Store specific coupons - no longer a big deal.

Mobile Coupons are an effective tool to get shoppers into the store, or on their app or web-store. However, this effective tool has been out of reach of small neighborhood merchants. The process of issuing m-coupons to consumers, tracking them, redeeming them etc. is generally out of the capability of independent merchants who cannot afford the services of specialized marketing agencies or the costs of the required high-end technology. 

AaramShop has been able to address this challenge. We have opened up the opportunity to our partner merchants to use their mobile app (AaramOn), to publish, push and then deem coupons which are specific to their store. We have enabled this as a free to use feature on our merchant app (and across the entire tech stack). 

We have taken things a step further to add a little more aaram for our shoppers. They now have multiple options to redeem the coupons issued to them - on their app, on the web-store or when they walk into their neighborhood store. 

Here is a video to explain how simple it is for the retailers to deploy their store coupons. 

Punctuating the shoppers' phone based journey.

The growth in the Home Order segment has significant implications for brands.

Most current in-store marketing strategies are primarily focused on influencing the customers @ the store, however, with the customer reducing her visits to the store, and Home-Order segment increasing rapidly, brands might miss out on this large section of busy-consumers.

Research undertaken by AaramShop indicates that almost 50% of FMCG shopping in urban India happens on the phone.

AaramShop has innovated to punctuate the consumer's phone based order journey at over 10000 partner AaramShops, with relevant brands in order to make a more informed shopping decision.

Thus, by intercepting phone orders, AaramOncall enables brands tap this increasing segment directing the brand message straight into the households.

Know more here

Trends Study - FMCG, India & Digital.

Google and Bain Consulting's recently released report on the impact of digital and ecom on the FMCG brands was extensively covered.

Of the multiple aspects of the report the two that leaped out for attention were:

50x projected growth in about 5 years - with about 5% of the sales being online.

 The other was that in 5 years 35% (35 Bn USD), would be digitally influenced sales.










The critical role of "digital" for FMCG brands is clearly established. Fun times ahead.

State of Grocery Home Delivery Report : India

As part of our constant endevour to understand the evolving trends & shopping behavior of grocery

consumers, AaramShop undertook an exhaustive research across 150 stores in the Delhi & NCR. The core objective was to understand the entire scope of "home delivery" within the FMCG segment and its current and future impact on brands. 

The research results are in and they indicate that Home Orders at the neighborhood retail stores are starting to become very significant indeed.  This, of course, has significant implications for brands from the following points:

a.    How to influence the customer when she is planning her monthly purchase

b.    How to influence her when she is placing the order

c.    How to influence her when she is getting the delivery

We found that 60% of the shops surveyed had more than 40% of their business coming from the Home Orders. Y-axis represents the % of business via home orders.

If you are interested to get hold of the full report, please send me an email or a tweet.

Related articles

• The changing profile of Indian retailers & AaramShop.
• Point of Sale has moved - from the store to the consumers' home.
• Mobile Disrupting Path to Purchase.
• Simplified Online Plan for FMCG brands in India.

Point of Sale has moved - from the store to the consumers’ home.

Traditionally FMCG brands have focused their marketing efforts on ensuring high brand visibility at the stores & while that is critical – there is an aspect that might be getting overlooked.

Home Delivery!!

The new point of sale is the consumers' home.

Home Deliveries are the backbone of the general trade in India. Our research has revealed that some of our AaramShops have as high as 55% of their business from home deliveries, while the average home delivery business across urban stores is a high 32%.

The prevalence of such a high level of home delivery across urban centers of India warrants a strategic rethink by brands.  The challenge with home delivery is that the consumers are just not walking-in to the store, as the orders are getting placed on the phone or online. Obviously the last mile visibility & communications strategy is not working for these consumers.

The solution lies in reaching the consumers in their homes, and influencing the buying decision right where it is made.   

At AaramShop, we have custom created unique solutions to tap this huge opportunity – we have the network, the coverage & reach, the technology and fine-tuned processes to ensure that brands can influence consumers to get a place within the home delivered orders. 

Talk to us if you need help in reaching your brand communication, offers and promotions directly to consumers and have them serviced via AaramShops.

Related articles

• AaramShop's Mobile Coupons.
• 2000+ AaramShops to choose from.
• Free Services Available for Brands on AaramShop
• Integrating the moments of truth for FMCG brands.
• Why digital & why AaramShop

What is AaramShop? Explained!

Have questions or suggestions ? Lets talk. Happy to discuss opportunities to collaborate.

Reviews Ensure Buzz which can be tapped.

Online Consumers Reviews are a powerful but under-utilized opportunity, especially within the FMCG brands. All researches indicates that consumers listen to and believe other consumers; real people with real brand stories. 

AaramShop presents a great opportunity to generate reviews, share and help consumers acquire brands that they love. It is the last mile connect enabled by AaramShop with its unique web to doorstep model which ensures that the online consumer reviews have a higher RoI, wherein brand advocacy can be put to effective use.

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The most shared sectors on Facebook is FMCG.

Fashion-savvy brands have the strongest and most social communities on Facebook, according to an infographic from Socialbakers.  They arrived at this by Measuring activity from 5,000 Facebook users during one month, the graphic shows that fans of fashion, automobile, and e-commerce pages take the top three spots when it comes to total interactions, total “likes,” and total comments.

Not surprising, as new lines & products are introduced virtually every day in these categories, however, what did interest me was that when it comes to total shares, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) led the pack, followed by the nonprofit and travel sectors. FMCG brands a reason to smile on their FB walls.

Related articles

• Customer Journey to Online Purchase (CPG / FMCG)
• 3 things for FMCG brands to consider when using social media
• FMCG sector faces regulatory risk from TRAI that could impact their advertising spends
• The Digital Wake-up Call for FMCG Marketers
• Online FMCG / CPG Retailing - it's challenges and opportunities

Customer Journey to Online Purchase (for CPG / FMCG brands)

The customer journey has grown more complex. Before making an online purchase decision, a customer may engage with your brand through many different media channels over several days. 

However, for all the focus on "social", it is interesting to note that "email" as a marketing channel plays a more effective role in "assisting" the customers in their purchase.  Assisting channels build awareness, consideration, and intent earlier in the customer journey or “purchase funnel.”

The chart below looks at CPG (FMCG) buying behavior.

The info above is part of Think Insights of Google.

Related articles

• "Call to action" on FMCG print ads.
• CPG / FMCG buying behavior is different.
• Online FMCG / CPG Retailing - it's challenges and opportunities
• The CPG Industry's Path to the Internet: As a Sales and Marketing Channel
• Integrating the moments of truth for FMCG brands.

A good digital campaign by Fanta.

Visit the campaign site here. Good to see the brand staying away from TVCs to focus on the core experience. The campaign encourages co-creation and conversations about the brand.

The missing bit - is the next logical step to encourage the last mile discovery of the brand. Maybe the scale of the campaign makes it too tough.  

EveryWhere Commerce via mobile devices.

Now add "Shoppability" to "Reachability".

FMCG & CPG brands reach out to consumers using every media option available - both offline and online. However, what has often been missing is the possibility of translating brand awareness into action - that too real-time.

AaramShop's plug-ins now enable consumers to add the brand they want directly into their shopping list - commerce happens across touch-points and across devices.

Talk to us to understand how we enable EveryWhere Commerce.

From the web to the consumers' doorstep; enabled commerce for FMCG brands.

FMCG brands are uniquely challenged when it comes to exploiting the digital boom. The in-ability to close the loop using a traditional e-commerce route has plagued the sector forever. 

Almost all digital spends undertaken by FMCG brands have resulted in an increased awareness and engagement, however, resultant transactions have been a challenge. 

Traditional ecommerce has been a non-starter in the sector due to low product cost, lower retailer margins, very high logistics costs etc. 

AaramShop’s unique model, enables FMCG brands to extend their digital campaigns to have a last mile connect. 

Connecting digital assets to last mile assets for FMCG brands

AaramShop enables home delivery of your brands to millions of households across India via its thousands of partner retailers who are strategically placed within the neighborhoods. 

View a simple example here of how a “buy now” integration can change a touch-point to an action point. 

To ensure that your next digital campaign or your existing digital assets get you a higher and a trackable RoI, do contact me.

Related articles

• Digital marketing drives ROI for FMCG brand
• Five trends that will drive FMCG growth in 2013
• FMCG brands must lift category vision to compete with multiples, says specialist
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• AaramShop Grocery Festival - the power of many.

CPG Mobile Marketing Strategy

Here is a comprehensive presentation by Brunner on how & why CPG / FMCG companies can adopt mobile marketing and make it an integral and "growing in importance" part of their overall strategy. 

Einstein Simplified!!

If Einstein can be simplified, I bet digital  marketing for FMCG / CPG brands can be simplified as well.

You would have noticed that it is difficult (if not impossible) to wrap up a digital / online marketing discussion, without learning a few extra jargons and tech-speak. All the jargon has a MEGO effect on me (`My Eyes Glaze Over') :-). 

If you are into jargons pick up a few from here.

The other interesting bit in most discussions is the "evasive action" when it comes to quantifiable returns from the marketing spends. 

At AaramShop, we have taken a few steps towards addressing this challenge by creating a marketing program which converts consumer touch-points (jargon 1) into shopper action-points (jargon 2) for FMCG / CPG brands. 

Talk to us about our Simplified Online Plan for FMCG brands (in India) and sign-in for the Step-Up Program. 

You are assured of time porn (jargon 3) 

Related articles

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• FMCG's rise to the top of the online adspend pile
• FMCG firms help push digital adspend to record high of £2.6bn
• Un-learning Sampling : Re-learning Sampling.