Digital is helping brands achieve 'lifetime value of their products'

16-Jan-2015 - Last updated on 16-Jan-2015 at 12:14 GMT

A study carried out by Forrester Consulting revealed that consumer packaged goods companies like cosmetics, can achieve cross-channel growth by digitally collaborating with retailers and distributors.

The research carried out on behalf of Accenture, showed that by opting for digital technologies, personal care packaging companies as well as other industries, will be able to boost sales through traditional channels by improving the allocation of marketing, to drive retail relationships.

The study, 'CPG Sales Leaders Go Multichannel; A Guide To CPG Sales And Channel Management In A Digital World', reports that digital technology has the potential to help brands increase consumer loyalty, share of wallet and the lifetime value of their products.

By digitally collaborating with retailers and distributors, 75% of all account directors reported that they expected to "drive the availability of their products and make the best use of shelf space and trade promotion funds".

However, a large majority (70%) of CPG heads of sales believe this potential may not be realized due to "a lack of consistent, shared consumer data to improve decision making".

Only 16% of companies use digital to maintain in-store and online relationships

While the expectation of high returns from the digital platform is evident, the research found that just 16% of CPG companies actually use digital technologies to maintain an in-store and online relationship with the consumer to drive repeat purchases instore.

Furthermore, Forrester Consulting reported that only 38% of companies surveyed used digital channels to drive planogram compliance while 60% of the same respondents find it too difficult to "deliver relevant and personalized content to engage consumers effectively through digital channels".

Digital brings benefits to many areas of business

Cosmetic companies have been integrating digital technologies across various areas of their businesses such as social media platforms to increase profile, to digital elements on packaging to make things easier for the consumer and compete in a tech savvy era.

The rise of 'smart packaging' has been huge, particularly the introduction of elements like inbuilt electronic chips, antibacterial film packaging customisation, communication technologies and light design technology.

The trend for digital printing responds to increasing industry demand for streamlined supply chains with less reliance on warehouses and big print runs. And as industry interest in the digital printing process increases, specialists have been stepping up their game.