Advertising is the new window shopping, as supermarket browsing goes out the window

‘Eggs, bread, milk, pasta, rice, toilet roll, birthday card for Bella, beans…’

As I read through the shopping list that my wife had prepared for my COVID19 gloved and masked supermarket dash, one thing stood out… how faintly ridiculous I looked searching for a birthday card appropriate for an 8 year old as everyone else got in, got what they needed and got out again. It suddenly dawned on me… browsing is dead!

Consumers are now heading to the supermarkets armed with a shopping list, grabbing what they need and buying what they always bought. The challenge for FMCG products is how to make it on to this list, especially for new products just launched or about to launch.

Advertising is now, more than ever, a product’s shop window. With the majority of people working from home, the big 4 mediums that give FMCG brands an opportunity to get in front of their customers are TV, Radio, Out of Home (especially at the supermarkets and shops where we now have to queue outside) and Digital.

Much like advertising in a recession, these strange times will call for brands not to go quiet but rather, if they want to succeed, recognise that advertising will be essential. Brands need to get in front of their audiences earlier in the purchase decision making process and so their products get added to the shopping list when it is being written. When people zoom up and down the aisles with their disinfected trolleys… it is too late. Brands must be active in our lives and at the forefront of our minds to stand a chance.

How will you make it on the shopping list?