Brands bypass retailers to get shopping data
Kellogg, Reckitt Benckiser, Activia and Nivea are among brands ramping up efforts to drive online sales of their products by hosting mini “shops” on retail comparison site MySupermarket.co.uk.
The shops offer FMCG brands the chance to test out pricing strategies, promotions and online visual merchandising and receive data about how consumers interact with, shop and purchase their products.
The stores can also feature content such as videos, competitions, recipes and links to social media channels for brands to increase consumer engagement.
Consumers can subscribe to receive news direct from the brand about their new products and deals and can then compare prices and make purchases via their retailer of choice.
MySupermarket claims the Nivea and Activia stores, which were soft-launched last week, have already attracted “thousands” of subscribers. The Nivea store features 252 products, while the Activia shop hosts 185 products.
Chris Hawthorn, etailing controller at Reckitt Benckiser UK, says: “[The shops] give us a platform to gain valuable learnings about shopper behaviour online and to convert our 4 billion annual online impressions into instant sales for both us and our retail partners.”
MySupermarket says the launch of the shops mark a “hugely significant change” in the online retail landscape.
James Foord, vice president of business development for MySupermarket, says: “Previously [brands] were reliant on retailers for information that was closely guarded. Our brand stores are designed to give this crucial learning to them in real time.”
MySupermarket claims it has more than 2 million regular users. It is the 728th most visited site in the UK, according to Alexa.
