NACDS, ATKearney to Unveil Results of "Winning with Digital" Study at NACDS Total Store Expo

PRESS RELEASE

Boston, Massachusetts (August 25, 2014) —In conjunction with ATKearney, a leading global management consulting firm, the Outreach and Business Development Working Group of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Retail Advisory Board will present results of its collaborative digital marketing study at the NACDS Total Store Expo in Boston, Mass.

The findings will be released on Monday, August 25 at 8:00 a.m. during the NACDS Total Store Expo Insight Session “Winning with Digital Marketing.” The study provides insights on retailers’ use of digital marketing and on the role the supplier community can play in the development, execution and analysis of collaborative digital marketing programs.

“The NACDS Total Store Expo is the ideal place for this research to be presented,” said NACDS President and CEO Steve Anderson, IOM, CAE. “The study highlights the importance of retailers and suppliers working collaboratively — not only with each other, but with other departments within their own organizations to make the most of emerging technology. This type of collaboration is one example of the collaboration made possible by this show’s unique format.”

“Digital Marketing is becoming a game-changer in retail,” said Todd Huseby, a partner at ATKearney. “We believe that how companies adopt and adapt with these capabilities will have a long-term impact on successful partnerships between retailers and their suppliers. We will support this project going forward by releasing companion pieces where we will discuss our interpretations of how individual CPG manufacturers and retailers can use these study results to prepare for the future.”

Among the study’s key findings, retailers have determined that five primary vehicles meet most of their goals for digital:

• A company website is the most dominant channel, with 80—90 percent of respondents using it to drive brand awareness, educate consumers, and deliver weekly circulars. About 40–50 percent also use it to increase customer loyalty and to drive increased sales.
• A large majority also use Facebook to drive brand awareness, again with slightly smaller numbers also focused on loyalty and increased sales. Here, weekly circular distribution generally is an afterthought.
• Email is a popular tool to educate customers, used by about 60 percent of respondents for brand awareness, loyalty, and sales. Approximately 40 percent use email to distribute weekly circulars.
• Mobile is a current priority to drive brand awareness, loyalty, and sales and is very well-suited for loyalty and sales purposes.
• Twitter is primarily used to drive brand awareness and establish a social media presence.

The study also shows that, looking ahead, retailers will place more emphasis on smartphone and tablet apps and integrate their marketing across digital and traditional channels — supporting the omnichannel vision that many retailers are working to achieve.

A key to managing this evolution will be for consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers to understand each other’s needs and strengths so that they can combine efforts to win with digital.