CPGmatters: PepsiCo Gathers Shopper Insights Along the Path to Purchase
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the monthly e-zine, CPGmatters.
The path to purchase is not a straight line, and neither is it a circle as some have described it. It is more like a pool or a "puddle," said Sonja Mathews, director of strategy and consumer insights, PepsiCo. "We've seen a lot of models that are circular in nature. It almost infers a linear relationship to the path to purchase, but I don't think it is linear. I think a shopper is really a time traveler."
For instance, she added, when shoppers are in a traditional path-to-purchase venue, which is usually a store, they are referring back to home-based occasions for which they are going through that shopping experience. When they see a particular brand on the shelf, they are thinking back to the time that they tried that brand. When they see something they don't recognize, they are thinking about future uses for that brand."
As a result, Ms. Mathews said, the path-to-purchase is complete. At any stage in the consumers' purchase consideration cycle, "the stakes are very high for us -- as retailers, as brands, or as agencies -- to make or break that tenuous connection. So I really think that the path to purchase is more of a puddle."
Ms. Mathews spoke in Chicago as part of a panel at the annual conference hosted by the Association for Integrated Marketing (formerly the Promotion Marketing Association), New York.
The path to purchase involves the shopper, but also anyone interested in, affected by, or even observing the brand purchase, according to Ms. Mathews.
"This would be not only people who are pushing the big cart, but also the people who are whispering in the ear of the person pushing the big cart. These are influencers, who might not even be in the store. Then there are those who see somebody else trying something, and think, 'I wonder if that's for me.' That is a magical moment when the path to purchase in the store begins," Ms. Mathews said.
This complicates simpler concepts of path to purchase. "That neat little circle talking about pre-shop, shop and post-shop is maybe not quite so applicable."
Referring to an earlier presentation at the conference by a Target Corp. executive, she pointed out that the retailer practices "three-dimensional selling. They are looking for a problem to solve rather than a brand to sell, and that means they are actually doing something very right."
Rita Bargerhuff, chief marketing officer, who was also on the PMA panel, agreed about the "puddle" metaphor.
"I absolutely agree (path to purchase) is a puddle. The real challenge -- and I think it has always been a challenge -- is that as marketers, we are never really certain when that starts," she added.
Discussion Question: What limitations do you see in the traditional "pre-shop, shop and post-shop" view in analyzing path to purchase? Is there a better model that would help marketers visualize how shoppers are influenced?