Amazon Must Be In Your Omnichannel View
Every brand needs to stay competitive, and that means innovating and evolving with their customers’ needs. The only way to understand consumer needs is to pay attention to what they are spending their money on. That’s why you want the most comprehensive view of your shoppers’ habits—and that view needs to include Amazon.
Amazon continues to be a significant source for CPG sales in eCommerce. Consider that eCommerce has steadily gained more share of sales over the last decade, and you can see why Amazon’s reach will continue to grow. For example, more than 60% of growth in vitamins and supplements currently comes from Amazon. Even if you’re not selling on Amazon, you are affected by what’s happening on that site. As MarketPlace Pulse said, “Amazon is essentially the market.” SPINS Omni-Intelligence brings together brick-and-mortar point-of-sale data with Amazon data powered by SPINS ClearCut so brands have insight into the complete market.
Adding Amazon data to your existing insights can help you gain even more sights into the market and emerging consumer trends. Here are 3 added benefits of including Amazon data:
1. An Expansive Data Sample
Brick-and-mortar stores are unique and invaluable resources for shoppers, but they primarily serve their immediate community. While Amazon doesn’t offer that same in-person experience, it does have a reach that goes beyond geographic and demographic limitations. Shoppers from all incomes, education levels, locations, and identities have access to the site and can purchase a single item or three boxes worth. With Amazon data, you’re accessing consumer behavior that is only limited by a person’s ability to open an app on their phone or browser on their computer.
Similarly, Amazon has a low barrier of entry for brands that want to sell on the marketplace. Emerging and legacy brands alike can sell to customers without having to establish a physical storefront or their own dedicated webpage. Therefore, Amazon data not only gives you a sample of shoppers across a wide spectrum, but also tells you what they are buying from the widest range of options on the market.
2. A Gut Check
Although a gut feeling is a great starting point to create new products or iterate on existing ones, it’s not a replacement for data. Experience can help CPG leaders understand what consumers might want and omnichannel data can prove or disprove that notion. If you’re focusing on a small segment of the marketplace, you could end up with confirmation bias that doesn’t account for the shoppers elsewhere, including Amazon.
This omnichannel measurement data can reveal whitespace opportunities so you know where to invest your time, money, and attention. If you align data from Amazon with SPINS Product Intelligence, you will begin to discover that products with certain ingredients, free of allergens, or in certain forms (i.e., pills vs chewables) are prime for innovation. Even if you are not selling on Amazon or that is not your primary outlet, this data is an objective way to assess your instincts.
3. Timeliness
We all know that consumer behavior is changing daily—that’s why data is crucial to any business strategy. When you want to understand the trend happening right now and understand where they are heading, you want to include the most current data. Because today’s shoppers have an omnichannel mentality, they can spur trends in different channels at different times. The most effective way to spot and evolve with these trends in a timely manner is to cast a wide net with your data. Combining natural and Amazon channel insights can help make that happen.
When you look at Amazon, you’re watching consumer trends emerge as they happen. First, consumers can hear about a new item from a friend, in a magazine, or on social media and go buy it seconds later with one click. As the pandemic has taught us, consumers are quick to turn to the wellness industry and adopt new habits. Add to that the range of brands entering the Amazon space every day, and you have another opportunity to gain an additional insights into what shoppers are thinking. That’s the information you want to factor into your conversations as you position your brand, launch items, or consider expanding into new channels.
SPINS Omni-Intelligence Shows the Entire Picture
By now, eCommerce has proven that it is a growing force in sales, and Amazon is leading that charge. Omnichannel data that doesn’t include Amazon is the equivalent of putting your hand over one half of your computer screen. You’re going to miss a lot of crucial insights into emerging consumer trends that should be informing your decisions. SPINS Omni-Intelligence brings together natural, conventional, and regional grocer data with data from Amazon’s marketplace and retail. Get this complete view of the market so you can meet consumers where they are.
