well, those categories should make sure they do a great job with their online presence. But also consider the brick-and-mortar pain points. How can bulky items be shopped in-store where they can be experienced, but easily be delivered to the shopper’s home? People also hate wasting time, so activations and shelf sets must be easy to navigate.

P2PIQ: From your perspective, what factors can provide a great in-store experience for shoppers? And conversely, what leads to pain points?

Sabanosh: The ability to easily navigate through the store on their shopping trip is key. Ninety-four percent of respondents said this was at least somewhat important to them. Product arrangement on shelves and eye-catching visuals also had a vast majority of respondents indicating these were very or somewhat important. Developing in-store solutions that are easily recognizable, insightfully organized and easy to shop are key. This helps alleviate a major pain point: 31% of respondents indicated the ability to nd what they’re looking for is a problem.

P2PIQ: How can technology that’s usable instore improve the shopper experience?

Sabanosh: Right now, the best assist technology can provide is to improve the checkout experience. Checkout is another key pain point, especially when some online retailers have made checkout extremely easy. Shoppers are also looking for ways technology can help them manage their shopping list and navigate the store, so they can complete their trip efficiently.

P2PIQ: Spontaneous purchases are a big opportunity for product marketers. What are your takeaways from the responses we’ve gathered?

Sabanosh: As marketers of products, the store is the best place to win impulse dollars. To no surprise, an o er is a great incentive. However, attractive packaging and displays are also great ways to attract shopper attention to your product so you win the extra sale.

Editor’s Note: Dan Sabanosh is director of shopper marketing for Great Northern Instore, a leading designer and manufacturer of merchandising solutions, where he helps clients be more insightful when developing their retail programs. Before joining Great Northern, Sabanosh worked for Colgate-Palmolive in both shopper marketing and brand management roles.

• “Target has many di erent types of items in one stop at reasonable prices.” • “Target has most things you want/need with good prices. It’s usually a nice store too — clean, organized and well stocked.”

Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Costco were other frequently named retailers on the favorites lists due to a variety of selections and a ordability. • “Dollar General because there is a big variety of merchandise, and I can aff ord to shop there.” • “Dollar General because they have so much to choose from at very low prices.” • “Dollar Tree. It has good products at a good price.” • “Dollar Tree because I can get almost everything I need at a reasonable price.” • “Costco. They have high-quality grocery items at reasonable prices.” • “Costco. Variety, price, convenience and quality.”

Some of the respondents’ reasons for shopping in-store center around the pre-pandemic joys of shopping. While some consumers are shopping in physical stores because they are tired of the pandemic lockdowns, others enjoy the treasure hunt experience or new product discovery as well as the social aspects. Furthermore, factors in uencing in-store experience such as experiential o erings, eye-catching visuals and ambience, while ranking least important on the overall list, are still valued by a sizeable proportion of shoppers.

These responses provide brands and retailers with opportunities to enhance in-store engagement by improving the overall look and feel of stores and leveraging experiential moments and socialization. A respondent comment about Target as a favorite retailer reinforces these considerations: “Target, they have everything I need and a Starbucks inside, so I can walk around for a while and browse.”

Reason for Shopping In-Store, by Store Type

Base size

Ability to see products in person

Wider range of selection

Instant grati cation Easier to navigate in-store

Tired of pandemic lockdowns

Enjoy the treasure hunt experience Inspiration

The social aspect of going in the store Product sampling Assistance from store associates Experiential o erings

Mass n=956 58% 36% 36% 33% 28% 23% 20% 20% 15% 12% 12% Grocery n=947 58% 36% 36% 33% 28% 24% 20% 20% 15% 13% 12% Club n=723 54% 37% 35% 31% 27% 25% 20% 19% 15% 14% 13% Dollar n=889 56% 35% 35% 33% 27% 24% 19% 20% 15% 12% 11% Convenience n=817 55% 35% 35% 32% 28% 24% 20% 20% 15% 13% 12% Drug n=912 57% 36% 37% 33% 29% 24% 20% 20% 15% 13% 12% Health & beauty n=647 53% 34% 35% 30% 26% 25% 22% 21% 15% 13% 14% Pet n=647 57% 36% 37% 31% 27% 27% 22% 22% 17% 14% 14% Home improvement n=850 58% 36% 37% 31% 28% 25% 21% 20% 15% 14% 13% O ce n=672 56% 35% 36% 31% 29% 25% 21% 21% 17% 14% 14% Craft n=655 54% 35% 36% 31% 28% 27% 21% 20% 16% 13% 14% Clothing n=818 57% 36% 36% 31% 28% 25% 21% 21% 16% 13% 13% Sporting goods n=660 56% 35% 36% 30% 28% 26% 21% 21% 16% 14% 13% Electronics n=767 58% 37% 37% 31% 28% 25% 21% 21% 16% 13% 14%

Shoppers were allowed to select multiple retailer types, but were asked why they shop in physical stores in general; results may be blurred.

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

The reasons for shopping in a physical store based on retailer type do not vary greatly. It is interesting to note that more than half of respondents once again selected the ability to see products in person as a primary reason across all retailer types.

Products Shoppers Dislike Shopping for In-Store

Respondents most frequently referenced clothing/shoes as well as food/groceries as frustrating instore shopping categories.

Those who mentioned clothing and shoes say it is hard to find the right styles and sizes. “I dislike going into stores to look for new clothes because my size is rarely available, or the stores never have anything my style,” said one respondent.

Respondents noted grocery shopping tends to feel like a cumbersome chore, which is exasperated by high prices. “I just dislike shopping in general because prices on things are too high and it takes way too long, and I don’t feel like being around too many people,” said another respondent.

Consumers also find heavy or bulk items cumbersome to deal with when in-store shopping. Feminine hygiene and toilet paper were also referenced as shoppers feel it is embarrassing to purchase these items in-store. Crowded stores and long lines were other in-store shopping annoyances highlighted.

Favorite Retail Store to Shop Inside

With one-stop, e cient shopping considered as a top priority, Walmart tops the list as the favorite retailer for in-store shopping. Thirty-eight percent of respondents selected Walmart due to product variety, reasonable pricing, convenience, ease of navigation — a one-stop shop. Numerous respondents said, “I can get everything I need.”

Target followed at 10% with other one-stop-shopping and

Factors Infl uencing the In-Store Experience

Ease of checkout

Store layout/ability to navigate Safety precautions Clear/visible store signs Store associates/customer service

Product arrangements on shelves Overall ambience

(temperature, audio/sound, scents, lighting) Eye-catching visuals and displays throughout the store Experiential o erings, such as sampling, demos, interactive opportunities, entertainment, etc.

67%

56%

54%

52%

50%

42% 36% 33% 25% 29%

38%

4% 6%

35%

41%

42%

49% 49% 49%

46% 10%

7% 8% 9%

15% 18% 29%

Very important Somewhat important Not at all important

Q: When you are shopping inside the store, how important are each of the following components in providing a great in-store experience?

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

Ease of checkout (67%) was rated the most important factor influencing the satisfaction of the in-store experience. Store layout and ease of navigation, safety precautions, clear and visible signage as well as customer service were also deemed as important factors by at least half of shoppers.

With shopping efficiency top of mind, respondents noted out of stock products (48%) as the top pain point when shopping in-store. The ability to find what they are looking for (31%) and the checkout experience (29%) were also cited as areas of frustration.

In-Store Pain Points

Products out of stock Finding what I’m looking for The checkout experience Customer service Cleanliness/organization of the store There is not enough sta Safety concerns Variety of product selection available Getting to and from the store (transportation) The time invested in the trip Lack of information about products Visual appeal/aesthetics of the store

31%

29%

24%

23%

23%

21%

18%

18%

15%

12%

9% 48%

Q: What are your top three pain points of shopping inside a store? (Select three)

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

reasonable pricing references, as well as Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Costco.

SPONTANEOUS PURCHASES

Retailers and brands are always exploring consumer behavior patterns and experimenting with how to tap into shopper impulses. How do you grab attention and influence a spontaneous purchase? How do you get a shopper to go off-list?

This report has emphasized the current one-stop-shopping mentality of consumers. While shoppers tend to be headed in-store with a purpose and a list, almost half of respondents admitted to making a spontaneous purchase most or all of the time. Exploring more sales and special o ers is one way brands and retailers can capture shopper attention and entice o -list purchases. Fifty-one percent of respondents admitted a good deal drives their impulse buys.

Brands and retailers also need to further tap into shopper senses to encourage impulsiveness. Survey responses illustrate that visual stimulation still plays a role in spontaneous purchases. Eyecatching product packaging, endcap displays and shelf signage were referenced as in uential factors.

Shopping in-store also allows consumers to visually come across products that remind them of a particular need, see something they forgot on their list or introduce them to new product o erings. Respondent comments also revealed cravings or shopping on an empty stomach in uence spontaneous purchases.

Brands and retailers can experiment with di erent displays to capture attention or develop a

In-Store Technology Preference

Cashierless checkout using an app or other technology

Shopping list app on your mobile device

I shop online more often than I used to

Retailer app on your mobile device

In-store mapping/navigation via app on your mobile device

QR codes for extra information or promotions

42%

41%

32%

31%

24%

12%

Q: What types of technology do you like to use (or would you like to use) while shopping inside the store that make (or would make) your experience better?

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

Respondents identified cashierless checkout (42%) and a mobile device shopping list app (41%) as the top two technologies to enhance the in-store experience.

When it comes to the frequency of spontaneous purchases, it is not surprising that impulse purchases are more common in physical stores than online. Almost half of respondents (46%) confirmed making an impulse purchase most or all of the time when shopping instore compared to 29% when online shopping.

Frequency of Spontaneous Purchase, In-Store vs. Online

Every time

10% 18%

Most of the time

19% 28%

Some of the time

Rarely

16% 29%

25% 36%

Never

3%

16%

In-Store Online Q: How often do you make unplanned or spontaneous purchases when shopping?

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

Spontaneous Purchase Drivers

Product was on sale or had a special o er Product packaging was attractive/caught my attention Store was out of usual product; picked something else A display at the end of the aisle (endcap) Shelf sign caught my attention Product was advertised in the store yer/weekly ad Product was on display somewhere else in the store I was shopping with my/a child who wanted the product Sampled the product or saw a demonstration in the store Sign in the store (other than at the shelf) or sticker

28%

27%

24%

23%

20%

19%

17%

17%

14% 51%

Q: Think about times you have recently made an unplanned or spontaneous purchase while shopping in the store. What infl uenced you to do so?

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

While the survey shows that respondents are shopping in-store with a purpose, shoppers are still susceptible to spontaneous purchases. It still seems hard to pass up a good deal as 51% of respondents identify sales or special offers as spontaneous purchase drivers. Eye-catching product packaging and lack of availability of the preferred product were also influential, followed by endcap displays and shelf signage.

Most Attention-Grabbing Displays In-Store

Product displays at the end of the aisle

Large displays of products set at the front of the store

Temporary/seasonal displays

Special signs for speci c products hanging from the ceiling

Displays in the aisles that are not part of the regular shelf

Displays in the walkways of the larger areas of the store

46%

42%

39%

37%

35%

34%

Q: When you are shopping inside a physical store, which types of displays do you tend to notice?

Source: Evolution of the In-Store Shopping Experience (Path to Purchase Institute, January 2022)

While shopper responses show all display types are generally effective, endcap displays were considered the most effective (46%) in driving spontaneous purchases.

strategy that o ers a mix of display types from large displays at the front of the stores and temporary or seasonal displays to special signs hanging from the ceiling, aisle or walkway displays and endcaps. While all display types were ranked as generally e ective, 46% of respondents indicated endcap displays were most e ective in driving spontaneous purchases.

CONCLUSION

With staffing challenges, shifting COVID-19 policies and inflation, we are in the midst of a retail revolution. This report shows consumers are challenging brands and retailers to address safety and cleanliness, shopping efficiency, supply and demand issues as well as customer service and social interactions.

The good news is that consumers are still shopping in physical stores and there are opportunities to capture more market share in-store. Brands and retailers have an opportunity to address functional store design and operational elements, such as store layout and ease of navigation, safety precautions, clean and visible signage and customer service, to make shopping in-store feel safe and more e cient. Pairing this e ciency with enticing visuals, inspired experiential moments and engaging social interactions may be the answer to bringing the joy of shopping in-store back to consumers’ lives.

The reality is shopping habits are evolving daily and rapidly impacting the retail landscape. The brands and retailers poised to quickly adapt their in-store shopping experience are best positioned to evolve and succeed amidst the chaos. IQ

The Path to ‘PURPOSE’

— Part 2

How to balance purpose and profit — and embrace the circularity opportunity

BY PHIL WHITE, GROUNDED WORLD

In part 1 of this report in the March/April issue, we highlighted the fact that although most of us (96%) want to live and buy more sustainably, only about one-third of us actively do so.

Closing this intention-toaction gap presents the biggest opportunity for brands and retailers to find the moments that matter and deliver a win-win-win for people, planet and profit. But this kind of thinking only takes us halfway there. It doesn’t reflect the reality of the circular economy and how more brands and retailers need to factor reduce, recycle, reuse and resell into the value equation.

Target is already taking huge strides in this direction with Target Zero. Shoppers can now buy Zero. Shoppers can now buy products and packaging products and packaging that have been designed that have been designed to be refi llable, reusable to be refi llable, reusable or compostable — made or compostable — made from recycled content or from recycled content or made from materials made from materials that reduce the use of that reduce the use of plastic. Hundreds of new plastic. Hundreds of new and existing products and existing products from across Target’s from across Target’s beauty, personal beauty, personal care and household care and household essentials categories essentials categories are part of the are part of the collection. collection.

“Target Zero unlocks important progress toward our Target Forward ambitions, each of which require collaboration from our partners and action from our guests to be realized,” Amanda Nusz, Target SVP of corporate responsibility and president of the Target Foundation, said in a media release. “By making it easier for our guests to identify which products are designed to reduce waste, Target Zero helps them make informed decisions about what they purchase and advances a collective impact across our brand partners, our product shelves, and within our homes and communities.”

Amazon launched its Climate Pledge Friendly program back in 2020. It includes a dedicated online section that now lets consumers shop across 32 certifications.

Target Zero represents a big drive toward becoming the market leader for creating and curating inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences by 2030 — ultimately helping shoppers eliminate waste from their lives.

Reusing, recycling and reselling are the core components behind building a circular economy, which means brands and retailers alike need to reconfigure their supply chains, business models and shopping experiences to embrace it and move away from the current “take-make-sell-dispose” way of doing business.

Our retail model, which predates even the industrial revolution, is predicated on sourcing products, selling them at a profit and then leaving the consumer to dispose of them to create demand for more. Infrastructure, supply chain, buying and merchandising simply aren’t designed to take things back into the system and then re-engineer value — even though that, in itself, represents a $4.5 trillion market opportunity. (That figure is taken from “The Circular Economy Handbook,” a 2020 book by Peter Lacy, Jessica Long and Wesley Spindler.)

And there are plenty of examples of brands, retailers and solution providers taking on the challenge — from Loop to IKEA, Patagonia, Levi’s, Fabletics, ThredUp and Trove (more about those later), along with more established and traditional retailers. ASDA and Waitrose in the U.K. have been experimenting with “refillable” stores for the past few years, and even Starbucks is planning to phase out its iconic cups, admitting that their ubiquity is also symbolic of a ubiquitous throwaway society. By 2025, Starbucks wants every customer to be able to either use their own mug easily or borrow a ceramic or reusable to-go mug from their local Starbucks, which would mean rolling out more borrow-a-mug programs that require a deposit along with incentives, activations and an entirely new way of thinking about the path to purchase.

Here at Grounded, we’ve been watching these developments with great interest. We’ve even published “Retail Activation for Good” with the Sustainable Brands community in partnership with Target, CVS, Johnson & Johnson, Clorox, General Mills and others. This collaboration has us thinking about a new “path to purpose” model that can help brands and retailers better understand how to balance purpose and profit and embrace the opportunity that circularity provides.

“Target Zero helps them make informed decisions about what they purchase and advances a collective impact across our brand partners, our product shelves, and within our homes and communities.”

— Amanda Nusz, Target SVP of corporate responsibility and president of the Target Foundation

For example: Think about it as a series of behavior changing loops that follow the popular trigger, activation, reward and reinforce model. Ultimately, systems change (which is what circularity demands) can only happen if the associated behaviors required are connected through a kind of support system that establishes, strengthens and then reinforces the relationship between attitudes, intentions and the desired behavior change itself.

In other words, to change the system we need to close the gap between intention and action and then incentivize shoppers to keep repeating the same behavior (at least five to six times) to form the habit. For anyone who is a self-proclaimed shopper marketing and brand activation geek like me, this is the holy grail of activation.

So let’s play out that Starbucks-cup scenario by way of example.

Look at the first loop: As you barrel out into the morning madness and stop by your local Starbucks for your usual caffeine fix, you realize you forgot your refillable cup. (But more likely, even if you own one, you probably didn’t want to bring it with you, because you have nowhere to put it, nothing to carry it in and you certainly don’t want to drag a dirty cup around with you for the rest of the day.)

This is a classic case of resistance and inconvenience. Starbucks already knows this — so they sign you up for their “borrow-a-cup” program, where you pay a deposit for a durable cup and then you can either drop it back off on the way home or at another Starbucks that’s more conveniently located. You pay a $1 deposit, and then you return the cup to a smart bin located in the store to get your dollar back. And you can also earn credits and rewards for using the cup. Not bad, eh?

Third-party companies are hired on the backend to come and take all the used cups away, get them cleaned (or recycled) and then put them back into the supply chain (so that baristas don’t have to). This is a classic “closed loop” reuse and recycling model, and it’s a big first step.

The real commercial opportunity, however, resides in the second loop when you reframe value by helping the shopper discover new things and celebrate the win — i.e., when you can use the return behavior to create another trigger and encourage the shopper to trade up or across into something new.

This is essentially what Loop is looking to do in partnership with brands and retailers such as Kroger, Walgreens, Burger King, Clorox and Gillette, to name a few, as it rolls out pilots here in the U.S. and around the world. By increasing the range of refillable and reusable packaging available across brands and categories, facilitating drop-off and pick-up stations and then cross merchandising them in-store, Loop, along with brand and retail partners, is proving that it can drive footfall and also cross-category purchasing.

The third, and arguably most advanced loop, is when brands and retailers are able to not only recycle or reuse, but also resell. And as shoppers are increasingly shopping for more value, the online recommerce and second-life marketplace is taking off at an exponential rate.

As of 2019, the resale marketplace was projected to grow five times faster than the broader retail sector over the next five years. Fashion is a good example. Eightfive percent of clothing eventually ends up in landfills. That’s the equivalent of about one garbage truck per second. In addition, today’s consumers are purchasing more clothing than ever before. In fact, at current rates and with projected population growth, resource consumption is set to triple by 2050. To support this level of consumption, we would need nearly three times the resources we’re using today. And, so, the industry has been forced to find a better way. Take the longevity of a classic, well-made pair of jeans, for

example. Levi’s is perfectly placed to lead the way when it comes to re-commerce, and this is exactly what they have done. Levi’s Secondhand is an inhouse buy back and resell initiative that allows the brand to take responsibility and control of the lifecycle of its products. It is a breath of fresh air for conscious shoppers, as it not only attests to the quality of Levi’s products (confidently assuming you will tire of them long before they wear out), but provides reassurance that there is a ready-made market for their jeans when they no longer want them.

It’s not just Levi’s that is responding to the demand for sustainability and launching resale programs for secondhand products either. ThredUp, a resale-as-aservice company that runs the logistics of brand resale programs on their behalf, is currently working with Fabletics to help customers turn lightly worn garments from any brand into Fabletics credit.

The North Face has launched The Loop program, which buys back clothing from any brand — and in any condition — and gives it a new lease on life. Patagonia is working with Trove (which also manages the Levi’s secondhand initiative) to run its resale program, encouraging customers to trade in their unwanted and worn out Patagonia items in exchange for credit that can be redeemed against new or secondhand Patagonia products. And there are many more.

In an environment where the retail sector is struggling on so many fronts, community-based resale platforms such as Poshmark, The RealReal and Depop are reporting real growth. New services such as Flyp are popping up in support of this booming industry, taking the hassle of listing products away from amateur sellers by pairing them with a pro to do it for them. This is helping to build a strong and resilient community of buyers and sellers as they go.

So, that’s the shopper journey and the opportunity that circularity presents. To become a circular trailblazer, you can move along the path to purpose and master each loop at a time, or if you’re feeling particularly transformative, connect all three into a truly integrated and connected re-commerce model.

As Greg Shell, managing director of Bain Capital Double Impact, says, “An economic model based on wealth concentration and resource extraction leaves most of the world overreliant on philanthropy and government” — and we’re all witness to how well that’s all turning out.

If the engine of capitalism — fueled by social innovation and kept in check by the ever-more conscious consumer — can help create scalable solutions to genuine market opportunities and deliver sustainable revenues, then brands and retailers, working in partnership, can (and ostensibly should) become the most powerful instruments for change the world has ever seen. IQ

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Phil White is co-founder and chief strategy officer at Grounded World, a B-corp certified brand activation agency that specializes in activating brand purpose, social impact and sustainability at retail.